Network18 brings IBN Live to the Windows Phone
When Microsoft announced the Windows Phone 7 in India I was disappointed. No local apps, lack of preview units for reviewers and little promotion. It seems that slowly all that is changing. Nokia's partnership with Microsoft has taken Metro to small towns in India. While the Lumia handsets aren't available at all stores, the store styling, even of those owned by resellers, are covered with Nokia's Metro wallpapers. Free Xbox 360s on Lumia's launch in India got a lot of attention. As marketing picks up pace in India, local apps are now making their way onto the platform.
Popular and widely followed news channel CNN-IBN now has an official app for Windows Phone 7. The app published by Network18 (holding company for CNN-IBN) is free and makes good use of the Metro styling but lacks in styling. It isn't exactly a beautiful app. The color combinations and even the logo on top don't look attractive. That said, the app has pretty nifty native integration for sharing articles on social networks and can launch the video player. Probably my favorite feature is the ability to bookmark stories. While the app says "Save Stories" you aren't saving them since there is no offline access. The app doesn't work in the absence of a data connection.