Akron Beacon Journal Now Reviews

Pretty difficult to navigate. I subscribe to multiple electronic additions of publications. This one is in a deep, deep last place, in terms of navigation. confusing at best. For openers there are two apps. They are similar, but different. Sometimes I touch something and it jumps to USA today which I have zero interest in. I cannot figure out how to get back. When I switch to the other app to try and get around it, it tells me I have to sign in again.

True to form. In summary, AkronBeaconJournalNow is terrible. I’m shopping for a new newspaper.

We have used AkronBeaconJournalNow for over two years. If you want ads, no problem loading those. If you want to get the daily news, you will spend at least 5 minutes trying to move from the previous day’s news. Just frustrating to get what you paid for! We do not recommend AkronBeaconJournalNow.

Akron Beacon Journal now features pop-up ads that last 5-10 seconds before you can close them and go back to reading the paper. They print ads in their e-newspaper. They charge me a subscription. Apparently that isn’t enough.

There not-so-subtle anti-Cleveland news bias, except when it comes to the Browns, Cavs, and Guardians is also an irritant. Summit, Portage, Stark, Medina, and Tuscarawas, counties can be mentioned, but Cuyahoga? Never.

I dislike Cleveland’s daily newspaper with its left-wing bias. I was hoping ABJ would be better. To a degree it is but too much of it is irrelevant for me.

So annoying navigation on my iPhone coupled with a high percentage of uninteresting content has me on the verge of cancellation.

If I could give AkronBeaconJournalNow negative stars I would. News flash to the people behind AkronBeaconJournalNow as well as the people who manage the website, breaking news headlines and alerts should be reserved for actual breaking news such as fires, shootings, and murders. What a politician says about another politician does not rise to the level of breaking news and especially does not warrant an alert sent to mobile devices. Please reexamine your policies and ideas of what breaking news actually is.

The e-newspaper functionality within AkronBeaconJournalNow is so bad that it has me considering stopping my subscription to the ABJ. While I enjoy the ABJ content and believe in supporting the local newspaper, the e-newspaper portion of AkronBeaconJournalNow makes it difficult. Pop-up ads with lengthy delays appear at the start of each section and block content for a brief time before they can be cleared. Page advance arrows often skip backwards several pages or dump you out of the e-newspaper completely. Often pages freeze, preventing any scrolling, navigation, or exit. The other functions within AkronBeaconJournalNow seem to work ok, but the e-newspaper viewer is terrible.

When reading the enewspaper and I leave for a short time it never remembers what page I was on. It has no landscape mode so when reading the comics I have to make the comic larger and then sometimes it throws me back to page 1. Trying to expand the newspaper always expands to max and then you have to fight to get it to shrink. I wish I can go back to the old app. Comparing AkronBeaconJournalNow with the Plain Dealer app the PD app is so much better. AkronBeaconJournalNow is very frustrating.

I subscribe to the print version of the Beacon but since it is now only printed 6 days and usually is late or not delivered at least one other day I use AkronBeaconJournalNow for the enewspaper ..so now on at least the first two sections they start with an ad. Wouldn’t be so bad but sometimes they’re slow to load so I have to wait to dismiss the ad to read that page. If you return to that page after moving on there’s the ad again. At least once a day a page will freeze. Can’t scroll down to continue reading, close the page or move to the next page. Also at times I touch an article to read it and suddenly I’m back multiple pages to the last article I read. I need to close that one again and page forward o the article I was trying to read,,
Bring back the old separate app. It worked.

AkronBeaconJournalNow has gotten even worse to. Using it on the iPad looking at the Enewspaper I can’t get to the bottom of the page to read it. I have a subscription and still get pop up ads. Why don’t you go back to AkronBeaconJournalNow you had 6 months ago.

AkronBeaconJournalNow won’t open 75% of the time and I have sent emails to get help and get no replies. I have called and can’t understand what the person who answers the phone.
My subscription expires soon and I intend to delete this horrible app which I paid for!
Why does my app tell me to install another app and that I must subscribe again and pay more money?

Your new app is not user friendly. It takes too long to get to the print page, when you try to scroll down to the bottom of the page it opens an article, when I try to print a crossword puzzle the print is too small. Pop up ads?? I liked the old app much better. I could read newspapers from all over the country, not now. Two thumbs down. I tried 10 nicknames but all were taken. How much time should I spend on that ??
Alan

The “new” ABJ app is very User Unfriendly. Advertisements come through, but usually cover the article I am trying to read. Unable to enlarge the print with two-finger spread, or scroll down easily. Kept the old app on as long as I could, but it “updated” to this one.
I find it very difficult to navigate and today there is a brown box which covers the bottom half of the pages.

The previous app allowed me to pinch size to the size that worked for me. The new app is either original or all the way up. No in between. Also I can’t find anyplace that makes the page full screen.

Hate the new app. Hate it.

Latest version is fatally crippled. I can no longer print the crossword puzzle so I can actually solve it. Your “Help” section says “go to index mode” to print things. I see no Index Mode icon to tap how do you get to it. Is this your way of giving us another “puzzle” to solve?

I want the old version back!

Signs me out automatically, then says I don’t in have a paid account (Ido) and denies access. This happens often. Exasperating!

