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Flipboard For iOS Updated With New Profile Stats & Better Sharing

by Hamza Khalid on May 14, 2013

The introduction of user-curated magazines in the Flipboard app for iOS is proving to be the right decision. Some might argue that people use Flipboard because of its glossy interface, but it has to be admitted that the app isn’t lacking in features either. Usually, there have been considerable gaps between any two major updates of Flipboard, but the popularity of magazines has prompted its developers to push some much-needed additions pretty quickly. The app’s latest update focuses on making user magazines even easier to manage. It is now possible to keep an eye on the growth of your publications, thanks to a revamped profile page that shows stats pertaining to your followers and readers. Although Google Reader only has a couple of months left to live, Flipboard seems determined to keep the experience of the service on your iPhone as good as possible. The sharing menu has become even more social as well, and even has a new option to help you add to your phone’s wallpaper collection. Read More

Favoriteer Is A Standalone, Lightweight RSS News Reader For Mac

by Fatima Wahab on May 10, 2013

Mac OS X

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Google Reader’s demise is almost on us, and yet I still instinctively visit the service every morning. A part of me thinks I should start getting used to something new, while the other part says I should enjoy using Google Reader while it is around. Google Reader itself reminds me occasionally that it will be gone forever on July 1, 2013, but I still haven’t decided what service I will turn to in the end. Feedly is looking the best at the moment. If you’re a Mac user still out on the hunt for something minimal to replace Google Reader with, Favoriteer is a another option. Available in the Mac App Store for free, the app is new and works independently of Google Reader. It’s a fairly basic RSS app that lets you subscribe to feeds individually, and you cannot import your feeds from an XML file, which can be a bummer for those migrating from Google Reader. Favoriteer runs in the Menu Bar and appears on your desktop as a floating window that fades out when it isn't in focus, so that you can see the app behind it. Read More

SyndiFeed Is A Clutter-Free, Magazine-Style RSS Feed Reader

by Moaaz Bukhari on May 08, 2013

Google Reader is going down this July and it’s high time to abandon ship. But finding a seaworthy alternative is just as important if you want to keep up with all your favorite sites and blogs with as little shock of transition as possible. Among the many other excellent feed readers that’ll compete for your attention this summer, SyndiFeed definitely comes among the top. With the sleek, glossy looks of a magazine and the thoughtful, eye-pleasing format of a great website, SyndiFeed really deserves to be given consideration by those looking to switch, especially in this final month leading up to Google Reader’s demise. Read More

Brow.si For iPhone Is A Cross Between A Web Browser & Feed Reader

by Waqas Ahmed on April 26, 2013

There’s absolutely no shortage of RSS readers or news aggregators on iOS. Hop onto App Store and you will find plenty of such options there, each with their own unique features. Though if you’re looking for an RSS reader that doubles as a snappy web browser, try Brow.si. This fascinating app lets you browse your favorite websites just like you would in any modern mobile browser. In addition, you can subscribe to the ones that you frequently visit and receive push notifications for updated content published on them. Thus, it eliminates the need of using a web browser in conjunction with a separate news reader app for the purpose. Furthermore, any links that you want to open from your subscribed content wouldn't require a separate browser either, also eliminating the need to switch between a browser and your feed reader while going through your feeds. Read More

Drippler Brings Its Gadget-Specific News App To The iPhone

by Hamza Khalid on April 25, 2013

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A couple of my friends have been anxiously awaiting the release of Galaxy S4 ever since Samsung announced the end of April as the ATA for the flagship device's release. We are sure there are a lot of similar people who are looking for the latest information on their favorite gadgets, games or apps. You can get a general idea of the latest happenings related to any device by going through a few blogs or news sites, but there are easier ways of doing the same. Back in 2011, we covered a web service by the name of Drippler, which is a one-stop-shop for all the reviews and news stories on gadgets. The concept is similar to that of The Register app, albeit just a bit less generic. Drippler has had a presence in the Google Play Store for quite a while, and it has now arrived for iOS as well. Let's take a look at it after the jump! Read More

RSS Master Is An OS X Feed Reader With A Built-In Tabbed Browser

by Fatima Wahab on April 24, 2013

Mac OS X

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Google Reader’s retirement will not just impact those who used its web interface, but also the scores of apps that synced feeds using Google’s API, and everyone who used such an app. While the hunt for the best web alternative for Google Reader is still in progress, many users are also considering switching to a desktop alternative. Mac users can get RSS Master for free for a limited time in the Mac App Store. It syncs with Google Reader, but can also work independently of it. You can add feeds from a local file, Blogger, LiveJournal, Xanga, MSN Spaces, or a URL. You can import feeds from an XML file as well. RSS Master had its own built-in browser that allows you to open articles in different tabs. The app lets you share articles on Twitter, Buffer, Evernote, Instapaper, Facebook, Pocket and Delicious, and add them to Safari’s reading list. You can set RSS Master to open articles in your default browser instead of its own, customize the font, and choose how often the app will check for new items in your feeds. Feeds can be organized into folders and refreshed manually all at once. Read More

