Review: Stay informed with these three news reader apps

If you’re like me, you probably spend what your parents would classify as way too much time on your phone or tablet, and they’re probably right.

But never fear, readers. With these awesome, free news reader apps you can now justify your time to them and win that tired old argument.

Smart News: 4.5/5

First off, I admit the naming of this app is lazy. Some could say it’s simple and that’s the best way to summarize this app. If you are looking for a basic news reader, I would definitely recommend this. Unlike others, it doesn’t tailor the news for you. You pick from tabs what subject you want to read — from tech to social, it has it all. Then you pick the story and it goes from there. Another great feature about this product its “top” feature for the top news stories. If you want to stay up to date, this is definitely the reader for you. Visually, this app is the least appealing but, like I said, it is simple and easy to use. It is available on iOS and Android, and I would recommend it for a phone or a tablet.

Flipboard: 4/5

This app is much like the others where you pick topic that interests you and it will then come up with stories that relate to that topic. What really sets this app apart is the visual component. Their tagline is “your personal magazine” and, being the most visually appealing out of all of them, it delivers. It is very touch-screen-oriented and you “flip” a story you’re interested in to view more, making it very user friendly. Because of that component, I would only recommend this for tablets or iPads, as it works better with larger devices. You can find it on iOS or Android. However, if you want the most up-to-date, hard-hitting news, this app is not for you. With the way it works, you may end up creating a customized “news bubble” where you don’t see other things that you probably should.

Newsify: 3.5/5

The app starts off by having you state your interests — international news, pop culture, etc. — or you can link it to your account on Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc. It combines all the feeds of news sources you may be interested in, so that is convenient but can also be a bit overbearing. If you don’t know what to subscribe to, it can give you suggestions when you pick the categories you like. The down-side to it is that you might miss out by only seeing what you want and not being exposed to new information. This app is only available for iOS products, so if you’re not an Apple person, this is not the app for you.

Any one of these apps should help you be more informed. It’s just a matter of choosing your style of news reading. If you want more news about pop culture, check out my show Popcorn Culture on Fridays from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m. on Aggie Radio, found at radio.usu.edu.

— Riley is a senior in marketing. He enjoys everything related to pop culture and has a show on Aggie Radio about the subject. Email him at rileymcmurdiethompson@gmail.com.