Honolulu Star-Advertiser Reviews

by Aloha.boy

I have been a print subscriber for over thirty years through a couple of mergers and accessed the digital edition since it became available. The print edition is okay given the state of the industry but the digital edition seems a second thought as most stories are hours old and updates are well after other news outlets have posted the information. Also the Question/Poll of the day no longer works as the link is bad. I noticed that the number of people responding has dropped by several hundred each day so other readers have had the same problem I ran into.

Since my original post the digital edition has gotten worse as the non-print Saturday digital edition is difficult to navigate, riddled with typos, and a challenge to read comfortably. This Saturday I was unable to access the e-edition as I was told I am not a subscriber (I am) and today was told I cannot answer the daily poll question.

The print edition gets thinner by the week and the newspaper’s app is doing poorly on the technological front. I have gone to other online sources for local news and don’t see a bright future for the print edition. Sad times.

by Mi.mo

I am a new print and digital subscriber, and this is the worst newspaper app I’ve tried yet. I love getting the print paper the old fashioned way, but I want access on my electronic devices, too. DOES NOT WORK. Seriously, it makes me log in every single time and now it won’t recognize my subscription as valid — even though I double-/ triple-checked that I’d signed in properly. This is anti-marketing. It frustrates me and makes me think a subscription is not worthwhile. Don’t put a bad app out there — it makes me want to cancel the subscription altogether. This is June 26th. See whether anything changes and when.

by Verde;

The Star-Advertiser is the biggest newspaper in Hawaii and a reliable source. My frustrations with HonoluluStarAdvertiser are that 1) very few stories are loaded onto HonoluluStarAdvertiser (compared with what appears in print), and 2) that of the few stories loaded, many are hidden behind a paywall. Newspapers everywhere are facing tough times, so I understand why the paywall is there... but it means that HonoluluStarAdvertiser is of little interest to those of us without a subscription.

by Skyl59

The same pop up ad pops up repeatedly while reading one article and each time you. Lose it, you are taken back to the beginning of the article. I understand the ads are needed to help the paper financially but please reduce how many times they appear and fix the part that makes you start at the beginning of the article again.

Other than that, it’s a decent app.

by Wbs10

HonoluluStarAdvertiser is great, however, please stop the audio ads. I often use HonoluluStarAdvertiser in settings where a sudden sound or noise is either disruptive, annoying, or embarrassing to the people around me. Remembering to turn the volume down every time I want to use HonoluluStarAdvertiser and then remembering to turn the volume back up afterwards is impractical and inconvenient. I don’t mind the other ads that appear in HonoluluStarAdvertiser . It’s the audio ads that are a real nuisance.

by Buster Bob

I prefer reading the print replica version of the Star-Advertiser, usually on a laptop. When that isn’t feasible I use the Mini. It is easy to enlarge the replica size for comfortable viewing and to move around the page. The only negative is that I often have to zoom out to find my place. However, that’s a problem caused by the Mini’s screen size and not HonoluluStarAdvertiser .

by Sad Snior

Having a daily newspaper to read is a must for me; I do appreciate having an online print replica available especially since there is no Saturday edition. However, with your upcoming subscription increase of $ 10 more each month, I don’t know if my retirement income will be able to support the increased cost. I do try to view it as a “per day” expense to mitigate the monthly income bite.

by Roo514

Like HonoluluStarAdvertiser . Only thing I wish they would change is having to have to download the edition after you had already downloaded it earlier. Seems when you first download HonoluluStarAdvertiser to read the paper. And when you close it to read it later, your required to download the edition once again. That can be frustrating at times.

by RWRex

Almost perfect. In addition to almost everything I now read all the comics. Easy to find the sports tv schedule and the opinion editorials. Really appreciate the archives when someone points out an article I should have read. I usually skim National and world news and read the W Post or NY Times for that a day earlier.

by My2ndCareer

For the most part, it works ok. Except when trying to read the most important part of the paper: THE COMICS!

Phone needs to be turned to landscape orientation in order to view a comic strip in its entirety. And the size/magnification needs to be adjusted.

