Category: Apps

The top 3 free mobile news apps

Posted on by Brian Lee

In this day and age, people are looking for newer, faster and easier ways to get their daily news. I tested many mobile news apps to find out which ones are worthwhile, using the criteria of compatibility with both Apple and Android phones, variety of news topics and price (free). Here are my top three picks:

Flipboard

Flipboard has a fun graphic element where you can actually flip up and down through story lines (like you’re turning a page) and then tap on a headline to read more about it. When you download the app, the way you can choose from categories such as: news, business, sports, style, design and travel.

My favorite feature about Flipboard is that it encourages you to sync it with Facebook and Twitter to add your timelines and newsfeeds. It also has the potential to share news on a social media sphere.

With all that said, Flipboard would be much more interesting if it had more variety in its categories. It would also be nice if it allowed you to share and save stories.

Rating: B+

Google Currents

If you’re a fan of anything Google, this is the app for you. To sign in, all you need is a Google account. This app comes with the categories of news, lifestyle, business, science & tech, sports, entertainment and design. For each category, there are pre-loaded sites that you can either choose to keep or get rid of. Google Currents is also very user-friendly in the sense that you can add subscriptions. For example, instead of using the pre-loaded Huffington Post, you can choose to add the Los Angeles Times instead.  There are even publications from other countries.

This app also has the option of sharing it via social media. You can share on Google+, Tumblr, e-mail, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Pocket and Instapaper.

The only downside to Google Currents is the pre-loaded sites in each category. I think it would be much better to start with a blank slate. That way, users don’t have to go through the extra work to delete the sites they don’t want.

Rating: A

News360

The name says it all: 360! With this app, you really do get the full circle. With more than 30 categories from which to choose, you can customize your app—all without even signing up (although you may choose to sign in with Twitter, Facebook, Google or your email account if you wish).

News360 adds a fun element by having strange categories such as zombies and paranormal. Not to worry, it also has the basics such as arts, politics and business. One feature that I find extremely useful is the option to add local news—something so simple, yet no one else has thought of it. I also like that you have the option to give a thumbs up or a thumbs down to better customize your stories. You may also save and share stories. Not only is News360 compatible with Apple and Android, but it works with Windows as well.

In my opinion, you can’t beat News360! It really has everything you could ever want in a news app.

Rating: A+

I hate Reply All

Posted on by Brian Lee

Ugh, I shudder when people hit “Reply All” to an email when they clearly should have just replied directly to the sender. For example, on an invitation to a meeting, do you need to tell everyone you have a dentist appointment?

What’s worse is when people try to opt-out, replying to everyone to stop using Reply All. Do they not get the irony?

Facebook also is guilty of promulgating Reply All. When a message is sent to multiple people, the default method of replying is Reply All. A former Facebook employee said on Quora that this was done on purpose to simplify things. Seriously?

In the article “8 ways to avoid drowning in reply-all emails,” I’m quoted as recommending the internal communications app Yammer to cut down on these types of emails.

For example, for casual internal discussions about going to lunch or what office supplies on which we’re low, we can generate a threaded discussion on Yammer instead of 20 Reply All emails. Yammer is great because you can divide your company into departments, so for instance the HR folks can have a discussion without involving, say, the sales team.

Plus, you can be on the road and get your Yammer messages on your Android or iPhone app. Believe me, it’s a great way to get rid of your inbox clutter.

Create your own newspaper

Posted on by Brian Lee

I often talk about how personalization and customization have become more prevalent through social media. If you think of traditional broadcast media such as TV, newspapers or radio, there’s no real choice by the consumers in the content they receive.

For example, I can’t turn on the radio to an oldies station and pick the next 20 songs. Now, with a tool like Spotify, I can create my own playlist and even share it with others.

Let’s talk about creating your own newspaper. You’ll need an RSS reader, like Google Reader (and in this case, a Gmail account; both are free). From there, you can pick the sections from any newspaper, magazine, blog or online publication and subscribe to its RSS feed.

Maybe you want the New York Times Dining section. You can either click on the orange “Subscribe” button in Google Reader and type in the URL of the section (note: Google Reader doesn’t always locate the RSS feed correctly), or better yet, find the “RSS” link on the actual site. In the case of the New York Times, it’s at the bottom of the page. Now, locate the Dining & Wine link under “Style,” and it’ll take you to a subscribe page. As you’ll see, there’s a Google button you can click, and you’re done!

Finally, sort your “newspaper” in one of two ways. You can either create subfolders based on sections (e.g. news, sports, business, etc.), or you can create a folder just for your one newspaper that includes all the sections you want. You can manage folders in the “Feed settings …” menu.

You can now read your personalized newspaper through a browser or even an app on your smartphone.