Recently I had a chance to sit down and talk to Jim Spencer, the President of their iPad newspaper, Newsy, and interview him about their iPad newspaper along with some history of Newsy.

PocketFullOfApps: Thanks for joining me today Jim, how are you?

Great – busy but that’s a good thing.

PocketFullOfApps: What do you think makes Newsy stand out the most from other iPad newspapers?

Two standouts – one, we designed our app specifically for the iPad so the navigation is intuitive and simple, and the videos are clear and sharable.

Second, we are the ONLY video news app that highlights the key differences in reporting – we are an analyzer, not an aggregator, which really sets us apart.

PocketFullOfApps: Why did you choose the name (or how did you come about to choose the name) “Newsy” for your newspaper (news service)?

Liked Newsy for a number of reasons – it has the word ‘news’ in it, it’s five letters, it has a meaning (it’s a real word in the dictionary) and it’s catchy.

PocketFullOfApps: How long did it take to develop Newsy?

The idea percolated in the back of my mind during the fall of ’07. Built the prototype in the winter of ’08, raised the money in the spring of ’08, relocated from Silicon Valley to Missouri in the summer of ’08. Developed first website in the winter of ’09 and launched our first app, for the iPhone, in September of ’09. The iPad app launched in April of ’10.

PocketFullOfApps: Where did it all begin with Newsy? What started it?

I’ve always been a news junkie and was compelled to flip between media outlets (both television and web) to see how various sources cover stories differently. News outlets grew to become more biased and less objective and I realized the type of analysis we do could be applied to all sorts of stories.

PocketFullOfApps: Do you plan on releasing any enhancements or updates in the future?

Yes, lots more to come from us in terms of enhancements and updates for all of our apps (iPhone, iPad, Android, BlackBerry). Look for a major announcement in the next six weeks.

PocketFullOfApps: Anything else we can expect from you guys in the future? (apps, games, etc..)

We are developing for several OTTV devices and also unveiling a game in the coming months!

PocketFullOfApps: Do you have any suggestions for aspiring App Store developers?

Be prepared to spend many hours learning the development environment. Focus on making something you would love to use and if you do that, the result will be worth it.

PocketFullOfApps: Do you have anything you would like to mention before this interview is over?

Newsy is one of the highest rated video-centric apps for iPhone, iPad and Android – if you have not yet downloaded it please do and check it out – we love sharing our apps with new viewers.

Thanks Jim!