One of the Google applications that I feel could have received more attention is this one: Google Currents. Some may have heard of it, but others may not have been so lucky. The thing is that it is a real shame not more people know of this app. Especially since it is a Google powered application – meaning it would run on a large number of Android devices. Also, while it may run on a large number of Android phones / tablets, it will not work on any older and / or lower-budget Android devices. While that may be a shame, it is ultimately understandable as this app offers something which demands a small bit of hardware strength. And, while on the subject, I might as well tell you what the app does. In essence, it offers you the beautiful magazine-like editions of certain things for offline reading.
The features of this app include:
- Publisher Editions: publishers such as Forbes, The Guardian, TechCrunch, PBS, Saveur and many more. They have produced hundreds of editions including full length and in-depth articles, videos, fine photography and slideshows. The editions are free and they cover: news, business, lifestyle, fashion, sports, science, technology, design, food, entertainment and much more.
- Fast Scan: a new navigation mode that lets you quickly swipe vertically in order to discover unread stories within an edition and swipe horizontally in order to move to the next edition within a category. You can also use the sidebar to jump ahead to a specific edition.
- Breaking Stories: this app uses Google search tech to deliver the hottest breaking stories in categories such as world, entertainment, sports, science and much more. As you travel different countries, additional breaking stories are added to match your current location.
- Saved Stories: these help you in case you’ve run across an article you’d like to browse later. Star any story to be saved for later and you can find it in your Saved Story edition.
- Your Favorite Blogs and Feeds: you can instantly turn your Google Reader subscriptions, or any other favorite blog / feed for that matter, into a beautiful edition with a magazine-like feel.
- Translate: this app uses Google Translate technology to translate editions into your preferred language. There are over 44 supported languages at the moment.
- Widget: allowing you to immediately see the new modifications on your Android homescreen.
Each of the editions present in this app is available for high-speed offline-reading. They also provide quick-touch sharing. This app self-adapts to differently sized phones and tablets, with the subscriptions synced on all devices. This app is presented as a “reading experience not to be missed”. It was also named by the New York Times, The Next Web and SlashGear as a Top 10 Android app.
Hopefully you will enjoy this app or at the very least give it a try. As I already mentioned, it will set you back nothing at all to try it out and experience for yourself what Google Currents is and represents.