ModeFeed Is A Web-Based News Feed Reader That Focuses On Minimalism

by Waqas Ahmed on April 24, 2013

There’s been a lot of debate regarding Google Reader’s bitter demise lately. The 8 years old RSS reader, which most of us have admired for quite long, is coming to an end. While alternatives like Feedly have already taken up the gauntlet to provide a similar experience when Google Reader will no longer be around, having more options never hurts. ModeFeed is yet another Google Reader substitute that you might want to take for a spin. Even though it’s far from looking as good (if not better) as Google’s offering, this intuitive web app is worth giving a shot due to its minimalistic and simple UI that's designed to help you focus on the actual content rather than the UI itself. Lets see how it works. Read More

Yahoo! For iPhone Redesigned, Adds Summly-Like Summarized Stories

by Hamza Khalid on April 23, 2013

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Yahoo! is rolling out new iOS apps and big updates pretty regularly these days. Just last week, we saw the beautiful Weather app from Yahoo!, and now the company’s eponymous app has been revamped as well. It is not a huge surprise though that Yahoo! for iOS has been updated with support for short summaries of all the posted stories. Just a few weeks back, Yahoo! acquired Summly - an iPhone app that intelligently summarized news stories and had a great UI. As we said in our Summly review, the app offered a very unique concept, and coupled novelty with usefulness. Yahoo! removed Summly from the App Store after its acquisition, but the app has made a comeback of sorts in the form of a feature in the Yahoo! app. You can now switch to a summary view of the stories pretty easily, and the overall user experience has been enhanced as well. Read More

NBC News Comes To WP8 With Full Shows, Narrated Articles & Video Clips

by Hamza Khalid on April 16, 2013

Windows Phone

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For some reason, the WP Store has a particularly strong news category. Windows Phone still can’t compete against iOS or Android if you are looking at photo editors or games, but almost all major news services have released their WP7 and WP8 clients. Last month, Al Jazeera became the latest big name to join the ranks of WP8 news apps, and now we have an even bigger release in the Store. The NBC network already had some Windows Phone presence, thanks to its Breaking News and Nightly News apps, but with NBC News, there is now a proper WP8 app of the news giant that takes full advantage of the features available in the OS. Read More

Nextly Is A Fast & Elegant Reddit, Twitter, Facebook & News Aggregator

by Fatima Wahab on April 01, 2013

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We’re always looking for a better way to browse the internet; websites redesign their interface to make content easier to read, apps are developed to assist reading and bookmarking, and then there are all the extensions that allow us to improve our browsing experience with just a tap of a few keys. Nextly is a web app designed to help you read content streams. It is presently limited to your Twitter and Facebook streams and a few choice websites including Reddit, Cracked, Time Magazine, etc. You can save your favorite streams, bookmark stories from them, and add tags and comments to your bookmarks. You will have to create an account with Nextly in order to use the service. Read More

How To Create & Share Your Own Flipboard Magazines On iOS

by Hamza Khalid on March 28, 2013

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Flipboard has always been touted as a news app that displays stories in form of a beautiful, customizable magazine. While it has received many updates in the past, the basic concept behind Flipboard hasn't evolved to a great extent. Finally though, the team behind the popular news apps has decided to take things to the next level. Rather than bringing the changes to all platforms simultaneously, Flipboard's latest update has gone live just for iOS presently. There are other changes as well, but the biggest addition to the app is user-curated magazines. Rather than relying on Flipboard to come up with interesting news stories, now anyone can create and maintain a magazine of their own. Your friends and other users can then subscribe to your magazine if it suits their taste. Read More

News Hub Adds A Simple RSS Feed Reader To The Chrome Toolbar

by Fatima Wahab on March 26, 2013

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Google Reader’s demise is just a few months away and we’ve compiled a list of Google Reader alternatives for the Web, Windows, and Mac. Our web alternatives were all web services (like Google Reader was) but if you’re looking for a browser extension to replace the void Google Reader will leave in your life, News Hub is a Chrome extension with an elegant interface that's worth a try. The extension allows you to add feeds via RSS links or by search for them. The search feature isn't the best we've seen, but it can still help you find new news resources. News Hub works exclusively in a popup and lets you browser the list of new stories as well as read any one of them from the popup. News items can be marked as read/unread and opened in a new tab. Feeds cannot be imported from an XML file though, and they cannot be organized into folders either. Read More

Official Reuters News App For iPhone & iPad Impresses With A Great UI

by Hamza Khalid on March 21, 2013

Reuters has been among the world's leading news agencies for quite a long time. It is not just an important name for the business and media sector, but is often the first to break many important news stories as well. Having said that, it is impossible for users to always be in front of their TV screens or on a news service’s website to catch the latest happenings from around the world. That is where news apps become really important. Reuters has had a presence on iOS for quite a while, and the organization has just launched a new official app for iPhone and iPad. The app has a beautiful interface that you can navigate using easy gestures. Besides keeping you up-to-date with the latest news from around the world, he app also lets you create a custom watchlist for the stock market. Read More

