Share My Creation NewsBrief US

Hi all,

Just wanted to include a shameless plug for my own B4A created app called NewsBrief US, available here:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.newsbriefus.full

The app automatically compiles a list of YouTube videos containing the day's news from over 140 legitimate news sources and is a great way to keep on top of breaking news as it happens (videos usually post within an hour of broadcast time). I use this app daily to keep on top of the news and figured it was ready to release for others to enjoy. Screenshots below:

Simply tap on a story that interests you...

And the story will play in the YouTube Standalone Player, allowing full interaction with YouTube for sharing, likes, etc.

And you can turn your device sideways for a larger view:

Would love to hear your feedback and opinions. These forums have been a valuable resource in getting this app done - it simply would not have been possible without all the code snippets, advice and of course B4A itself. I hope this app is as enjoyable to use as it was to create - I have learned so much during the course of creating this app.

Thank you for taking a look,
-Phil

 

[NJDude]

Nice app, but I have a few observations.

1- The look, I have to admit is pretty boring, you should use a more contemporary look, using Material Design for example to make it more interesting, Holo is a thing of the past.

2- The "Menu" where you have "Exit NewsBrief" I would get rid of it and just capture the BACK key (as you are doing) but instead of displaying the "Press back again to exit" just display that message box, having those 2 options is confusing and in some cases cancelling the message box (pressing the BACK key) will exit the app because you are already counting the "press back", keep it simple.

3- The info displayed, the pictures should be centered or should cover the whole width of the screen, the fonts should be a little bigger to make them easier to read.

4- Separate the items, the way you have it now, the title, picture and summary of the news article in some cases are hard to distinguish one from another, you should either place a separator (line) or better yet, a "card" style that way is easy to see what is what.

5- The initial loading, I tried your app on LTE and it takes a while, but that's not the problem, the problem is that sometimes the download gets stuck and....GETS STUCK you have to restart the app and it will start from the beginning, it took 5 attempts to get it done, people with limited data plan might immediately uninstall your app.

6- The messages, I would not use Toasts, some people might not see them (I didn't a couple of times in the beginning), also, the message box with the instructions after the first run, not good, better display a nice panel with some clear instructions.

7- The initial load again, I don't know how you are managing that but see if you can "continue" if the user exits the app for whatever reason (or if it gets stuck like I mentioned above) it is painful to start over.

8- Ads placement, having them on top of the screen is annoying.

I hope these observations help you improve your app.

Keep up the good work.