NDTV's iPhone app sucks

I recently got NDTV's iPhone app. I used to be a big time follower of NDTV's news channel and would rarely miss their 9 o' clock news. Over the last year or two I have been less regular. Not because I switched to another channel, but because I rarely watch TV at all.

So, when I got to know about the iPhone app, I thought I should get it. I downloaded it to my iPhone.

One look at the screenshot below will tell you how badly it is designed.

The main aspect about the app is news. If you look at the news items on the main screen, you cannot figure out even one of them. "CWG corruption allegations..."? Huh? Or "26/11 case: Warrants again...". Scrolling down reveals that not even one of the news headlines are complete and you have to tap on the item to be able to see what it is. I thought maybe if I flipped the phone to the landscape orientation, I would be able to see the whole headline. No. It does not support the horizontal orientation.

This is a perfect example of how an app serves no purpose. If I am unable to read the news item headline, what can I do with this app? I obviously do not want to click on each item to see what it is about.

This is the problem when software is not tested by real users. Heck, a simple Hallway Usability Test would have brought this problem out. The development team probably had elaborate test cases that tested all kinds of implausible scenarios. But they forgot to test if the app served its purpose.