Articles is the offspring of developer Sophiestication Software. Like many of the apps before it, Articles serves as a portal to the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia. However, unlike many of its kin, Articles is arguably the first to present the digital Library of Alexandria in a size and format appropriate to the iPhone ‘s screen.
Etymology
The simple title ‘Articles ‘ belies much of the app ‘s true genius. Scholars have argued that it is merely a humble approach to app naming, derived from the wealth of articles available on Wikipedia. However, there are those who have argued that the app is actually pronounced ‘ar-ti-clees ‘, insinuating that the iPhone app is similar to the Greek demi-god, Heracles. These users argue that Articles has ‘finally made Wikipedia legible on the iPhone ‘ in the same manner that Hercules ‘made the world safe for mankind ‘ (missing source).
Critical Reception
Articles has been very well received on various iPhone review sites, especially on the Canadian-friendly Just Another iPhone Blog. The app also benefited from post-release momentum through the popular social networking service, Twitter.
One of the first features that Articles users notice is the clean surfing interface, which is modeled on the mobile Safari iPhone app. Articles allows users to bookmark specific articles, read in landscape mode, as well as launch links in different tabs. The app also features a History section, furthering the notion that users can simply use the app without having to recall which articles they have recently perused. However, it should be noted, that unlike Safari, the pinch-to-zoom gesture will not zoom into the page as whole, but only serve to enlarge the text.
Article Formatting
Another major feature of the Articles app is the special formatting of all Wikipedia entries, which differs from the default mobile version of the website. The lines and drop-down lists of the mobile version are replaced by a text layout with pictures interspersed between the sections. The first picture of an article is often different from the others: serving to conceal the side bar data from view until prompted by a tap from the user.
Invisible Features
Articles has been heralded as one of a new generation of iPhone apps, which prefer to hide certain features in gestures, as opposed to mapping them to on-screen buttons. These gesture-based features tend to free up ‘screen real estate ‘ (for Real Estate in relation to physical property, see Real Estate), but can often be difficult for new users to learn on their own.
The first of such features in Articles is the Chapter Index. Wikipedia articles (like this one) are organized into sections or chapters, and a glossary of these chapters can often be found at the top of the page in the mobile and desktop versions of the site. This this not the case in Articles. Instead, users are prompted to double tap and hold a finger against the screen and then ‘scrub ‘ or swipe vertically to navigate through the various chapters on a page. Many researchers agree that this is, by far, one of the fastest methods of navigating an article, given that the user possesses prior knowledge of an article ‘s contents. Aside from this gesture index, there is no other way to sort through the various sections of an article at this time.
One other such transparent, nearly invisible feature is the screen rotation lock. Many iPhone app users have complained about a lack of control over the device ‘s accelerometer, and some have described the experience as ‘trying to read while spinning inside a frickin ‘ washing machine ‘. The Articles app attempts to address this issue with its ‘pull to lock ‘ mechanism (similar to Tweetie 2 ‘s ‘pull to refresh ‘). This implementation has been a resounding success, overall, and However, some scholars have criticized the placement of this feature, citing the need for something more immediately accessible while in the midst of an article.
Accolades
While Articles is not the only Wikipedia app available for the iPhone on the App Store, it has easily become one of the most celebrated in its niche category. Thomas Wong, a writer and editor for Just Another iPhone Blog, described it as:
Good. I-can ‘t-believe-it ‘s-not-butter good. Sure, I miss a visual list of the various sections in an article, and the rotation lock can be a little irritating to get back to once you ‘re halfway through a gigantic entry about Hercules, but it ‘s really the best Wikipedia app I ‘ve had the pleasure of using, and I ‘ve been looking a lot more items up just because I can. I know this will be a definite keeper, and it may well earn itself a place on The First Home Screen. (more eloquent sources needed)
Sources:
iTunes ” Articles ” $2.99
Just Another iPhone Blog
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Articles was provided by Sophiestication Software for review on Just Another iPhone Blog. For further information regarding our site’s review policies, please see the “About” page.
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TAGS: iphone app review, JAiB, wikipedia
