Amongst the things I’ve anxiously been waiting to appear in the Windows Store are apps for reading the Wall Street Journal and The New York Times. Little did I realize that these were already there, though hiding in an unexpected place. Ever since the Windows 8 Developer Preview I’ve been using the Bing-based News app as a primary way of reading the news on my Windows 8 systems. It’s a great app really, from just stunning visuals to its broad range of sources to the ability to follow specific topics of interest. But imagine my surprise when I discovered that it also has built-in (and apparently officially sanctioned) readers for both the WSJ and NYT!
Swipe down from the top and you’ll see a list (currently 4) of featured news sources, amongst them WSJ and NYT. Select the WSJ and something that looks like a cross between the typical WSJ app and the Microsoft Design Language (Metro) appears. There is a link where you can sign up or sign in to see subscriber only content. I logged in and there I had it, a WSJ reader. The process is similar for the NYT.
Although the number of apps in the Windows Store is still dismally low this discovery made the two weeks since I ditched my iPad to travel with only a Windows 8 tablet (an old Acre Icons Tab W500) much more pleasant. I’ll report my fully on my overall experience in an upcoming post.
Hal's (Im)Perfect Vision 
I’m using the same “trick” for The Economist. The articles are well-organized and displayed but I miss an offline mode. I have too the Acer Iconia Tab W500, can’t wait to get my Surface Windows RT 🙂
I wonder, why do people want to clutter up their machine and possibly compromise their privacy and security with such “apps”? Why isn’t the web good enough any more? What can these “apps” offer that a web browser can not that merits the extra effort and complexity?
Sorry, but the web in three orders of magnitude more subject to security and privacy problems than apps delivered through a closed application store model.
Apps also offer an order of magnitude better user experience. And they often have offline support.
So the question really is, why would you use the web for any frequent activity when an app is available for that activity?
Nice catch. Thanks!
And just like that, WSJ and NYT apps are now in the Windows Store.
The Wall Street Journal. (http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/app/f33ac02e-65bc-4ec3-b8bc-57f553504637)
The New York Times (http://apps.microsoft.com/webpdp/app/8e15939d-8469-483c-9fb8-94c2e72496f6)
They are just about identical to what is in the Bing News app. And that and the version numbers and I suspect they actually are packaged up versions of Bing News!
Happy to see them in the store
Still can’t download for offline access
Yup. That is a weakness I hope they address soon.
I use the official app of the NYT which supports offline access. I’m a subscriber but you get full access until January 31th with the Windows 8 app.
You are right, the NYT app does cache articles so they work offline. That isn’t true for the WSJ or the News app.
Any progress on caching and the WSJ app?