That’s when problems start. Rather than laughing and feeling good after reading the comics, I end up feeling frustrated and angry, and want to throw the phone on the floor and jump up and down on it!

by Wxgamer123

I love the star advertiser: Reading the newspaper that contains content that is not shown in the news(Like science,Q and A, View and Voices section, etc) that helps me learn new words,reading, and HonoluluStarAdvertiser itself...both keep me updated with the latest news, including KHON2.

The slight problem with the star advertiser app is that the login in seems to be broken. Whenever I try to log out from reading the print replica (Digital Saturday’s Mostly), it doesn’t let me log out and I’m still logged in when I leave HonoluluStarAdvertiser . That is the only issue so far.

Lastly, I really love reading the newspaper. Even tho I have HonoluluStarAdvertiser (Both the Star Advertiser and KHON2) and watching the KHON2 news...the newspaper never gets old! It helps me again learn new words, enhance my reading/speaking skills, and the extra content that is interesting to read.

Mahalo Star Advertiser, keep up the good work!

by Reginald.

Generally a great app that continues to improve. I like the traffic part, where not only can I find out about traffic here, I can find out all over the world. Additionally, HonoluluStarAdvertiser has improved because of a additional features. One that I found lacking is that if The Internet is not available, I cannot read their articles offline. While their partner USA Today allows people to read articles offline.

Update June 11, 2021. Aka Kamehameha Day in Hawaii. To celebrate I got myself a six month subscription to HSA aka The Honolulu Star-Advertiser.

by Late In Chi

Had been meaning to say that I liked the improvements implemented earlier this year. Especially like when I swipe to the next page that it starts at the top of the page.

I also read the paper “early” because I now live in Chicago, so I appreciate the notification of the availability of a new edition. And speaking of Chicago, I’m surprised to read about several Chicago-based news.

The news updates are great. So often breaking news items appear here, sooner than from other news sources.

by CoolCoolBreeze

I really appreciate the replica version of the Advertiser. It shows me all the local advertisements, which I can choose to scan at my own pace, as well as the papers fine graphics.
In this age of “fake news” its important to support our local papers who do the hard work of having paid reporters looking after the corruption in government. Fact finding is difficult and expensive, opinions are cheap and easy to produce. Let’s continue to subscribe to those news outlets that protect our democracy against tyrants who would steal our election.

by Laura12264

We started our married life many moons ago in Ewa Beach and now only get back to Oahu a couple times a year. In the meantime, I read the Star-Advertiser on HonoluluStarAdvertiser each morning just as I did back in the day (who else remembers the morning and evening papers, the Honolulu Advertiser and the Star-Bulletin?) and it always takes me back. Love HonoluluStarAdvertiser and paper!

by Kailua Reader

I like the mix of national news articles picked up by the Star Advertiser. The SA does a good job of picking ones that are important, factual and well written so I can get a good overview of key world/national issues while I also rely on the SA to cover local news. Great job of balancing the two. It’s my one stop shop when time is limited.

by Leowahine

Aloha! It’s nice to have information. I’d actually like to have more specific information but, hey, you get what you can find. I often wish that some of the information could pinpoint locations better so I’d know what and where to avoid in my islands home. I often miss the Star Bulletin or HONOLULU advertiser from the old days because I could always count on the true stories about Honolulu and the Hawaiian islands from each of them and I wish that the stories I find in the Star Advertiser weren’t so political but I suppose that the world we live in now is a very different one than all those years ago.
Please help us ask the right questions again. You aren’t supposed to be like fb. Sometimes, people actually CAN accept true stories. Thanks for all the years that you folks reported on really important issues and stories.

by Keonewaa

Like the new new app with a few exceptions. 1) when you have scrolled to the bottom of a page and press the “right” arrow, it does not always start there t page at the top so you have to scroll there. 2) I am a unable to find a way to copy an article, especially if I want to send to others as information. These capabilities are probably already available but I cannot find them. Other than that, so far, this an excellent app that I use every morning to read the print version. I’m old school so still enjoy ready as though it is the morning printed version, as I’ve done for many, many years. Keep up the good work. Aloha.

by KaleCheevs

I count on and look forward to reading the Star-Advertiser every day. It’s where I go to get inspiration for all my best ideas, especially the Local section for news and profiles on people, businesses, and non-profits doing important work in our community. Can’t live without it!

