Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Honey, I shrunk the news

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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