Hartford Courant App Reviews

After reading the article on the polar vortex, I thought the app would provide weather map and an animation of how this developed. Instead it was just the same article in the paper.

Sometimes your articles are informative, but why anyone thinks that consumers would “pay” for content is insane. Content is essentially free now; do you own a digital phone? Wake up.

Go UCONN LADIES 🏀❤️

I previously read this paper and paid for it for years. Now I live out of state and like to try and follow the happenings in CT. However, you have taken that away from me...

The app generally runs very slow. The app also crashes when I click on a story or the story won’t load. Also, I am a paid subscriber and ads pop up every time I open the app. I often have to close the app because a story won’t load or the app freezes. Sometimes when I click on one story, it opens another story. Generally the app is pretty useless.

The new digital format is awful. Hard to read and follow. Change it back

The last version of this app was great. This version is crammed with advertising and old articles with focus on "entertaining" news and not the journalistic excellence the Courant normally demonstrates. I am a paying newspaper subscriber, there should be access to all articles without the EPaper.

Why is all this old news right up front each day? I want what’s in theCourant for that day not stuff from January or even December that’s no longer ever relevant! I’m reading both the paper version and the digital version, side-by-side each day, to see whether I want to switch from paper to digital. So far the digital doesn’t measure up. Why? Phyllis Satter

App constantly crashes , stories rarely load and when they do it’s after long wait time . I continue to remove app for months at a time then re install hoping that the issues are corrected but to no avail . I’m done at this point .

It’s all they care about it. I have complained numerous times about ads with volume on that auto load while scrolling. Each time their response has been the advertiser did it. It’s against their policy to have ads like that. Now ads auto load right away. Wonder whose fault that is. NBC app is free with none of these hassles

Content aside, I take exception with any app that automatically redirects me to the App Store.

This is a far better than the previous app. But, where's the search function? And I think it would be great if you could integrate CTNOW into this app as well. That being said—it looks sharp, it feels great (like it was made for the iPad) and I really like the follow feature. And do we finally have the whole Courant?

It's always behind on the news and now it opens the App Store immediately for you to download a game that's advertised on the Courant. That's just going to drive away users

Why the fu*k does this constantly open the App Store? Total bull

Keeps sending me to the app store every time I open an article. Extremely annoying.

Love this new app! My favorites are the choosing specific towns, the photo gallery and the ability to save stories into your favorites!

The Blueberry ad and the "update to nowhere" are Just annoying. Does anyone at the Courant ever us their own APP? Maybe they all have Blueberries? Could the weak operation of the APP reflect the quality of the writing?

Facebook sharing doesn't work, the Blackberry ad is annoying but understandable, no comments on stories are visible. There's no reason to use this, just go to the website in your phone's browser and avoid all the issues. Will reconsider this rating when/if these issues are addressed.

Would be a good app if they actually updated the stories every day and didn't leave the same ones up for three months.

Every time I open the app, it says I need to update it, but there are never any updates to download. Also, lots of errors codes pop up now. Used to be a decent app, but subsequent updates have made it buggier and it's annoying to wait for the Blackberry ad to load every time.

Please update this app instead of prompting me to update it when there is no update! Also I can't share articles on Facebook.

In the "Town headlines section" the app will crash when selecting a different town.

This app was never very good, much like the newspaper, but since it is one of the few sources of local news I've kept it. Now that it opens the App Store at random, likely for advertising dollars, I'm going to delete it very soon if it doesn't stop. Don't bother with this app until they at least stop the pop ups.

It looks nice. But the point of a newspaper is to actually read some news and that's where the Courant app fails, or rather, crashes. Most days, I can get through the opening paragraph before getting dumped. Then I restart the app, reread the first paragraph, and get dumped again. Here, I've skipped a space, just to remind myself of what an actual second paragraph looks like. There are lots of good newspaper Apps out there. The Courant team ought to take a look at some of them. In the meantime, I have to read that first paragraph of the Uconn basketball article again.

Blackberry ad is annoying and the app always says there is an update, yet there isn't. This has been going on fit months and many complaints have been made, yet nothing is done to fix it. Downloaded Chanel 30, 3 and 8 apps, they work better and have all the news.

This app is okay. Fairly good design, easy to navigate. And yes, as someone wrote it does hang for a second when flicking thru the pages. Not that distracting for me. Hopefully upgrades and improvements will come over time. As for paying for this content, that's when I will delete it! Too many free news sources out there to pay for something like this.

Same complaints as everyone. Please update.

