NPR has released the source code for its Android app. For now, that won’t mean much to most users. The app still lets you listen to reports from NPR programs and fine live streams from local NPR member stations. It was available as a free download yesterday and it’s still free today.
But NPR is hoping that by opening up the source code to the public, the app can grow in new and interesting ways.
What I didn’t realize until today was that a single NPR fan at Google was almost single-handedly responsible for building the original NPR Android app. He did it in his free time. NPR is hoping that contributions from other independent developers can make the app more useful, attractive, or just more interesting.
NPR is also taking suggestions for the app from Android users who don’t know how to code. You can reach out to the organization through its blog or Twitter account.