Lifehacker Asks How You Get News, Tell 'em PimpMyNews

I was just listening to Lifehacker with the PimpMyNews iPhone app, while relaxing on the couch, and I came across this interesting post by Jason Fitzpatrick. [audio version]

If you're not familiar with Lifehacker, it's a great resource on all things productivity. I listen to it several times a week in the car, or at the gym, and I frequently pop on over to read the comments section.

In the post, Jason asks, "How Do You Get Your News?" He then goes on to say, "if your great grandparents wanted to stay current on news, they had to make a conscious effort to be places where people were talking about it. Now you can have it streamed, beamed, and delivered."

As you know, the news industry, which was dominated by traditional sources for nearly 200 years, is undergoing a massive change. We, as consumers, are now in control, and we expect the news and blogs we care about to automatically come to us, no matter where we happen to be.

We also expect it to be available in multiple formats, so we can choose the format that fits best with the situation we're in, whether we're driving, riding, working out, or lying on the couch.

Be sure to head on over the Lifehacker and answer Jason's question, "How Do You Get Your News?

Hopefully, Jason will be compiling the data and sharing the findings in a future post.

Have a great, productive week!

John Atkinson

Co-founder & CEO

[Image via Digital Inspiration]

Macworld Review of PimpMyNews iPhone App

Macworld's Ben Boychuk recently reviewed our new iPhone & iPod touch application.

PimpMyNews received a respectable 3.5 stars out of 5. Considering Macworld's reputation as a tough critic, and the fact that The New York Times and ABC News came in at 3 stars, we couldn't be happier.

From the level of detail in Ben's review, it's obvious that he spent a few hours using PimpMyNews, customizing his playlist, listening to various news and blog posts, and composing a well thought out review.

If you keep up with this blog, you know we're diehard user feedback proponents, so any time some one takes the time to do a "deep dive" on our service, we're all ears.

In the review, after Ben finished ribbing us about the "ear-catching" name, he turned toward the unique utility of the app. Ben summarizes the app by saying, "Very simply, the app lets you create 'playlists' of blog items, or news stories, from more than 1,200 sources, and reads them aloud, and on the fly, in a voice that’s almost lifelike."

He then goes on to the core value proposition, stating that, "For people on the move, in their cars, at the gym or multitasking at work, PimpMyNews offers an innovative way to 'read' your favorite Web sites by listening." Ben also cited the daily podcast feature, which plays continuous stories from your playlist for hands-free listening, as his favorite feature.

On the "suggested enhancements" side, Ben suggested that we add the following features, most of which are already in the works:

- A "select your voice" feature
- The ability to add more than 10 feeds to your playlist
- More "continuous play" features, in addition to the existing podcast feature
- The ability for users to manage their feeds on their mobile devices

Thank you Mr. Boychuk. We appreciate your feedback - and we're acting on it.

Be sure to check out the full PimpMyNews iPhone app review on Macworld, and download the app on The App Store. Stay tuned, more time saving enhancements are on the way.

Please keep the feedback coming to Suggestions@PimpMyNews.com

John Atkinson
Co-founder & CEO