USA Today brings an app to the HP TouchPad (with a 7-inch model in mind) 7

USA Today has launched their app into the HP TouchPad App Catalog earlier this week, bringing a wealth of features to the largest webOS device currently available. But they haven't just designed it for this 10-inch model of the HP TouchPad... they're already ready for the 7-inch Opal to be released as well, and their latest app apparently reflects that anticipation. Yes that's right, this app has not only been built for the TouchPad that has already been released, but also for a tablet device that we have yet to learn any details about (other than that it has a smaller screen). 

USA Today for the TouchPad brings the latest news in tech, business, sports and foreign lands, while also using webOS 3.0 panes to display the weather for your region (or any region you search) with very handy radar maps included, sports scores from all major leagues in the country, and photo galleries to give a unique view of interesting stories. The interface is very simple, and everything is centered around the home screen which displays thumbnails and headlines to allow skimming for the stories you want to read. Tapping on a link will bring a pane in from the right side of the app that displays the article, game scores or weather, which can then be swiped back off the page once you're finished viewing the content.

As of right now the app does not have any way to share the content that you're viewing (not even a "View in Web Browser" button!) or to save it to read later, and the sports app was a bit slow when we tried it out. But for looking through the headlines and reading bits of news while you have some downtime, the USA Today app is not a bad one. And since it's free, there's no reason not to check it out for yourself in the App Catalog, either.

Click through the break to read the full announcement from USA Today and see some other screenshots of the app in action, then let us know what you think in the comments. What other news apps are out there that we should take a look at?

At USA TODAY we are proud to announce the release of our latest native application designed and developed in house for the July 1st debut of the webOS 3.0 powered HP TouchPad tablet. WebOS 3.0 or the Enyo framework is fully prepared for the web and allows developers to use the SDK to write JavaScript applications that are later converted into HTML5 that can run in a WebKit powered browser. We actually used Google Chrome during development and later deployed to the actual device for further layout and performance testing. We had a great time designing this application and worked through quite a few iterations and tried to correct problems discovered shortly after releasing our Android Honeycomb tablet application. We designed this application with a rumor based assumption that there will be a 7-inch TouchPad making its way to stores later this year and we wanted to be sure our application would work well on both.

"We're excited about the design and performance of this app. We think it will be a winner with HP TouchPad users who want a best-in-class news app for everyday use. USA TODAY is dedicated to launching new apps as products hit the market so our readers can receive their news on the platform of their choosing," said Steve Kurtz, vice president of digital development for USA TODAY.

For more information on the USA TODAY app for the HP TouchPad be sure to check out hptouchpad.usatoday.com. While more information about the HP TouchPad itself can be found at www.hp.com/touchpad.

At USA TODAY we are proud to announce the release of our latest native application designed and developed in house for the July 1st debut of the webOS 3.0 powered HP TouchPad tablet. WebOS 3.0 or the Enyo framework is fully prepared for the web and allows developers to use the SDK to write JavaScript applications that are later converted into HTML5 that can run in a WebKit powered browser. We actually used Google Chrome during development and later deployed to the actual device for further layout and performance testing. We had a great time designing this application and worked through quite a few iterations and tried to correct problems discovered shortly after releasing our Android Honeycomb tablet application. We designed this application with a rumor based assumption that there will be a 7-inch TouchPad making its way to stores later this year and we wanted to be sure our application would work well on both.

"We're excited about the design and performance of this app. We think it will be a winner with HP TouchPad users who want a best-in-class news app for everyday use. USA TODAY is dedicated to launching new apps as products hit the market so our readers can receive their news on the platform of their choosing," said Steve Kurtz, vice president of digital development for USA TODAY.

For more information on the USA TODAY app for the HP TouchPad be sure to check out hptouchpad.usatoday.com. While more information about the HP TouchPad itself can be found at www.hp.com/touchpad.