I much prefer the e newspaper and the previous app is easier to use AkronBeaconJournalNow is clunky, less intuitive, zoom in/out has been removed, full page does not show on the whole screen. Further, you cannot swipe to ‘turn the page’. I really don’t understand this new app, these days pinch and zoom in/out is quite standard on touch screens, but does not work here. The enewspaper is not a an enewspaper anymore but a pseudo app based news site. If your going to offer an enewspaper, it should resemble a real newspaper as much as posible.

I’m paying for a subscription and there are still tons of Ads everywhere. Some are in the middle of articles, then there’s the junk/fake article Ads at the bottom. This is a news app! Don’t allow fake articles from other sites. Don’t make me pay for a subscription then still have Ads everywhere.

AkronBeaconJournalNow is unusable. The old app allowed for fit to page. This one does not. It’s incredibly hard to read. The download entire edition to pdf does not work. There is not one good thing about AkronBeaconJournalNow. If I’m forced to convert to AkronBeaconJournalNow permanently, I’ll cancel my subscription immediately. If I could give this zero stars I would.

I am a subscriber to the print edition and now as of today I no longer get access to AkronBeaconJournalNow version? I might as well cancelthe print version than pay twice

What am I paying for if there are still ads polluting AkronBeaconJournalNow? There are constant ad popups that scroll me back to the top so it’s impossible to browse. I was willing to support journalism by paying for a year subscription, so why am I still being bombarded with ads? Seeking a refund.

After months of calling and emailing, and despite the fact that I RENEWED my subscription AkronBeaconJournalNow still does not allow me access. I hate it. Nothing but pop up advertisements.

All I want is to get the whole paper. Now I’m jumping through hoops and still can’t get it!
Return to the original way to read the paper! Also, the “I’m not a robot” step is ridiculous.

I don’t like the way ads cover page and we have to wait to click them off. Also different how to read, I’m a senior and need large print, I have to maneuver all over again, after learning and using old app.

The news stories are fine. But every time I exit AkronBeaconJournalNow it loses where I’m at in the article or it simply goes back to the main page. The recents function also appears to be broken. Things like this really hurt the experience.

AkronBeaconJournalNow is terrible! The resolution is awful. It won’t let me zoom in and out in small increments. I also have a subscription to the Canton Repository which I have none of these issues. Bring back the older app! I can’t tell the difference between the browser and this current app.

Can we get the share button back?

The updated apps navigation is terrible. The previous version made it easy to single tap a zoom, and read articles when desired. The current version may have this feature but I can’t find it

The new app makes reading the paper on my phone nearly impossible because it won’t rotate into landscape mode. In portrait mode the text is too small and the controls take up too much room. This needs fixed so I can use all the space on my screen for the newspaper. Also Big thumbs down on serving up ads. I pay for my subscription and I don’t want extra ads!
AkronBeaconJournalNow is a big step backwards!

AkronBeaconJournalNow is frequently glitchy, especially early morning. I often can’t read the paper when I open AkronBeaconJournalNow .

AkronBeaconJournalNow works good for reading the local newspaper but... I get notifications of new articles and I sometimes click the link to read the article. The problem is every time you do that you have to sign into AkronBeaconJournalNow with your username and password. It doesn’t remember the username and password so you have to fully type it in every time. Then after that, you have to do one of those verification screens where you click the squares with bicycles or traffic, lights or some thing. It seems like since AkronBeaconJournalNow is on my phone. It should be able to use facial recognition like every other app, I have. It takes way too long to get into read an article.

Local community section is not what it used to be but it is still the best local news source

I’m beginning to acclimate myself to the on-line edition of the ABJ. It will prove to be economical prudent.

Enjoy AkronBeaconJournalNow for catching up on the basics. I used to live in Akron so it works for me

Great connectivity and notifications

As it has been my whole life, the Beacon is still around to keep us up to date on local, regional and national news. Steady, reliable

Reading this paper is a challenge. It’s writings are clear, informative, pretty correct and good coverage. My one criticism is that they are leftist Democratic in nature and one sided. I sometimes cannot believe the editorials that lack truthfulness.

ABJ and my coffee every morning makes my day! It has local news as well as International news.

I live in Columbus now and I wish I could get the actual ABJ newspaper here. The Dispatch is BAD, except for the ABJ stories in it. I signed up for ABJ online for 6 months for $1.00. But since I am retired and I now live in HUD-subsidized senior living apartments I will not be able to afford the regular rate after my 6 months end. I have been a ABJ subscriber for many years and I think it is the greatest newspaper ever!

I have a subscription and have access to a pdf version of the paper, but AkronBeaconJournalNow is much better. Seems like anything that happens after 8 pm doesn’t make the next day’s paper. AkronBeaconJournalNow gives you more timely stories.

The Beacon Journal has a long history of quality journalism which it continues to sustain.

Enjoying the benefit of being able to read all the other Gannett papers.

I appreciate the local news and accurate reporting provided by the ABJ.

The local coverage by the ABJ reporters is excellent. They cover relevant topics that provide a real sense of community, in the sense that as a community member, i know what is going on in the local government, in the schools, etc. I recommend the ABJ to everyone I can. I don’t always agree with everything they put out, but i think it is honest and fair. I love learning about restaurants and interesting people who are doing great things in the community.