iPhone and iPad app update

Here's what I'd like to see: the BBC develop its own Windows Phone app and not use bully-boy tactics to force a non-profit-making third-party developer to withdraw his own BBC News app from the store.

That's a bit rich given that the BBC themselves ripped-off a third-party developer (Pulse) in creating their news app.

Perhaps you should put together a Windows Phone app first so that those people that pay the licence who don't own an Apple product can also obtain the benefits of your development efforts? Especially considering you have forced the 3rd party app off of the Windows store?

A windows phone app would be great. There was a really good third party app but as Griff says above the BBC forced the developer to remove the app from the store.

Good for iOS users, but still nothing for Windows Phone. Is there an app on the way?

I would also like to see the BBC develop its own Windows Phone app and not use bully-boy tactics to force a non-profit-making third-party developer to withdraw his own BBC News app from the store.

I'll add my complaint about the lack of Windows Phone 8 App - why has the excellent third party FREE App been taken away when you haven't made your own WP app. Alternatively help to upgrade that App to your corporate identity!

Forcing users to use the awful and difficult to navigate mobile site will not endear many Windows Phone users.

Buck up and use my licence fee for something I want!!

What right does a third party developer have in publishing licence-paid content to a global audience. Check out what apps are available before selecting your mobile platform. Don't blame the BBC.

What's this - a coordinated campaign complaining about "bully-boy tactics" from Windows Phone 8 users? (All 6 of them)

I quite like the News app (on Android). But I'm less keen on the Sport one, particularly the need to confirm that you really want to quit. Are you likely to be changing it so that it's consistent with the way the News app works?

Don't you realize that you are going in the completely wrong direction??? The ancient original BBC website was lucid and unparalleled in being able to convey content quickly and let you click through to real information. What we need it not bigger jpgs but text! I maintain that text on news sites is far more informative than pictures

Look at screenshots of the early BBC website and see if you don't agree that it was possible to convey much more information per pixel with the text-based content. The BBC has an superb depth of content that no other provider can touch, PLEASE use it.The BBC cheapens its reputation by being image-driven. If I want pictures of Lindsay Lohan, I don't go to the BBC site.

Never mind the busybodies. I think that the new format for iPad is strikingly unusual and really quite effective. Takes a bit of getting used to but at least the app is not simply a replica of the browser version.

iPhone app being updated is good news to me. I'm a heavy user of this app and have sent in a number of suggestions in the past, without reply. The user experience (UX) of the existing app was getting quite especially as the years have trundled past and other news apps an aggregators have been innovating and delivering much richer UX.

Oh will you Windows phone users stop complaining. Surely you knew about the lack of apps when you bought your phones?

Admit it Steve it is not a patch on Sky's. It has videos, weather forecasts and everything.

Seeing as I agree with the idea that the BBC should be providing value for the money that it receives from me and others, can the BBC explain what it cost to produce and support the apps for the Apple and Google platforms. Per application, I'd like to see costs and time (effort) broken down by design, development, testing, support and other costs.

Look. You're done on iOS. Its complete. Leave it. Sack the devs and save us money. Now its time for wider support. Make some Android apps that work. Support Blackberry and Windows. But for crying out loud 70% of the market is now Android. Support it properly.

I like the new format (so far), but I've only just downloaded it.

@sparanets – your initial point is valid, the second one is less so. When selecting the WP8 platform there was a BBC app available.

@vampire – I have more than enough apps for my needs thanks very much. The point here is that the BBC should not focus the majority of their efforts on one particular platform. We are all licence payers and they should concentrate on overall coverage. I agree you can't focus on every minority but Windows as a whole is not particularly small.

@steve – from my point of view the BBC should be focusing on coverage, not specialising on one particular platform. I know from experience that the BBC are very much an Apple focused organisation and I appreciate that is likely to occur. However, as @stretch has mentioned, the iOS app is fine, you don’t need to be spending all these “expensive resources” on continually improving them...

@steve – …Instead you should be using these resources to improve the other platforms or build options for the alternatives that do not have official versions. In fact, perhaps you could have leveraged the existing code from the 3rd party dev to build your own app, thereby reducing the expense you highlighted?

@mark (#19) why don't you put in an FOI request and find out?

@Alex - I have done just that.

This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.

Any love for smaller Android tablets? My 7" Archos A70S (Gingerbread) can only run the app in portrait and it drives me mad (Google Play also says the app is incompatible). The split-screen layout on my Nexus 10 is workable, but could also be improved.
Since you are catering to the broadest user base, how about focusing on Android and compatibility with older devices?

It still doesn't reliably update. Despite two refreshes over fast wifi I've been looking at 'Updated 6 hours ago' for the last 5 mins -- no, tell a lie, it's now updated! Perhaps that basic code is still not quite right!!

@ Steve Herrmann: Yes, building apps is expensive, but you did it for iOS. Did you have apriori information on how many users would download and use it? Probably not, but you still built it. There are over half a million users of the unofficial BBC app on Win8/RT and WP platforms. That is not a small number, and is bound to increase if/when BBC releases an official app. #BringBBCToWP.

The new updated app is really good. I downloaded it yesterday and it is better than the previous version.

Why does the bbc hide the good news about the service economy results on it's business page, while announcing news of Euro interest rates on the front page. Typical left wing garbage gloom & doom from the BBC trying to hide good news!

A true gentleman and a great loss to the world. He was my Example of capability in this mixed up world.

@AAA wrote "Did you have apriori information on how many users would download and use it?"

I bet they have very accurate data as to what platforms users of the BBC Web site are using. I doubt the relative app-usage would be much different.

www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-15253038

I'm sorry but saying that providing such an obvious feature as landscape support is something you 'hope to deliver in the future' (and if the farce of the iplayer saga is anything to go by that means anything from 5 months to not in your lifetime) proves that you do not treat iOS and Android equally.

Yes the site is faster and smoother, buy on my iphone the site has not been updated since I downloaded the improved app, anyone else had the acme problem.

Re: Tony Blair
Just how big is this man's ego? He took away nationalism and pride making us second class citizens. He couldn't clean up his own backyard but messed up Iraq in the meantime. He makes my blood boil.

@Peter (40) To refresh the app you need to pull down on the main content area.