[See Update below]
I missed this when initially announced, but the ABA has developed an iPad app for it’s magazine, ABA Journal. The app appears to combine the ABAs magazine content and web/breaking news content into one app:
The app features breaking legal news updated continuously every business day, all of the monthly magazine’s in-depth articles, and the latest blawgs featured in the Journal’s directory of more than 2,500 legal blogs.
Unfortunatly, I was unable to use the app. Upon launching the app, I was immediately kicked out of the app into Safari to enjoy an advertisement. Same result on next launch. Couldn’t even get to the app content. Looks like some of the ad popup code from the website was ported a little to directly into the app. I’m disappointed to see this because (i) I think the iPad is a natural and brilliant medium for magazines and related content and (ii) TabletLegal is one of the 2,500 blawgs whose content can run through the app.
Hopefully these bugs will be worked out in the next version of the app. Anyone successful in getting past the ad popups?
[Update: April 26, 2010 @ 4:30 pm]: I was contacted by the ABA about the popup issue described above. Sounds like it was some problem on the server side that feeds the content for the app that the ABA has since resolved. I’ve confirmed that the ad popups are no longer a problem. Good on them for quickly addressing the problem. I’ll try to give the app a more thorough review sometime soon.
