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CNN strengthens mobile experience with new iPhone 5 app

CNN is taking advantage of the iPhone 5?s new four-inch screen and higher resolution by rolling out a new mobile application that aims to heighten the user experience.

Philip Schiller, vice president of marketing at Apple, first demoed the app last week during the company?s latest press event. The app will be available when Apple?s iPhone 5 hits the market on Sept. 21.

?The new iPhone has really inspired us,? said Marisa Gallagher, vice president and executive creative director for CNN Digital. ?Look at the bigger screen size, it?s only an inch, but it makes a big difference.

?The thing for us the it allows more space on the screen and allows more stories,? she said.

New features
Currently, CNN?s iPhone application does not feature a landscape mode.

However, the iPhone 5 version will.

?That landscape view feels more visual and closer to the content,? Ms. Gallagher said. ?We will also increase the live TV feeds and you?ll be able to get HD quality videos straight on the device."

The bigger screen size will not only work in CNN?s favor, but other publishers as well.

Through the new app, CNN believes the user experience will be better and more interactive.

Past efforts
CNN has been increasingly upping its mobile game.

Last year, the company launched a free, ad-supported application for Google?s Android Honeycomb tablet platform to further extend its digital reach.

The CNN application launched in conjunction with the commercial availability of the Android 3.0

Honeycomb operating system on the Motorola Xoom tablet. Automaker Toyota's luxury brand Lexus signed on as the launch sponsor of the tablet app (see story).

Most recently, CNN rolled out a Kindle Fire mobile application as part of the company?s continuous effort to make sure its content is available on as many platforms as possible.

The app is available for free download. Additionally, Lexus is sponsoring the Kindle Fire app (see story).

?Mobile is a key component of where we?re going ? there?s so much growth,? Ms. Gallagher said
?Mobile is pushing us to do things on a desktop or on other screen sizes,? she said.

Final Take
Rimma Kats is associate editor on Mobile Marketer, New York