Al Jazeera Brings Its Live Audio & Video News App To Windows Phone

by Hamza Khalid on March 19, 2013

Windows Phone

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News integrators like Flipboard are great if you are looking to stay in touch with latest happenings from around the world without having to spend a lot of time. However, these apps can not serve as true replacements for official clients of popular news agencies and TV channels. Dedicated apps offer access to exclusive content, news stories that are hot off the presses and other interesting material. So, it is certainly good to see official clients of famous news services coming to Windows Phone. The BBC and CNN apps have been around in the WP Store for quite a while now, but it has taken Al Jazeera more than two years to come to Windows Phone after Android. Better late than never, and the app turns out to be pretty decent as well, bringing live streaming, picture galleries and the ability to preload articles for offline viewing. Read More

Tweewer: News App & Google Reader Alternative Based On Twitter Lists

by Fatima Wahab on March 18, 2013

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With the imminent demise of Google Reader just a few months away, the inevitable is happening: people have started to come up with unique ways to replace it. Not surprisingly, Twitter has formed the basis of one such solution provided by Tweewer, a web service that lets you view tweets by accounts in a Twitter list as if they were news items. Tweewer lets you view a tweeted link as it would appear on the website, or open the link in a new tab. You can retweet a news item, which is somewhat akin to the share function in Google Reader, and easily add a list of your choice. Read More

Skimr Is A Bare-Bones RSS Feed Reader For Desktop & Mobile Web

by Fatima Wahab on March 01, 2013

RSS readers for your desktop computer aren't hard to find; we've covered a whole host of them for both Windows and OS X. We've also covered quite a few of them for reading feeds in your browser, but there isn't much out there to rival Google Reader. If, however, you’re in the market for a minimal RSS reader that won’t let you get caught up in the news feed, give Skimr a try. It’s an RSS reader with a simple, scaled-down interface that gives you a list of all recent news items with a snippet from each one, rather than providing you the preview of a news story or showing the whole story complete with images and videos. Think of it as a table of contents for the news that is posted to a website daily. It doesn't connect with your Google account, but you can add any website to it that you like, with a few popular tech websites already added by default but if you aren't a fan of tech news, you can replace them with your own favorite websites. Read More

newscover Is A Preference-Aware Virtual Newspaper For Android

by A. Rehman on February 22, 2013

Android

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The likes of Flipboard, Google Currents, Pulse and a few other feature-filled news readers surely have their fair share of fans across both Android and iOS. Having said that, if you look past the big players, there are certain emerging candidates that seem to have what it takes to impress the masses, one of them being newscover – a free and personalized news aggregator for Android that keeps you updated about the latest and past stories from the world of sports, technology, business, style and current affairs in a beautifully crafted newspaper-like interface. newscover happens to be one of the few apps of its kind that let you head back to a date of choice to check out all the significant events that made the headlines for that particular day. Apart from that, the app sports various gesture-based controls to let you sift through news pages, choose the maximum number of news headlines you wish to see on your screen, and play around with various bookmarking and sharing tools you'd expect from a news reader app. Read More

Personalized News Aggregator NewsMix Comes To Windows 8 And RT

by Waqas Ahmed on February 19, 2013

Windows

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Windows 8 is the most versatile operating system to ever come out of Redmond’s doors. It gives you a mix of both Modern UI and desktop apps to meet all your app requirements. When the operating system was first unveiled, the availability of Windows Store apps was a huge factor in determining its success, but now that Windows Store has flourished with a decent collection of apps, it seems like Microsoft is now finally catching up with iOS and Android ecosystems. NewsMix is one of the latest of apps to join the club and looks amazing to say the least. It’s a news aggregator that lets you create custom news feeds that suit your taste, and allows you to discover various news channels from around the web by subscribing to more than 2000 news 'playlists'. Read More

Leaf Is A Sleek, Compact Google Reader Client For Mac OS X

by Fatima Wahab on February 15, 2013

Mac OS X

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Leaf is a brand new RSS reader app for Mac available in the Mac App Store for $3.99. It can connect with your Google account and import all your RSS feeds from Google Reader. The feeds can be viewed in a tiny window, and the news item can be opened in your browser or shared using one of the many sharing options supported by Mountain Lion. On the surface, Leaf boasts a beautiful UI for reading your RSS feeds while under the hood, it’s a reasonably good way to manage them as well. While it wouldn’t let you create new folders, it will import the ones you’ve created in Google Reader and allow you to move feeds between them. You can add additional feeds from within Leaf, and the app also gives you the option to set it as the default RSS reader. Read More