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SixApart introduces native app for pocket TypePad blogging

Native blogging app for iPhone users could be a lifesaver for bloggers who want to monitor their blogs while away from their PCs.

Josh Lowensohn Former Senior Writer
Josh Lowensohn joined CNET in 2006 and now covers Apple. Before that, Josh wrote about everything from new Web start-ups, to remote-controlled robots that watch your house. Prior to joining CNET, Josh covered breaking video game news, as well as reviewing game software. His current console favorite is the Xbox 360.
Josh Lowensohn

Next month, among the slew of third-party apps hitting the iPhone's App Store, blogging tool TypePad will be giving its users a new way to blog on the go. The native application was just announced at Apple's WWDC Monday morning, but I got a sneak peek at it last week. I think it's going to be a lifesaver for bloggers who want to monitor and administrate their blogs while away from a laptop or home PC.

The app will let you write and edit posts on your phone and save them for later, helping people avoid that potentially great write-up from getting lost because you're in a cellular dead spot or your browser crashes. Six Apart's Open Platforms Technical Lead David Recordon tells me the company is expecting users to treat it as more of a monitoring tool to keep an eye on comments, traffic, and posts from other contributing writers.

TypePad video
Video: TypePad app for iPhone

Last year, the company introduced two smaller-scale efforts that offered similar features--one for its hosted blogging solution Movable Type, and another for TypePad. Both ran in Safari, whereas the new app runs natively and gets access to Apple's new developer service that allows for application notifications that can be pushed over the air without wearing down the phone's battery with extra processes.

Similar apps for other blogging platforms including WordPress and Blogger should be expected in the coming weeks. I'm also expecting to see Six Apart add support for Movable Type later this year.