Every time I use the app, it inadvertently opens the App Store. All they do when there is an update is include more adds.

They got worse!! Changed to 5 stories free for a month. Same news everywhere else for free and they want to charge for horribly written stories and biased commentary and writings. Pitiful! Deleted! I do not normally write reviews however this I felt warranted. The stories are generally quick but informative but subscription based? The Courant's content is minimal! Laced with both grammatical and spelling errors. When I click a story I expect content not a short sentence or 2 to follow up the lead in then nothing! The NY Times I would pay- The stories are thought provoking and well written and worthy of my money.

An awful news app. Today, I looked at a weather article about the next week (end of May) and the video attached is about a heavy rainstorm from mid-March. This is not the first time I've encountered a wrong video, or wrong images attached to a story.

This is by far the worst app on my iPhone. Constant glitches and inconsistent reliability, if any. Very frustrating to use, waste of time.

I really like this app for reading the current stories when I don't have my laptop or the actual newspaper. It works very well for that.

Recent changes only allow for 10 articles to be read per month without a subscription fee (previous only required subscription for "premium" articles). There really is no point in keeping the app at this point as there are plenty of other sources for local news that are free. It's been a shame to watch the quality of the paper decline and new revenue schemes that undercut the market behavior of free news content (i.e. CNN). You would think they be making enough money with the intrusive ads all over the screen...

No problems but not a high intensity user.

I dont understand the bad reviews of the Courant - Im a regular reader and subscriber and enjoy the coverage of both national and local news - the app layout isn't quite as intuitive as some other news apps but far from the worst and it lets me stay updated with all the topics I follow. Push notifications lag behind Times and Post for instance on national news, but can't get any better source for state and local. If you live in CT this is definitely the way to go (as long as you have a subscription). Stay informed and think critically as with all news sources!

I receive both the paper and digital editions of the Courant. I find it difficult to read today's stories on the digital editions and separate them from previous days. There should be a filter to select the stories from a particular day. I would also like the app for the iPad to include a feature on which appears on the website showing a digitized version of the day's paper using the same layout. This way when a friend recommends that you read a story on the first page of the local section you can find it easily. Finally, a newspaper is not a newspaper without comics (sorry NYT and WSJ). Why can't I read comics in the digital edition?

I agree This is the worst news app ever. Can't even scroll the main page without at least 3-5 ads the ones that open a new browser and then the apps store... Coverage sketchy at best More opinions then facts.

Every day I buy the paper for local real estate, crossword and various other reasons. Enjoyed the app for breaking news and things I missed.. Won't be doing either now because of this greedy move..

The app keeps freezing when I pick a story to read

Overpriced for content provided

Navigation through tabs at top of screen very difficult because tabs too small. Height of tabs too small so often hit menu icon above tab on right when trying to scroll through and access additional tabs to right. No logical arrangement of obituaries. Can't see difference between breaking news and top stories. NY Times app much easier to use, more categories of news.

Up until this morning I was able to use the old app which was a replica of the actual paper. Unfortunately that no longer works. I find this app to be relatively worthless. Yes it has many of the articles, but I prefer to "read" the entire paper. Now the only way to do it is to read the paper using a browser. I find that method to be slower, it lacks the features of the old app and is an inferior product. This is PROGRESS????

The app generally runs very slow. The app also crashes when I click on a story or the story won’t load.

Only real newspaper in CT. WITH A VIEW OF THE WORLD. LIKE THE JOURNALISTS,PARTICULARLY JACOBS IN THE SPORT SECTION.

Rely on it regularly. Get all the news quickly. Easy to scroll through. Thanks, Courant.

Revising my previous review: I have learned to accept the ads, everyone needs a source of income. My last eat suggestions are just some tweaks for a smoother User Interface: 1. there is no function to close videos once they are viewed, forcing me to close the app and open it again; 2. If the app is suspended, the previous article will not load again, forcing me to close the app and open it again; and 3. I cannot always find the latest articles when searching for their specific titles. If you have a dedicated app development team, these would be great bug fixes to implement if you have no plans to redesign the app.

It was tolerable when it was free but nothing you would pay for. It's a left wing rumor rag. Even without that idiot Bob Englehart it's still politically out where the buses don't run.

Very Inconsistent and Extremely Horrible Customer Service Technicians in Foreign Country

Used to be good, but now charges for featured articles. It would be cheaper to subscribe to newspaper.

