The new version of WordPress for iPhone just arrived in the App Store (iTunes link). While the first version was already quite usable, this update brings a number of new features and usability enhancements to the WordPress experience on the iPhone. The new interface makes it easier to switch between comments, posts and pages. The comments interface now also displays Gravatars. Throughout the app, the WordPress team has tweaked the interface and it’s now easier to manage your blog from the iPhone.
Features
The new version also now automatically saves posts and restores them if the network connection is lost during the publishing process.
Just like the first version, WordPress for iPhone 2 is an open-source program.
It’s important to note that this new version will not appear as an update to the old version. Instead, users will have to install a new app, which can run side-by-side with the older version.
The new version, of course, still offers the same basic feature set as the earlier version. These include support for multiple blogs, photo uploads and post previews, as well as full support for tags, categories and password protected posts.
Blogging on the iPhone
There can be little doubt that the iPhone – or any mobile phone for that matter – isn’t the ideal platform for writing long, thoughtful blog posts. Maybe that’s why WordPress for iPhone 2 puts more emphasis on comment moderation than the first version.
For a quick blog post on the road, though, the app is perfectly adequate, especially if you just want to upload a few pictures. It’s not as easy to use as the more specialized PicPosterous, but WordPress for iPhone 2 is a far more flexible application and WordPress has a different user in mind for this app.