The Guardian has introduced updates to its Android mobile application to create a better user experience for its readers.

The British newspaper decided to make a few changes to its Android app, including a new look for advertisements, the ability to save articles for later and improved swiping features to flip through articles. The updated app is available for free in Google Play.

?Updates to apps are an important part of the process of continuous improvement in the app's usefulness, features and functionality,? said Simon Buckingham, CEO of Appitalism. ?It is generally a lot easier to continuously add updates to an existing app than start with publishing a new app, so it makes sense to evolve the app on a regular basis.?

Mr. Buckingham is not affiliated with The Guardian. He commented based on his expertise on the subject.

The Guardian did not respond to press inquiries.

Relocating ads
The new app update switches up where ads appear in the reading experience.

Previously, advertisements were located at the bottom of the screen, but users found themselves accidentally tapping on the ads when trying to access the Android?s system bar, per The Guardian.

Now, advertisements are located in-stream and disappear once users begin reading and scrolling. This alleviates the mis-tapping problem and creates more space for content.

Publishers nowadays are constantly looking for new revenue models, and the new app lets The Guardian offer new forms of native-like advertising for clients.

Save for later
Another new feature on the Guardian app allows users to save articles indefinitely.

This feature is also in response to user feedback. Users were frequently emailing themselves links to articles or trying to remember headlines to Google them later on.

With this new save feature, users will be able to easily mark an article to read later for quick access in the future.

Users can tap on the bookmark icon in the action bar or choose ?Save page? in the menu. The content will then be saved on the phone for as long as the user desires.

The content will also be accessible offline from a section at the bottom of the homescreen of the app.

Additionally, The Guardian hopes to add another update to this feature that would sync saved articles with a user?s account, allowing users to access saved articles on any device.

Swipe on
The third update to the Guardian?s app is the ability to swipe across the screen to load a new article.

At the bottom of an article, a user can swipe up to read the next article in the section. At the top of an article, a user can swipe down to read the previous article in the section.

At any point in the article, a user can swipe up or down with two fingers to access subsequent articles.
Additionally, a user can swipe right for related content and left for comments.

This is meant to ensure that users will be able to seamlessly continue engaging with the app when they finish a particular article, per The Guardian.

The Guardian seems to be trying to get users to spend more time with its app and access more articles. The easier it is to flip between articles, the more likely readers are to stay on the app for a longer period of time.

Mobile Reading
The new updates to the Guardian?s app follow a long history of mobile engagement for the publisher.

For example, the publisher?s mobile traffic reached an all-time high this past February after the company?s 2012 launch of a responsive site. The Guardian?s mobile site monthly unique visitors grew 45 percent year-over-year (see story).

The company also released an iPad app in 2011 to expand its mobile strategy (see story).

?Being able to save articles for later and swipe to move through news articles are not unique, but can certainly add to The Guardian's app's usability,? Mr. Buckingham said. 

?In the future, apps will continue to incrementally improve their usability with new features and functionality, often learning from their peers' and competitors' apps and general app best practices,? he said.

Final Take
Rebecca Borison is editorial assistant on Mobile Marketer, New York