Battle of the Edits...

Today it's the battle of the Weekly Edits!

I'll be looking at two popular weekly edits that are designed for iPhone and pitting them against each other in the following categories:

• Usability

• Overall Design

• Functionality

• Regular Features/Stories

• Density of Product/Selling

I'll be looking at Asos and Company's weekly edits for iPhone. Two brands that have a similar customer pitch and that put out mini magazines every week featuring cherry picked stories from the big monthly publication.

So, First things first,

Usability

Can it be understood by first time users, and is it easy to navigate around?

Asos: Fairly easy to find your way around the app if you're already used to how apps work. Could do with a quick how to page for new users but generally easy after the initial read through. 3/5

Company: Same goes for Company. Simple up and down - side to side movements with each article only having five drops maximum. Even new users should be able to get around this no problem. 4/5

Overall Design

Asos: Generally I like how Asos have translated their stories for iPhone. It's simple and doesn't vary too much from issue to issue, which anchors the users' confidence in the app. Asos employ a set number of grids that remain in place every issue then introduce several break out spreads to keep it interesting. 4/5

Company: Unfortunately, Company is a hot mess. Pixelation left right and centre, ugly graphics that don't really fit with the brand, and clunky design elements that look like they've hopped straight out of Microsoft paint. Could be passed off as bad in an ironic way, but mostly it's just bad. 0/5

Functionality

Asos: The functionality in this app is super easy and self explanatory. Price points and buttons are nice and clear and anywhere that isn't obvious has a few words to guide us. Parfait. 5/5

Company: I'll try not to get too hung up on how ugly this app is. Once you get past the buttons that you can hardly see, the functionality is really quite good. We get a how to page up front and throughout the app functions are obvious and minimal. Little to no deviation from issue to issue so users get totally used to it. 4/5

Interesting Regular Features/Stories

Asos: A Fair amount of regular stories - enough to give the impression that this is a magazine that is edited properly rather than a scrabble around to find stories every week. Stories that let users know what they're getting every week while mixing in a percentage of new/current content. Overall, well pulled together. 4/5

Company: Slightly more rigid than Asos, almost all stories are the same from issue to issue apart from the specials. To their credit, the content doesn't feel old. There's a lot to be said for consistency. 4/5

Density of Product/Selling Power

Asos: Fashion UP is very product Focused. Almost every story is centred around product with only maybe one or two that is general interest. They've managed to be quite clever about it though and not shout the message at you. I never feel under any pressure to buy. 5/5

Company: Not quite as product focused as Asos. They tend to throw more padding in there. Not sure how I feel about this. For a weekly edit, I want to feel like I'm getting the pick of the weeks' new drops. If I want to read more general stories, I buy the monthly mag. For me, the weekly edit doesn't quite know what it wants to be yet. 3/5

Asos = 21/25            Company = 15/25

So, the winner, by 6 points is ASOS! For a weekly edit of product, Fashion UP is top of the shop for me. I like the injection of new product every week, the ease of use and the simple design.

Not that Company is all bad, it has it's good points, but needs to develop some more before it can compete.

In print, I really love Company's look, but they've struggled to successfully translate it to iPhone. Their printed graphics aren't made for such a small digital space and need to be trimmed down to fit the media.

What's your favourite Newsstand App?

Svea xo