The ads have become much more invasive recently, even when I am already paying to access the articles. I could live with the ads injected between and in the stories, but the auto-playing video ads, which are very startling, especially when you are trying to read in a quiet place, and the full screen ads that I have to sit through when I first open the app, are really obnoxious. Please choose a business model and stop alienating your paying customers.

If you want to see the actual newspaper, you still have to go through your browser! This app is a waste of space!

It provides an alternate way for me to view my digital subscription. Simple and efficient interface.

This app is full of glitches not the least of which is the inability to distinguish a subscriber from non-subscriber even within minutes from login. HC's customer service seems equally clueless is all they can say is the app doesn't work well with Apple products. they are polite but incapable of solving the problem. So for the digital subscriber forced into an app that doesn't work halfway through the subscription with no option for refund, HC's attitude is tough luck. I definitely will not be renewing this subscription.

This is quite possibly the worst newspaper and app in the history of print and a textbook example of the demise of the 4th Estate. Coverage is pretty much UConn sports and just enough non-news about CT to call themselves a newspaper. Seriously, they should simply go out of business out of respect for their ancestors. The app is an aggregation of click bait and little more. What a waste of electrons. No wonder their competent staff left and started their own e-paper.

I have or supposedly have 7 day digital access but the paper isn't at all the same as the print version. At times I get a message that I have read one out of five allowed (free access) articles yet my bill says I have unlimited access tithe digital Courant. It's not always easy to navigate, I find myself unable to read the entire article when I can't find where the continued part is. Maybe a good would help but it isn't the same as reading from the paper.

I’m a paid digital subscriber. This app won’t open half the stories. It just hangs at a blank white screen. Hopefully you don’t spend time wondering why most newspapers are dying/dead already.

They just started charging a subscription for content instead of ad supported. I love the local content but can not support the subscription. Will use other local news station ad supported apps for local content and am deleting this app. Sad day for the Hartford Courant and me.

Tried to re-download from the cloud and it's stuck in "installing" mode and there is no way out... M

Would be nice to access but the app is so unstable and freezes up or crashes most of the time. Very frustrating and gave up. This is the only app out of 100's that I ever had such serious issues. Papers going digital is popular but the Hartford courant folks clearly don't care or is not a priority as clearly in this app.

Nothing is more frustrating than trying to read the news in a quiet waiting room or at night and all of a sudden, an ad starts playing with very loud audio. I understand advertisements are needed to help pay for the news, but playing an ad without me tapping on it is ridiculous. I have made many complaints, all falling on deaf ears. I finally canceled my subscription.

The app refreshes constantly, and so quickly that there isn't time to scroll to a story and open it before it jumps back to the top. This is maddening, and usually leads me to just close it. The only way to find the story you want is to open one at random and swipe until you find it. I gave two stars because I dislike seeing apps with half five stars and half one star, but this latest update really doesn't deserve two.

Crashes

So much for checking the Courant in quiet locations such as the office or while getting the kids to sleep. Terrible addition to what was an otherwise decent app.

They want to charge you for a subscription, but all they post is free on line not worth it and they are late in their news

It's important that we support our local papers which are crucial for keeping us informed about our community and holding politicians accountable.

Useless...long story, already tried to post my long tirade on this app as a review...does not show here...what a waste of time.

Some reviewers think news should be free. They are idiots. This app and The Courant are d***** good.

Only ten stories free a month - and now all current stories are unreadable without a subscription. Can't read anything worthwhile / of interest. Shame on Hartford Courant!

I really do enjoy reading the Hartford Courant but this app needs some work. It's really just not clean or nice looking. Since they are clearly looking to the New York Times for inspiration on pricing they should also look to it for inspiration on the way their app should look and function as well.

Overall nice job. When going from article to article however, sometimes the wrong picture loads for a story.

College football team

I am constantly locked out of my email breaking news I am an e subscriber but it is disappointing to be told that I have to subscribe in order to read article

This app seems to crash a lot under ios11. It either locks up in an article and not scroll, or it freezes then shuts itself down. Nice to be able to read the Courant out of state, but this app has stability issues.

Great app for my favorite newspaper but please get rid of the hamburger menu.

Crash city man...

I have used this app for a long time but with the latest update, articles won’t load. Just get the never ending spinning wheel. Completely unexceptionable since it’s a paid subscription!

I really don't need another local news app pushing traffic updates! Please stick to the news!! Traffic isn't news. If people need traffic updates there are plenty of non-news apps for this. Another option is to allow users to opt-in to types of notifications ie sports, politics, traffic.