Lincoln news app surpasses 1,000 downloads

Last year Stonebow Media launched its first application for both the iPhone and iPod Touch. The Lincolnite application, which was the first mobile news application to serve the Lincoln area, has now surpassed 1,000 downloads.

The free application currently averages between 20 and 40 new downloads per week, which has been driven by promotion online and via QR codes in print advertisements.

The Lincolnite app, which is still the only dedicated Lincoln news app available for the iPhone, offers users access to daily news, exclusive pictures and event information wherever they are. The application also enables our readers to engage in citizen journalism by allowing them to submit geo-targeted news tips and pictures.

Following the success of the iPhone application Stonebow Media has released more free apps for other platforms including the Android Market and the Nokia Ovi Store. Other applications, including one for the iPad are in the pipeline.

Daniel Ionescu, Managing Editor of The Lincolnite said the following regarding the success of The Lincolnite for iPhone:

“We are aware that more and more people are using their smartphones to read the news wherever and whenever the news breaks — and that’s where we want to be. Our smartphone apps enable us to connect with people at any time.”

Due to this growth in the mobile space, The Lincolnite has now introduced mobile advertising to their range of applications, which they believe will allow local businesses access to a savvy and growing section of customers.

The Lincolnite for iPhone can be downloaded for free from the App Store.

Updated The Lincolnite iPhone app arrives

We’re happy to announce the immediate availability in the Apple iOS App Store of version 1.1 of The Lincolnite application for iPhone and iPod touch, as of January 13 2010.

There are currently over 400 users of The Lincolnite iPhone app.

The new app adds screen rotation capabilities, so users can flip the phone horizontally and read stories and view photos in the built-in gallery (as pictured above).

Readability improvements include larger text sizes and better text and image formatting, as well as faster refresh and loading times for stories in the Headlines tab.

Also new in version 1.1 of The Lincolnite app, users can find current and 7-day weather forecast information for the Lincoln area. Several bugs have also been fixed across the app.

The app works with iPhone 3G, 3GS and iPhone 4 models, using iOS 4.x.

Here are the changes at a glance:

New in version 1.1:

• Current weather conditions and 7-day forecast (data supplied by the Norwegian Meteorological Institute);
• Landscape mode: read the news in any way that you want;
• In-app and loading speed improvements, various bug fixes;

Also in version 1.1:

• Read the latest headlines and share them with your friends on Twitter and Facebook or via email;
• Check up on traffic updates throughout Lincolnshire (data supplied by BBC Lincolnshire);
• Browse through our photo galleries from the events and news we cover;
• Tip us: send in your photos and reports when news happens around you.

Note: To receive severe weather warnings and other important messages from The Lincolnite app, please make sure you enable push notifications the first time you open the app.

The Lincolnite arrives on the iPhone

Last week saw the release of our first iPhone application, The Lincolnite, in Apple’s App Store. However, not only is it Stonebow Media’s first iPhone application, but it’s also the first news application available within Lincoln.

If you haven’t checked it out already, here is what you need to know:

• It’s absolutely free, and always will be;
• It lets you get the latest Lincoln news and traffic updates whilst on the move;
• If you are out and about and see something taking place, you can let us know with the location-aware ‘tip’ feature – just tap out a message and include a picture and we will get it;
• It works with all iOS devices, including the iPhone 4, iPhone 3GS and iPod touch;
• Did we mention that it’s free?

The process of submitting the application to Apple was a surprisingly quick and painless one. It took just over nine days from the time we first submitted the application, until it appeared in the store — thankfully without any problems what so ever.

So far the response has been positive, with our iPhone-owning readers commenting positively on the applications availability. If you haven’t grabbed it yet, you can find out more about it here, or you can download it for free now — Download The Lincolnite App.

We would love to hear your suggestions as to how we can improve the app in the future, be it new feature requests, interface changes or anything else that springs to mind. Oh, and for those of you on Android – your request has been noted.