CNL 1.4 App update released for Android

After over a year without updates, I finally had some time today to fix a few bugs with Catholic News Live's Android app, CNL. This new version (1.4) is a free update, and includes:

  • A bug fix for newer Android devices (some devices were showing a warning saying the news feed couldn't be loaded).
  • A slightly faster news retrieval/update method to match what's used on iOS.
  • Removal of the empty (and buggy) 'Map' view.

Regarding the last point, you may have noticed that the 'World Map' is missing from the website (catholicnewslive.com)—that's because the data provider Catholic News Live used to use is no longer available, and it would be exorbitantly expensive to maintain a replacement service to extract Geolocation/Mapping coordinates from news stories like we used to (sadly, the App revenue is not even enough to pay for the servers that host CNL currently, much less my time maintaining the mobile apps).

For now, I still maintain the feeds and ensure that the lights are on, but barring another bug release or two for the mobile apps, Catholic News Live will likely remain about like it is now for the next year or two.

Thanks for supporting CNL and using the website and/or app!