Read all about it: Windows Phone news-reader apps
With today’s 24/7 news cycle,keeping up with what’s going on in the world can be a daunting task.
With today’s 24/7 news cycle,keeping up with what’s going on in the world can be a daunting task.
Who has time to read and watch all the online news sites, newspapers, magazines, television newscasts, and blogs out there?
Luckily, there are a handful of Windows Phone news-reader apps that select the news that’s of most interest and relevance to you. We covered Weave News Reader in an earlier Conversations story. But here are a few more apps you should check out.
Bing News
This elegant and free photo-rich app debuted last year, and since then, Bing News has been improved to make your news-reading experience even better. The app draws stories from leading news sources such as The New York Times, the Associated Press and Reuters.
When you open the app, you’re greeted with a top story, displayed full-screen. Swipe to the left, and you’ll see headlines and thumbnail photos of more news articles under categories such as World, Technology & Science, and Entertainment. You’re free to add and delete news sources. For example, I added The Washington Post to my must-read list.
You can also watch videos of top news stories produced by media outlets including ABC News and the Wall Street Journal. Naturally, this Microsoft-produced app supports Live Tile — by pinning Bing News to your home screen, the live tile will feature text and photo of the day’s top story. And if you want to keep abreast of certain topics, such as “Windows Phone” or “Wall Street,” simply add them to Bing News’s Topics page.
Phonly
Feedly is a popular news-aggregator application and Phonly is a beautiful and powerful third-party Feedly app that can be as personalized as you want. Add the topics and blogs you want to follow and Phonly will do the rest. The app also makes it easy to share articles via email and social media, and you can bookmark stories to read later.
What’s also neat is that Phonly works hand in hand with Feedly.com, so if you’re at your computer, adding topics and reading stories on your account is a seamless experience. Another useful feature is the ability to send and save articles to OneNote.
Phonly is free, but if you’d rather not see advertisements, opt for for Phonly Pro (99 cents).
Flux
Flux is another third-party Feedly app and what it makes it stand out: a stellar off-line reading experience.
For a mere 99 cents (you can try before you buy), the clean, well-designed Flux will cache mobile-optimized news articles, images and other content so you can access them even if you’re in a place with scant mobile coverage or if you’re on a transcontinental flight (you jet-setter, you).
You can read articles in preview, mobile-optimized or original versions, and you can choose the text’s font size (which is helpful if you’re myopic like me). In addition, you can pin as many feeds and folders as you want on your phone’s home screen. Flux also supports Instapaper and Pocket, should you use these “read later” services.
NextGen Reader
This blazing-fast Feedly app ($2.99) is optimized for low-powered devices, such as the Lumia 520 and is a favorite among news junkies.
Like its compatriots, NextGen has the ability to save content to OneNote, Pocket, and other similar services. You can read articles offline, too. The app’s latest update also makes it easier to set up feeds, share articles via text messaging, email and social media.
What’s your favorite news-reader app?