Android users, your app is here

If you have an Android phone, I hope you will take a moment to download CharlotteObserver.com’s new application (app), designed to give you full advantage of your phone’s features.

The app is free. I have it on my phone and can say from personal experience that it dramatically improves your ability to navigate the site.

You move easily from top breaking news to sports, entertainment, business news, opinion and even movie show times.

Photos look great, too. They have their own place in the navigation bar, making it easy to go straight to slide shows. (To activate a slide show, touch the photo. Then use your finger to slide from frame to frame). I just went through more than 30 photos of the Panthers’ Steve Smith and Cam Newton tossing footballs and horsing around with kids at Smith’s football camp.

To get the app, go the Market on your Android phone and search for Charlotte Observer. Check that the app says McClatchy Newspapers to make sure you are downloading the correct app. View the details.

The phone can also be a great way to keep up with news throughout the day, regardless of where you are. In fact, it’s how I learned Saturday about that nasty line of thunderstorms about to sweep through the region.

A growing number of you also are keeping tabs on CharlotteObserver.com by phone. Compared to January, traffic to the site through phones through the first half of June is up almost 50 percent, with over 700,000 page views.

For those of you with an iPhone or iPod Touch, we also have a free iPhone news app. Just go to the iPhone market and search for Charlotte Observer.
And if you use a Blackberry or other Web-enabled phone, you can view our news updates by directing your smart phone browser to CharlotteObserver.com.