ByWillAtkinson.com

Review: The New York Times Reader

I’m giving the New York Times Reader a spin and want to give readers an overview of the user experience. The New York Times Reader is a piece of software that allows readers to read the Times offline with a variety of text-size options and other features. The reader attempts to give readers a richer onscreen experience than the Web site provides.

Here’s how the Times describes the reader:

Times Reader is a new, downloadable software application that lets Windows XP and Vista users read The New York Times electronically, online or offline, in a paginated format as opposed to scrolling down a Web page. Times Reader lets users retrieve all the latest news and photos (a process that takes about a minute) and read the content offline. It also let’s you check to see how much of the paper you have read and easily navigate to articles of interest that you may have missed.

According to the FAQ, the reader is “free during the beta period,” so presumably the Times will charge for access in the future. The beta period is supposed to last until Windows Vista launches, which is slated for January 2007. Unfortunately for Mac users, this program is Windows only. However, the Times has both a Linux and Mac version in development.

#1 - Download
To download the reader, which is still in beta, go to the Times’ Web site. Make sure your computer has at least 384 Mb of RAM, a 1 Ghz processor and Windows XP with the latest updates. The Times’ Web site also requires free reg.

#2 - Install

The downloaded file has a 4.3 Mb memory footprint. Double-click the file, TimesReaderFullSetup.exe, and click continue. Interestingly, the reader requires Microsoft .NET Framework 3.0.

Install screenshots:

From the marketing images, it appears the Times is courting the mobile market: “Take the news anywhere,” “Looks great on every display.”

The install time is lengthy, easily surpassing 15 minutes. I’m running 2.93 Ghz, 496 Mb Ram and Windows XP with Service Pack 2.

#3 - Open

The reader installs a desktop icon (no install option to exclude this). The user interface is similar to the NYTimes.com, but with more white space (no advertising).

The GUI has a progress bar that shows what percentage of the newspaper is downloaded (circled in red):

There’s also an interesting feature that hides the stories that you’ve read. With a few hacks, it wouldn’t be hard to implement this feature on the Web.

The Reader has a full-screen option that’s better than anything a browser can manage. In full-screen, the Reader takes up the entire screen with no navigation bar at the top.

#4 - User experience:
I found the Reader to be more agreeable to read than the Web site version. There is no scrolling as the program uses a button system instead. Also, the font face is higher resolution and easier on the eyes than the Web version.

You can save, print, e-mail and make notes about stories.

There have been other attempts to replicate print newspapers on the Internet (Newsstand, Zinio, etc.) but the Reader is more compelling because it continuously updates and offeres more features.

Screenshot of the settings window:

One of the most compelling features is the search function. Search returns are displayed almost instantly and there are three ways to display the results.

List view:

Relevance view:

Topic explorer:

The topic explorer has a slider that can adjust the complexity of the topic chart.

Overall, this is an interesting product that can streamline your news consumption. If you own a tablet PC, this would be a great way to read the news on the bus or train. It’s an interesting idea and surely a peak at the future of newspapers.

Cons: cumbersome installation process, Windows XP only, stability might be issue for beta users, requires MS Framework 3.0,
Pros: great way to access NY Times via PDA, cool search features, font is extremely readable, more immersive reading experience

Overall: If you’re into reading the Times on the Web, the Reader is a great way to go. It’s nice to have all the news downloaded in an easy-to-read format. The portability is nice, as well as the search features. However, if you’re not a regular Times reader, it’s just too much.