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"Google Currents Android app review"

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Thursday, 10 May 2012

"Google Currents Android app review"

Google's Currents app presents news from multiple sources in an easy-to-read format

Google's Currents app presents news from multiple sources in an easy-to-read format

Google has made reading news and magazines on your Android mobile phone or tablet a whole lot simpler, says Matt Warman.

Mobile phone manufacturers seem to believe that their devices could yet replace the wallet, the book, the newspaper and the media in general. But browsing the web to read news and features on a phone is an imperfect experience, still dominated by either constant zooming in and out or by stripped-down mobile websites.

The solution, as apps such as Flipboard have long demonstrated on the iPhone, is a dedicated reader, where you subscribe to certain channels and then read a version that’s designed in a friendlier way. Android, however, has rather lacked really excellent versions. Although Flipboard is finally coming to the platform, the best, more widespread example is probably currently Google’s own Currents.

The approach is simple – it splits content between your own library of subscriptions (both media and RSS) and items that are trending online. The former offers options of a wide range of tech titles, from Engadget to the Verge and several dedicated Android titles, as well as a perfectly decent selection of newspapers and lifestyle magazines.

The design is simple and crisp, and lists of new stories scroll up and down while reading within each individual story is usually by swiping left to right. This is a news aggregator that is sometimes conspicuously elegant, but never distracting. That’s exactly as it should be. Sharing is simple, too, and the only downside is that some publishers provide only very limited content.

One major plus for reader apps is offline access, and the amount that Currents downloads by default is certainly impressive. If there’s a problem it’s only that the offline mode without pictures looks painfully bare – that’s a minor issue and offline users in the main will likely be grateful just for access to content at all. Currents, overall, is an app every Android user should download.

Labels: Android, Apps, Google, Technology News

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