Apple picker Within a week, there were two big updates to personal magazines (Flipboard, Zite) that brought an iPhone version. Along with them, Google's new personal magazine Currents also appeared. All three of us looked at the tooth.
Flipboard for iPhone
The winner of the award for the best touch interface of 2011 also comes to smaller iOS devices. iPad owners are certainly familiar with it. It is a kind of aggregator of articles, RSS feeds and social services. The application does not bear its name in vain, because navigation in the environment is done by flipping surfaces. The iPad and iPhone versions are slightly different here. On an iPad, you scroll horizontally, while on an iPhone, you scroll vertically. Tapping on the status bar to return to the first screen is also functional. The flipping animation of all flipped surfaces works efficiently and smoothly even on the older iPhone 3GS. Navigation in the entire application environment is just as smooth.
The first time you launch it, you are prompted to create an optional Flipboard account. This one comes in handy if you own multiple Apple mobile devices. All sources are simply synchronized and you will not have to set anything up again. You can also choose to log in to the social networks Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Flickr, Instagram, Tumbrl and 500px. As for Facebook, you can follow, 'like' and comment on your wall. Sharing articles is a matter of course.
Another service integrated in Flipboard is Google Reader. However, RSS reading is not the real deal in this application. Feeds are always shown individually on the display, and browsing by flipping between every two articles is not very efficient. If you get a few articles in RSS every day, so be it, but with dozens of feeds from many sources, you will definitely stay with your favorite reader.
In addition to "own" articles, there is a whole range of new ones to choose from. They are divided into categories such as News, Business, Tech & Science, Sports, etc. In each category there are several dozen sources that can be subscribed. The downloaded resources are grouped on the main screen into tiles, which can be rearranged at will. If you don't feel like reading, you can subscribe to articles from the category Photos & Design or Videos and enjoy the pictures or videos.
Flipboard - FreeLive for iPhone
Another personnel magazine that has recently received a version for the iPhone is Zite. Zite, recently purchased by CNN, can, like Flipboard, display a list of articles just like a newspaper or magazine. However, unlike Flipboard, it does not work with predefined sources, but searches for them itself.
To get started, you can choose from different sections that interest you, or connect Zite to Google Reader, Twitter, Pinboard or Read It Later (Instapaper is missing). However, it won't use these resources directly, it will just narrow down the selection to suit what you're interested in. However, Zite does not take language into account and usually only offers resources in English.
A great feature is the parser, which, like Instapaper or RIL, can pull only the text and images of an article and display it as if it were part of the app. However, it is not always possible to apply the parser, in which case the article will be displayed in the integrated browser. An important part is also the buttons with which you indicate whether you liked the article or not. Accordingly, Zite will adjust its algorithm to make the articles even more suited to your tastes.
The magazine view on the iPad has been solved elegantly, you move between sections by dragging horizontally, you can switch between them faster by dragging the upper bar with section names. The articles are then arranged below each other and you can scroll through them simply. Unlike the iPad, you will only see the headlines or the opening image from the articles, to save space on the smaller display.
What failed is the article screen itself. Rather wide bars will appear on the upper and lower sides, which will significantly reduce the space for the article itself. In the upper bar, you can change the font style, view the article in the integrated browser or continue to share it, the lower bar is only used for the aforementioned "liking" of articles. There is no option to display the article in full screen. At least the bottom bar could have been forgiven by the developers or at least allowed to hide it. Hopefully they will work on it in future updates.
Zite - FreeCurrents
The latest addition to the family of personal magazines is Currents, which was developed directly by Google. Google itself operates the Reader service, which is used by many RSS readers, including the personal magazines mentioned above, perhaps for this reason Google decided to create its own application for iPhone and iPad using RSS.
Using the application requires a Google account, without which the application cannot be used. By signing in, it will connect to Google Reader and you will have enough resources right from the start, that is if you use it. Initially, you will have a few default resources available right away, for example 500px or Cult of Mac. In the library section, you can add additional resources from prepared categories or search for specific resources. Unlike Flipboard, Currents won't let you create a magazine from your Twitter account. But working with the library is full of errors, sometimes the added resources don't even appear in it.
The main screen is divided into two parts, the first one rotates top articles from all categories, the second one you can choose which source you want to display as a magazine. There is no option to display multiple sources at once, so you can only read one page. The magazine is divided into blocks on the iPad, just like in a newspaper, and on the iPhone as a vertical list.
The big disadvantage of Currents is the absence of a parser that Flipboard or Zite have, while Google has Google Mobilizer technology. If the article displayed in the RSS feed is not the entire article, which in many cases it is not, Currents will only display part of it. If it wants to display the article in its entirety, the application must open it in the integrated browser instead of taking the text with images from the article and displaying it without other distracting elements. If the article does not fit on the screen, you unorthodoxly view it in parts by dragging your finger sideways.
Articles can of course be shared, but some important sharing services are missing. He is present Instapaper, nursing service Read It Later however, she is not present. We can't even wait to share until Evernote. On the other hand, the recommendation function will please Google + 1, which you won't find in other personal magazines. The irony of Google's Currents is that there is no option to share an article to your own service Google+.
The app is largely web-based in HTML5, the problem here is the same as the Gmail app with laggy responses compared to other native apps. In addition, you cannot yet purchase Currents in the Czech or Slovak App Store, you must have an American account, for example.
Currents - FreeThey prepared the article Michal Ždanský a Daniel Hruska
I've tried them all, but lately I've been liking Pulse the best. Fast and has a nice UI.
http://itunes.apple.com/cz/app/pulse-news-for-iphone/id377594176?mt=8
Flipboard shocked me, really beautifully designed UI and it really works great. Now I understand why he wins all kinds of awards.
I agree with Martin: I've been using Pulse for some time now and it's very practical, the GUI is friendly and the articles load in a flash. I recommend!!!