Honey, I shrunk the news
New-age
apps are making it easier to remain up-to-date with what’s happening around the
world, in quick time
These days, getting news is not the
problem, reading it is. There are so many sources of information that keeping
track of all of them is quite a task—you could read close to 100 articles a day
and still find you've missed something. Which is why short-news apps have been
gaining popularity. These crisp apps specialize in delivering news, but unlike
the popular Flipboard and LinkedIn Pulse, they deliver information in tiny,
digestible morsels. So if you are trying to stay up to speed with events
happening around the world but do not have the time to go through reams of text
or look for sources of information, we suggest you try out these apps.
Way2News
| iOS and Android
This
is the perfect app for those who want India-centric news summarized in Indian
languages. The app supports nine languages and more will be added soon. It
claims to pick the most relevant news from local newspapers and other media
sources and then presents it in about 400 characters. Tapping on a headline
takes you to the complete story in the original source.
A
news item is typically a large picture with the text beneath, with generally
everything available on one screen so you don’t need to scroll down the page.
You can share news across social networks and via email. The grammar might seem
a trifle iffy at times, but you cannot fault the app on design, and it remains
one of the best short-news apps for Indian content.
Short
| iOS
Unlike
a classic “news shrinking” app, this focuses more on feature stories and
articles. The app is designed mainly for those who save news articles for
reading later, using services such as Pocket, Readability and Instapaper. Once
the app has access to your accounts on these services, it carefully rearranges
the articles you can read in 5-10 minutes, allowing you to choose from the
articles that will take time to read and those that can be read quickly. The
app presents the articles in a clean, reader-friendly format, and as you read,
an indicator at the top of the page will keep showing you how much of the
article is left, in terms of the number of minutes. This is calculated based on
your reading speed—how quickly you scroll down the page.
Inshorts
| iOS and Android
Previously
known as News In Shorts, the Inshorts app summarizes every news item in a mere
60 words—no more, no less. The app focuses on delivering just the news, keeping
the analysis aside. It covers a range of categories, but does not let you
specify the categories you would prefer news on. The stories are curated
manually by their in-house team, with links to the complete story and the original
sources. Some promotional content might show up occasionally, such as a gadget
launch exclusive to an e-commerce website. The app also highlights “trending
news” for those who would like to know what people are reading on social
networks. You can bookmark news items and share these short stories on social
networks. The innovative Toss feature allows you to send notifications to
friends who also use the app.
Clipped
| iOS
Clipped
describes itself as “an intelligent news reader”. Those looking for customized
topics might be a bit disappointed by the fact that you are pretty much at the
mercy of the app’s algorithms in terms of the news that you get on the
timeline. But the app does work smoothly, and it’s easy to use. It summarizes
the news into bullet points, which are well written. Important numbers
mentioned in the article are highlighted clearly, and even relevant locations
are marked clearly on maps, wherever applicable. The emphasis in the layout is
on information than images.
Newsd
| Android
This
app, unlike many others, allows you to set your favourite categories. So what
shows up on your timeline is much more relevant for you than what the
algorithms may be able to throw up. It also lets you follow
updates on particular stories. The Newsd app is populated by a team of editors,
who summarize the biggest news stories regularly. We quite like the interface
and the general intuitiveness this app offers.
InkaBinka
| iOS and Android
Yes,
the name might sound funny, but it’s one of the sleekest short-news apps. It
claims to get you the latest news that you can read in as little as a couple of
minutes. The information is delivered under different topics, with the articles
spanning just three-four main points. You can opt to read the longer version of
the story and share the news with friends on social networks and messengers.
The app does have a tendency to highlight US-centric news, and the reader
cannot select specific genres of interest, but the app is, nevertheless, handy
for those wanting a quick snapshot of the news.
Yahoo!
News Digest | iOS and Android
It
has been around for a while now. The app delivers news, with each item (there
are generally 7-10 news in a digest) skilfully summarized with information from
various sources. You are also given reference information about people and
places mentioned in the story—for instance, a story featuring the prime
minister might well have a brief profile of him.
The
app also tells you how many stories you have read and how many are pending, and
you can ask for more stories within the app itself. The Yahoo News Digest is a
bit like the newspaper, delivered to your phone with minimum fuss.
Source | Mint
| 1 June 2016
Regards
Pralhad
Jadhav
Senior
Manager @ Library
Khaitan
& Co
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