We're often so busy looking at other people's iPhone apps we don't have time to take a break for self-promotion, but this is big.
We're happy to introduce CNET News' very own iPhone app. It became available as a free download on the App Store on Tuesday, so you might have already downloaded it and begun reading CNET News articles (including this one) from it.
CNET News has long had a mobile browser friendly version of its home page, and that will still live on. But our new app brings several new features to the table like:
Mobile-optimized search
Personal bookmarking
Sharing links to Twitter and Facebook
(Nearly) full-screen reading
A built-in Twitter feed of CNET personalities
The app makes it easy to hop to different topics of interest, just like you'd get on the full-size version of CNET News. To do so, you can just swipe your finger across the top of the screen and select the category you like, be it Webware, Crave, Microsoft, or CNET's Green Tech blog.
Longtime mobile readers will be pleased to know that articles load up in their entirety instead of piece by piece. We've also cooked up a version of our search that's both as fast and as relevant as you get on the site itself, so you can find and get to older articles with ease.
As far as bookmarking goes, articles can be saved within the app for reading later, or shared by e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. When sharing to one of these latter two social networks, we've worked it out so you can share without interrupting your reading. The same goes for following CNET editors on Twitter, which you can do right from the news stream.
The app is completely free (get it here) and has many additional features in the pipeline. Be sure to give us your feedback, which you can do by hitting the feedback button in the app's "more" section. We hope you enjoy it, and look forward to filling it up with great stories.
Update: Many of you have asked if and when the app is coming to non-U.S. and Canadian App Stores. The answer on that is yes! It will be in other markets in the next couple of days. As for an Android version, that is also a yes. It's being built right now, and should be here in a few weeks.
For CNET TV fans, we've also got an iPhone app in development, which will let you watch your favorite CNET TV programming on the go. Though it's worth noting you can do that already by heading to the CNET TV page from your mobile browser.
Please keep the feedback coming, and if you like the app, be sure to rate it in the App Store.