What’s the Best News Reader App?
We check out a lot of apps on Lifehacker and we’ve recently written some pretty big reviews of must-have apps for Android and iOS . However, there are a lot of them, and this can make it difficult to find the best application for what you are trying to do.
In Tech 911 this week, we answer an app related question from Lifehacker reader John :
“I have been using Google News for a long time because I love the ability to scroll through each message and stop at the ones that interest me. However, after that UI update that made everything white, I noticed that it stopped syncing correctly in the background. It’s like I literally have to keep the app in the foreground while loading, otherwise it won’t load all messages as expected. If I read Lifehacker on Google News on the Web, it seems to me that unnecessary menus (or whatever) are now loading, causing my phone to slow down. Do you have an alternative option? “
HM. I don’t actually use a lot of news aggregator apps – well, none – but I just spent some time with Google News , and it didn’t seem terrible to me at all. However, if you have a problem, that’s enough for me. You haven’t mentioned which smartphone platform you’re on, but if you’re using iOS, you can always switch to Apple’s default news feed and see how you like it. If you’re using Android, you’re probably stuck with Google News (or some third-party news app) that came pre-installed on your device.
In terms of alternatives, I have three main suggestions, and I invite Lifehacker readers to join in on some of them. Try installing Pocket , which will allow you to save articles from whatever mobile browser you use. So you can just browse Lifehacker (or whatever) in your browser and save articles for later viewing – in an interface that’s probably easier on the eye than Google News. This is not a news aggregator app, but rather a cut-to-read-later app, but it can help you.
If you want an app that posts a ton of potential spotlight articles, you can always try Flipboard . You will get a large chunk of tiles to look at websites or categories that interest you, with the latest (or featured) stories you might want to read. Flipboard has a little more graphical finesse than Google News, and lets you create your own content “zine” if you want to share your favorite articles with others or read them later at your convenience.
You can also try Feedly – the concept is similar to Flipboard, except for tiles and graphics. A number of Lifehacker editors think this is a great content curation app as it gives you both guidance and allows you to customize your news feed as you see fit.
Are there any other great news curation apps that you especially love, Lifehacker readers? Let our email writer know in the comments and I’ll send you my best suggestions!