Echo Launches New and Improved North-East Football iPhone App

The Northern Echo has relaunched its Football North East smartphone app for the new season prompting a flurry of downloads from football fans.

Free to download from the Apple App Store, the app features regular updates on football clubs Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesbrough, Hartlepool and Darlington.

It also features previews and match reports for every match involving a North-East team this season; a full fixture list, league table and stats section for all of the region's clubs. 

It has a live scores section providing up-to-the-second updates for every game across all four leagues, including matches not involving teams from the North-East; and a new non-league section bringing together all the latest news and results from the Northern League.

The relaunch has sparked a flurry of downloads. The app has been downloaded 8,500 times but more than half of those of those downloads - 4,500 - were in the four weeks following the relaunch.

The Northern Echo launched its first app for the World Cup last year. The Northern Echo Tournament Tracker 2010 featured in Apple's list of the ten most downloaded football apps, providing users up to the minute news, scores and match reports and updates from the Echo’s reporter in South Africa.

Peter Barron, The Northern Echo editor, said: “The way people get their news and information is changing all the time, and we are keen to use whatever new technology is at our disposal to help keep our readers entertained and up to date.

"Football fans in particular like to get their news on the move, and the new Football North East app means they never need to miss out on a story involving their club again.

"We've listened to some of the comments that were made about last season's app, and hopefully we've come back with a bigger and better model."

A version for the Android is set to become available shortly.