by Maui_Evan

The Star-Advertiser makes it easy to keep up with events and get the detailed coverage and explanations that only a newspaper can provide in HonoluluStarAdvertiser. The breaking news of presented to you on the opening screen. If you want to look at today’s paper, an electronic “print replica” is available for reading. I gladly pay my monthly subscription to have access to this source of information about what is happening at the State Legislature and on the most populous island in the State.

by Cheat15

In the way of bad news, I’d give HonoluluStarAdvertiser a zero rating. The main problem is that HonoluluStarAdvertiser doesn’t recognize you when trying to get logged on. As a consequence you can’t blog, read the full news story, and participate in the surveys, etc. Judging from the previous written reviews, it should be obvious to SA that HonoluluStarAdvertiser needs immediate attention if it’s going to be useful.

by Lono_68

“New” app for the star-advertiser isn’t that great. Clunky, not all graphics load and it doesn’t have all the stories that the web site has.
The star advertiser has poor writing and which doesn’t warrant HonoluluStarAdvertiser . Deleted app! Waste of memory on my phone!

by Da911Doc

Won’t load today, very glitchy when it did, hard to navigate smoothly. Forget about trying to comment on articles as it just freezes. Fix HonoluluStarAdvertiser or pull it and offer an alternative.

by Dinodinoxx

HonoluluStarAdvertiser is from ancient times. It Crashes frequently, it is sluggish and it updates in a very slow pace. What is astonishing above all, in the opening there is always a 5 second long loading page showing a line of word: downloading your feeds!

What the heck? HonoluluStarAdvertiser is an embarrassment to Hawaii people.

by Boots5500

Maybe it’s the Coronavirus Pandemic but HonoluluStarAdvertiser is crashing multiple times a day. Just this morning, I’ve had to delete HonoluluStarAdvertiser 3 times in 1 hour. That’s not even including the time it got hacked! Live feeds don’t work. Forget about notification links working. Loads of ads. What more could you ask for in an app? Use KHON2.

by DocSharpie

How is it that an app claiming to be a newly redesigned app is not properly optimized for the iPhone X screen? It boggles the mind, and looks rather embarrassing for the Star Advertiser;

News apps, in particular, should be leading the way in supporting the X, since the taller screen dimension really enhances the reading experience.

by Psfknr

Seems like HonoluluStarAdvertiser has more pop up ads every week. You can’t view another story unless you endure a pop up ad and a sponsor ad. Can’t open another app while reading a story unless you want HonoluluStarAdvertiser to reset and go back to the home page with the sponsor ads. Obviously focusing all their energy on making profit rather than informing the public with important news. I will only use for breaking news alerts but I never open HonoluluStarAdvertiser to read stories anymore.

by Julie Ford

The so-called new and improved app is en epic fail. It’s virtually impossible to read more than a few stories without the screen freezing up. Logging in and out does not fix the problem, nor does restarting my iPhone.

I rarely have time to sit and read the traditional paper, so I primarily rely on digital methods. Both the mobile version of the website and this new app make it virtually impossible for me to get my news from the Honoluu Star-Advertiser, which I love to read daily.

Please work out the bugs so that you don’t lose enthusiastic readers like me.

by Please Inovate

Too many adds for subscribers! I understand if if you are targeting those who don’t have a subscription, but subjecting your customers to all those ads are ridiculous.

Also, I believe the previous version was easier to navigate. Each section was defined and was much smoother. I now get frustrated when I open an article, two advertisements are on the page, and the whole article doesn’t even load. So frustrated! I end up just exiting HonoluluStarAdvertiser .

by Surfn_nurse

Pop-is which open without prompting are insanely annoying. One can hardly scroll through a story without accidentally grazing the edge of an ad and opening it. App crashes...a lot.

by Tnaks27

Ok for downloading print replicas and viewing articles, but app does not have any Customer Service functions. In order to set up a vacation stop, had to go to the web version.

by Dewdette

HonoluluStarAdvertiser delivers up to date news fast. The push notifications are great. In that regard, I mean they are timely and not too frequent. It is also nice to have the print replica at your finger tips. I will not get into the coverage of types of stories, ugh, but HonoluluStarAdvertiser is very useful for getting news from The Star Advertiser.