Tag Archives: News

Google Reader Lives?

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Not quite. The app in today’s focus is cleverly names gReader. This will be a quick post for today. gReader is a cool concept is basically keeping Google Reader alive after it’s slow death. gReader has all the functionality of Reader that people know and love. So far it is only available for Android, no online support or iPhone/iPad. This could spell a huge issue for most users. But for what it is, it’s not a bad package. Personally, this is not my favorite of clients, as I’ve previously stated it’s too much text. I like the visually driven interfaces. However, it’s worth the second look if you’re a die hard Reader user and just are reluctant to changes. Check out the video below and grab it from the Play Store. There is a free ad supported version, and a 4.99 ad free pro version.

Check out their website too at greader.co

Also if anyone has a particular app that they’d like to recommend please let me know in the comments.

-AJ

Taptu: DJ’ing Your News On Your Time

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Taptu is the app of the week. Their slogan is “DJ Your News” which is appropriate for their feature list. First and foremost, upon downloading the app you are given the option to log in with Facebook, Twitter, or your Google account. Logging in with Google would begin the sync from Reader. So anybody looking for that functionality, Taptu has it. Taptu’s user interface is pretty good. It has a mosaic look that I personally love about Pulse. Once you click a story it is expanded full screen for better reading. Once a story is open there are multiple sharing options including the standard Facebook, Twitter, and email. Probably the coolest part about Taptu is the “DJ” feature. Taptu can handle multiple RSS feeds, and searchable sources from their databases but the “DJ” feature allows for categories. The user can select multiple predefined categories such as “Android or Technology and Gadgets”  and they are added to the “DJ” feature. Once the DJ button is used Taptu becomes a virtual newspaper allowing the user to receive news stories under certain categories from thousands of sources. This allows for discovery of new news sources and areas of interest. Overall Taptu is on the right track. It has one of my must have features of a companion website that syncs with the app. Taptu is absolutely worth the try and it’s available for so many different platforms. Check it out, you may just leave behind every other app. Visually and functionality, yeah, Taptu has it all.

Pick it up from the Play Store for Android, or App Store for iOS devices. It is also available online at taptu.com

Check out this video by the developer using Taptu on the iPad.

 

-AJ

Death to Google Reader-End of an Era

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Yes it is true unfortunately. Announced on the Official Google Blog a few days ago and further explained in the Official Google Reader Blog with the simple caption of “powering down.” Google Reader has been around since 2005. It offered an easy way to sort through RSS feeds and simply put any other online resource that updated itself. Google provided a short explanation on why they have decided to pull the plug on Reader:

“There are two simple reasons for this: usage of Google Reader has declined, and as a company we’re pouring all of our energy into fewer products. We think that kind of focus will make for a better user experience.”

Google has assured users that it will give subscribers to Reader what they’re calling a three month sunset period. In that time users can download their information from Reader using Google Takeout or simply find an alternative to Reader and sync their stories with that. Many alternatives are out there, if you haven’t caught that drift yet from my writings. The good people at LifeHacker have posted the five best user submitted alternatives to Google Reader. Being that Google Reader was the immediate starting point of this blog I thought providing a solid farewell was due. It’s been a great run Reader, but Google is telling users that it’s time to let go. Next week I will be posting a review of what is being talked about as the best replacement for Google Reader. It’s an app called Feedly and Reader users might be impressed to find out the functionality. The Google Reader mobile app has already been pulled from the Google Play Store as well as the iPhone App Store. Stay tuned. In the mean time check out this CNET Update on Google Reader’s departure:

Good bye Google Reader, you will be thoroughly missed.

Update:

The end to Google Reader has more than just bothered some people. A change.org petition as well as a strongly worded letter has launched to attempt to keep Google Reader alive. Many are reporting that this effort is futile but we shall see what comes of it. As of this posting there are a total of 138,545 signatures with a total of 150,000 set as the goal.

-AJ

Pocket: Essential Organization Among Mobile News Reading

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This week I’m going to slightly deviate from the typical news app reviews. However the app in today’s focus, in my opinion, is essential to reading news on the go. Today i’m talking about Pocket, formerly known as Read it Later. The idea of Pocket is extremely simple: Save stories to pocket and read them later whenever and wherever you want. Most news apps have a plugin for Pocket (such as aforementioned Pulse) or the share button which you can link to Pocket. Most news apps offers a saving feature but it is specific to that app. Pocket allows you to save stories,websites, images, YouTube videos all in the same place. Making an account takes ten seconds. Organization within Pocket is great. It’s available for  iOS, Android, and there’s a website to access everything in your “Pocket.” Get the reference of the name now? Overall I love pocket and I use it on a regular basis to save stories that sound interesting. The basic use of Pocket can be described this way: Say before class you’re browsing through stories on Pulse/Reader/Currents/Online and class is about to start. You stumble onto a story you’d like to read but don’t have the time at the moment. Simply place that story in Pocket and it’s saved for later. You can recall stories online or through the app. It links back to the original website the item is hosted on and you can delete old items from pocket with one click. Pocket makes staying up to date with your news even easier and I highly recommend using it. The interface is clean and simple. Pocket even applies filters to the things you save so it’s easy to separate videos, stories, and pictures with a click. Even if you save a lot of stories within Pocket, not to worry, there is a search feature by both title and URL so you never lose a thing. Those familiar with tagging will be right at home as well. Pocket supports adding tags to everything saved within Pocket for easier access later. Other cool functions include the Archive and Favorite options. Say you found a list of recipes you want to recall later but you don’t want them to appear on the home page of your Pocket. Simply archive them and they’re automatically saved but backdated and filed in a different area. Favorites work similar to bookmarks only with Pocket. Another great aspect of Pocket is that it can download the stories you save directly onto your mobile device for offline reading. So before you get on the plain and lose network connectivity not to worry, you can save plenty of reading material. The functionality is so easy almost any person can figure it out in seconds. Pocket serves a very good purpose to the mobile community. From standing in line at the store, waiting for class to start, waiting for food to cook, or just generally anywhere, Pocket has your back.

