Techmeme gets an iPhone app, not made by Techmeme, that you have to pay for

November 14, 2008 | MG Siegler | Comments | |

When I saw a new application called Tech News in the App Store the other day it piqued my interest. After all, it combines two of the things I love most: Technology news and iPhone apps. Then I saw that it was “Powered by techmeme,” the technology news aggregation site, and I was even more interested. Unfortunately, it’s not very good, and rather pointless.

First of all, the only thing Tech News does is take the major headlines of Techmeme and list them within the app in order. There is no way to see what stories are new, and no way to see any of the discussion sub-stories as you can on Techmeme itself.

Second, clicking on one of the headlines takes you to a very short synopsis page where you then must click the “Read full article” link to go to the actual story, which loads from the web — basically, this just adds a step to Techmeme itself, which has the synopsis under the headline on the main page.

Third, and worst of all, is that this app is $0.99 despite not providing any value over Techmeme itself.

Now, $0.99 may not seem like much, but if there’s absolutely no reason to pay it, why do so? Just load up your web browser and go to techmeme.com.

“I’m pleased they equate “Tech News” with Techmeme, and wish them luck in making a little money with it. But if they make a lot, perhaps I should consult my lawyer,” Techmeme founder Gabe Rivera told me when I asked him for a comment about the Tech News app.

Perhaps he should. I kind of want my $0.99 back.

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About the Author, MG Siegler

MG Siegler writes about technology trends and new media for VentureBeat, with a focus on mobile topics, social elements and key news stories. Before that, MG wrote about technology on his blog, ParisLemon. Originally from Ohio, MG attended the University of Michigan where he studied film. He's previously lived in Los Angeles where he worked in Hollywood and in San Diego where he did web development. He now lives in San Francisco.

  • jonsterling
    I have written a nicer app for Techmeme, called Techmeme Mobile (http://www.itunes.com/apps/techmememobile). It has search and a much nicer UI, and will tell you which articles are from today, yesterday, and before yesterday. It currently lacks some of the more advanced features that you mention you would like in a Techmeme app, but I think that you would be at least more satisfied with it than with “Tech News”.