The Issue: Apple has boasted it’s new AP Mobile News Network webapp as if it’s a supercharged news service for on-the-go readers to get their daily news. They called it "perfect for your iPhone". However, it’s not. Your precious iPhone deserves better, and so do you. If you have your iPhone handy: www.apnews.com
The Story: AP News offers a new iPhone-targeted webapp which isn’t all that Apple talked it up to be. We gave it a test run and were not satisfied.
The app offers:
A home screen with headlines for: US News, Local News, Photos, Entertainment, Sports, Videos, Election Coverage, and Wacky News. Seems like everything you may need from a news site – which is true – but they packed the site with so many images that the speed is unsatisfactory.
The real problem existed in the Search menu. The Search interface automatically presents you with the days top 10 most searched items. Alright – who doesn’t love top 10 – but come on: check out the top 10 searches which AP Mobile News is claiming.
…m? The number one search is ‘m’? I guess. Compare this to Google Trends.
No good. By the way, suprise surprise: Apple is on the top 10. My guess is it will be there…forever.
When attempting to search for ‘m’, this was the result each time for 8 straight attempts.
When the page finally started to load, it took enough time to listen to ex-President Jimmy Carter talk up his 184th book on Larry King Live (very long) to complete. The problem lies in the infrastructure of the webapp. Furthermore, the site is over packed with images. Take a look.
Images occupy half the size of the entire page. Yet again, no good.
The other menu options are alright, as long as you’re ready to wait.
The Verdict: It was a good try. The design is pretty good and user friendly. With some work on the infrastructure and perhaps limiting the overly abundant use of large images, the webapp will speed up and become satisfactory. After all, it’s still in its Beta stage.
What says the…
Geek: What am I supposed to do while the page loads…take my first shower of the week?
Socialite: The site needs more color.
Soccer Mom: The site seems perfectly fine to me.
Accessories & Apps: Beta Testers Wanted
iOS Firmware/IPSW Download Guide
Legacy iTunes Download Archive
App Store Top Charts
iPhone and Android Resale Value Charts
USA iPhone Carrier Plans Compared
Complete iPhone Jailbreaking Guide 
Complete iPhone Specification Matrix 
I gotta tell ya, I agree with you 100%. A news service seems so elementary that you gotta expect the iPhone to have something thats near perfect. But just like you said, it’s unbearably slow to use.
I dunno what you guys are talking about, the AP News Mobile web app works fine on my iPhone. I mean sure it can get a bit slow, but let’s be honest: doesn’t the internet always have some issues?