Comparison

The Reporter for Mobile vs Observer & Eccentric

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

The Reporter for Mobile

This news app offers personalized content recommendations and custom push notifications. Save articles for later, read them offline, and enjoy a digital replica of the daily newspaper. Navigate easily with a top bar and swipe gestures.

Highlights
  • Personalized news recommendations
  • Save articles for later
  • Customizable push notifications
  • Offline reading mode
  • Digital newspaper replica
  • Swipe to next article
Features
Read full description

To continue enjoying our app, we kindly request that you log in again after this update. If you're a subscriber, please take a moment to restore your account to ensure uninterrupted access. You can find the "Restore Subscriptions" button in Settings under Subscriptions. Welcome to a new app experience, we have optimized our app and given it a facelift! This faster native app now has the following new features: Your News: Provide personalized recommendations for content based on user preferences. Users will be allowed to customize the content they want to engage with by selecting the topics they are truly interested in. By going to the "Your News" tab the user can bypass the noise of all that is published and home in on the content they want Saved Articles: Save feature that allows users to save articles or other content they are interested in for later reading or reference.Push notifications will remind users to read their saved articles or suggest related content Custom Push Notifications: The user can select what topics they want to be notified about which makes for a much less intrusive experience. Top Navigation Bar: A top navigation bar lets the user switch between sections by swiping or tapping. Enews in-app: Desire the newspaper experience? No need to open a separate app! By simply going to Settings and selecting E-News the user can browse the Digital Replica of the day's paper. Offline Reading: This feature allows users to enable offline reading from Settings. Offline "Reading Preferences" can also be customized for Settings. Swipe Left: Instead of going back to the main section to find more articles, users have the option to simply swipe, immediately opening other articles in the Section. Follow Topics: A user will be shown articles on topics they are following. To follow select "follow" at the article level and related articles will gain relevancy and be shown more frequently. Just as easily "Unfollow" Terms of Use: https://www.medianewsgroup.com/terms-of-use/ https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

About

Observer & Eccentric

Stay informed with local news, in-depth journalism, and engaging multimedia content. Get real-time alerts for breaking news, sports scores, and weather. Customize your reading experience and access content offline.

Highlights
  • In-depth journalism
  • Local news coverage
  • Photography and videos
  • Real-time notifications
  • Customizable reading experience
  • Offline reading
Features
Read full description

From critically acclaimed storytelling to powerful photography to engaging videos — the Observer & Eccentric app delivers the local news that matters most to your community. APP FEATURES: • Access all of our in-depth journalism, including things to do around town, sports coverage from high school to the pros, and much more. • Enjoy a streamlined, fast-loading experience that makes it easy to view the stories, photos, and videos that matter to you. • Get breaking news, sports scores, and weather alerts with real-time notifications tailored to your interests. • Customize your experience by saving your favorite stories, adjusting text size, using night mode, or reading offline. MORE INFORMATION: • Privacy Policy: https://cm.hometownlife.com/privacy/ • Terms of Service: https://cm.hometownlife.com/terms/ • Help Center: https://help.hometownlife.com • Subscriptions are charged to your account at confirmation of purchase and automatically renew each month or year, unless turned off in your account settings at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. Your account will be charged for renewal within 24-hours prior to the end of the current period. You can manage your subscriptions and auto-renewal may be turned off by going to your Account Settings after purchase. Any unused portion of a free trial period, if offered, will be forfeited when you purchase a subscription, where applicable. See "Subscription Support" in the app's Settings for more details and customer service contact information.

Screenshots

The Reporter for Mobile4 screens
Observer & Eccentric4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Observer & Eccentric at 38% against The Reporter for Mobile's 20%. Observer & Eccentric also leads on ratings volume (99 vs 22). The Reporter for Mobile's advantage is rating (4.8 vs 4.6) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.6). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. The Reporter for Mobile sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $11.99 per month and Observer & Eccentric sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

The Reporter for Mobile holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.6. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 22 and 99 respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 20% of The Reporter for Mobile's written reviews are positive against 38% of Observer & Eccentric's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Both ship on a similar rhythm, roughly monthly. The most recent releases landed on November 1, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
The Reporter for Mobile versus Observer & Eccentric: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterThe Reporter for MobileObserver & Eccentric
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (22 ratings) — better4.6 (99 ratings)
Positive reviews20.0% of reviews38.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings2299 — better
Update frequencyMonthlyMonthly
AdsYesYes
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.6
Further details — not scored
Size187 MB185 MB
Age rating12+12+
DeveloperJournal Register CompanyUSA TODAY Co., Inc.

Customer experience

The Reporter for Mobile

All ratings22 ratings
Positive95.5%
Neutral4.5%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive20.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative73.3%

Observer & Eccentric

All ratings99 ratings
Positive92.9%
Neutral6.1%
Negative1.0%
Written reviews21 reviews
Positive38.1%
Neutral4.8%
Negative57.1%

In-app purchases

2 purchases

The Reporter for Mobile

Subscriptions2
  • The Reporter Monthly Sub1 Month trial$11.991 Month
  • The Reporter Annual Sub1 Year trial$139.991 Year
3 purchases

Observer & Eccentric

Subscriptions3
  • Monthly Digital Rate1 Month trial$9.991 Month
  • O&E Digital Subscription1 Month trial$16.991 Month
  • Annual Digital Subscription1 Year trial$69.991 Year

Questions

Is The Reporter for Mobile free?
The Reporter for Mobile is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Observer & Eccentric free?
Observer & Eccentric is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, The Reporter for Mobile or Observer & Eccentric?
The Reporter for Mobile is rated higher. The Reporter for Mobile averages 4.8 out of 5 from 22 ratings, while Observer & Eccentric averages 4.6 from 99 ratings.
Do The Reporter for Mobile or Observer & Eccentric have ads?
Both The Reporter for Mobile and Observer & Eccentric show ads.
Which is updated more often, The Reporter for Mobile or Observer & Eccentric?
The Reporter for Mobile ships an update monthly, and Observer & Eccentric monthly. Most recently, The Reporter for Mobile was updated on November 1, 2026 and Observer & Eccentric on November 6, 2026.

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