Microsoft Releases MSN UK for iPad
Residents of the United Kingdom have another news app in their arsenal thanks to the release of MSN UK for iPad.
The MSN UK’s UI bears a striking resemblance to the popular news reader Pulse, as it also employs cartoon strip streams of news, termed channels in app parlance, that the user can peruse with a swipe gesture. The uppermost bar is reserved for the Editor’s picks, which resembles a “top news” category. Other channels include news, sport, entertainment, MSN cars, and lifestyle.
Not only is MSN UK designed as a news reader, but it also allows the user to access Bing search from within the application, while it also allows for easy access to Hotmail, and Windows Live Messenger.
Users can download articles to read later, without an Internet connection, as well as share what they find with friends by email, Facebook, and Twitter. The app will work in the iPad’s portrait or landscape mode.
MSN UK features also includes photo galleries and slide shows, which will allow users access to a variety of media beyond the written word.
For a complete overview of the app, check out MSN’s descriptive video.
MSN UK for iPad is free to download from the UK App Store. There is currently no information on whether similar apps will be released for other regions.
The app’s iTunes page also alerts iOS 5 users to an a problem where the iPad’s auto lock feature appears to inhibit downloading of content for off-line reading, but fails to alert the user that the download has ceased.
Until a more permanent fix is found Microsoft acknowledges that, “You may see the dialog box showing that the download is in progress, but the background downloading of the issue may have stopped.” The company recommends that users take the following steps: ”Tap Cancel to close the dialog box. You may need to close and restart the app to resume the offline download.”