Check out the video from the developer:

Grab it for Android from the Play Store, iOS App Store, or online at getpocket.com

-AJ

Pulse News: The Best of the Best

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Next up in the round of news reader apps is one of my personal favorites for many reasons. I use it on a daily basis and I dare to say at the moment it has some advantages over Google Currents. The app i’m referring to is called Pulse. Now Pulse is an extremely powerful news reader with exceptional user interface, extremely easy setup, and really good connections to social media networks. To begin with Pulse is available for iOS (iPhone and iPad) as well as Android, both phone and tablet.  It is also available for the Kindle Fire and the Nook. The view of stories can be arranged by categories much like how folder act in Reader. However Pulse provides a graphical interface much like Currents. Squares are dedicated to each story and typically display a featured image if one is available for the particular story. As said before, not unread counts, and locating stories from your favorites sources is easy. Pulse even provides the option to add their own trending sources from various topics such as fashion, technology, and others. With these, top stories from multiple sources will display as your discretion. If you’re a Google Reader user and you want to transfer over all of your currents feeds, no problem. Pulse can do that too. Currently it can only sync any feeds you have in Reader now, it will not sync read stories, or add or delete stories you have in Google Reader. My favorite part about Pulse (besides how pretty it looks) is that Pulse is so far the only news reader i’ve found with a companion website. That’s right, sign into your account via the Pulse website and you’re instantly connected to all of your news sources currently syncing with your smart phone and tablet. Update are always being pushed out and new features are always being added. I’ve tried using other news reader apps before and I continually return to Pulse. Pulse takes the beautiful graphical interface, improves social connection through Pulse.me, syncs from just about anything, and on top of all that contains a companion site just in case you’re on your PC and want to check what’s trending. Hands down Pulse has got it all. Take it for a test spin, I guarantee you’ll love it. Oh yeah, best part about this app, it’s free. Completely, one hundred percent free to you. Just download and enjoy. I firmly stand behind Pulse and its developers. Try it, you won’t be disappointed.

Grab it for Android from the Play Store, iOS App Store, Amazon App Store for Kindle, or visit pulse.me to sign up.

Check out the video by the developer:

-AJ

Google Currents: The New Mobile News Standard

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Currents Tablet ViewGoogle’s response to the users who liked the functionality of RSS in Reader but wanted a better user interface came in the form of Google Currents. Currents is available for both Google’s Android OS and iOS for iPhones and iPads. Google Currents presents itself as an easy to use on and offline reader of everything from RSS to individual websites searchable from within the app. Both apps are available for free and functionality of the app is pretty easy to setup and use. Within the description the app touts, “Google Currents delivers beautiful magazine-like editions to your tablet and smartphone for high speed and offline reading” which I would have to say is appropriate. Adding sources is very easy. There’s a search feature to locate any additional source you’d like as well as any website given they have an RSS feed. If you’re a Google Reader user, you’ll be happy to note that Currents automatically lists all of you current Reader subscriptions in a tab labeled “Feeds.” Google Currents has come leaps since it beta release in 2011. Sharing to Social Media is as easy as it’s always been with Google Products. Simply press the share button at the top and pick your favored medium, whether it be Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and so on, Currents has support for them all. The biggest positive of Currents is it’s graphical interface. No more heavy text reading and no more annoying unread counts next to every source. News reading is done on your time and Currents keeps up with trending stories for you whether you subscribe to the source or not, you’ll be informed as much as you choose to be. The only draw back that I have found is unlike Reader, there is no companion site for PC. Meaning you cannot view your Currents account through a website, only through your phone. However that’s what Currents is meant for in the first place. This new standard is simple. Provide a clean, easy to use interface while keeping the information front and center. Google Currents makes news reading much more enjoyable from a tablet to a smart phone. Almost every part of the app is full color and some even include videos. This is the basis that all other mobile news reading apps should base themselves. However there are others that truly enjoy the bare bones text heavy Reader, and that just comes down to preference.

Check the original introduction video from Google back in 2011 and download Google Currents through the Play Store or the iOS App Store

-AJ