bdnews24.com rolls out new version of app on Android, iOS

Ending the wait of readers, bdnews24.com has rolled out a new version of its popular app.

The developer says the Version 3.0 of the news outlet's official app will give the users ‘new experience’.

Muthu Nedumaran, the app developer, said a lot has changed in iOS and Android since he wrote the app for bdnews24.com four years ago.

“We have completely rewritten this app to take advantage of the new features in both the platforms and to make this app easier for users to navigate. It's a brand new app with your favourite content,” he said.

Nedumaran said the new version of the app is now available on Google Play Store as well as Apple’s App Store.

“This is our Ramadan gift for our readers and tens of thousands of already-registered app users on both iPhone and Android devices,” he said.

So, what’s in the new version of the app of Bangladesh’s first bilingual internet newspaper?  

It has options to receive news alerts in either English or Bangla or both languages, according to Nedumaran.

The latest version features enhanced search option to look for stories in both languages.

Its social sharing options have also been updated to make it easier for the users to share stories on the social media.

Nedumaran said the redesigned user experience respects the device, like on Android it will look like an Android app with material design while on iOS it will conform to Apple’s design guidelines.

Auto-text size option to match the preferred text size set is also available on iOS.

“This is so that the users will feel comfortable to navigate through the app, just as they do with other apps,” he said.

Users do not have to go back and forth to look for their favourite categories as they can access these from the main page.

A bdnews24.com spokesperson said their app is completely free like before with the support of advertisements. However, users can opt out of the ads with a small annual subscription paid through Google Play or Apple App Store.

“A large portion of our readers access our stories through mobile phones. And I believe the new version of our app will keep them hooked to bdnews24.com for more time,” the spokesperson said.

Malaysia-based Selliyal Sdn Bhd made a Beta version of the app for bdnews24.com in 2014. The full version was opened to all in light of users’ experience and feedback on the Beta version.

More than 50,000 users have installed the app from Google Play Store. They downloaded it more than 31,000 times from Apple’s App Store.

Users require minimum Android 4.0 or iOS 10 on their devices to use the new version of the app.

It can also be downloaded from http://bdnews24.mnewsapps.com