Usable. Barely.

So this is how newspapers die.

With the 2.0.3 update, this app is now just barely usable. Its at least mostly responsive, and frequently opens the article youre trying to read within a few seconds. At least half the times I open the app it doesnt lock up.

The "In todays paper" section seems to actually have todays news and only todays news. Its still not like a newspaper since you get only a shortened headline until you click the link...but its an improvement. And many of the features still dont show up there, like the comics or the editorial cartoons. You can get to the editorial cartoon by clicking on the letters to the editor, unfortunately it shows yesterdays cartoon. Thats an improvement from before, when it didnt update for days.

**update: be advised that while the "In todays paper" section seems to actually be todays news (mostly), the sidebar that activates when you are reading a story from there does NOT have all of the headlines from "In todays news." No easy navigation for you! Also, Im seeing news from yesterday show up there now.

The regular portions of the app still have the "latest news," or stories from the Internet, sprinkled throughout the sections with no way to turn it off or discern what was in the paper vs. Internet stories.

Articles from several days ago are still sprinkled in, again with no way to turn them off or tell when they might have been included.

Navigation is still a train wreck.

So, its barely usable. Im keeping with it because I like to support the local paper, I want local news, and I like getting the comics. I cancelled my NYT trial (wow, *thats* a newspaper app!) because of the improvements, but without more improvements very, very soon Ill still be leaving for the NYT. I expect better from an app that was developed for three large newspaper markets (Houston, San Antonio and San Francisco).

Fellow Flyer about Houston Chronicle