TIME Magazine has always included the best news, comment and photos between it’s covers, and I’ve been impressed with TIME’s online offering and the move towards ‘verticals’ that splits subject areas into separate blogs and invites wide ranging comment and opinion.

 

Can such success be replicated on a mobile platform?  The answer, now that TIME Mobile has launched in the Marketplace for your Nokia Lumia, is largely yes.   

 

The TIME Mobile app seems to make better use of layout on Windows Phone than on other platforms. Stories look easier to find, and are nicely laid out, with smooth transitions. The app also makes use of the Live Tile for the latest image.   

 

But what about the content?  

 

There’s all the news you’d expect, plus a lot of comment and opinion that benefits hugely from TIME’s website. Content has a distinctly American orientation, as you might expect.

 

Two articles, one a blogger’s insight into China’s problems with executive compensation, and another story about why there hasn’t been an ‘Arab spring’ in Algeria, were just about perfect length and packed with new information. Another story about Kim Kardashian’s product endorsements (green melon liqueur, and $25 lollipops) told me things I possibly didn’t need to know, but enjoyed reading about anyway.      

 

Of course one of the main attractions of TIME is its unparalleled photo collection. Historic galleries on D-Day in colour, Marilyn Monroe, and 1950s China were fantastic – current offerings on Michelle Obama maybe a bit less so.  On the whole TIME could think about loading times, and even better presentation of what has to be one of its major assets.  Similarly, video and podcasts could do with a step up to reach the same standard.

 

Overall TIME Mobile is the kind of app that may make you seriously question whether you need to go anywhere else for news and opinion.