I tend to read a lot of news to keep up with sports, politics, science, technology and more. I love using my tablet because the larger screen size gives me more information in a high quality format. I use many different apps for different types of information. Some are single news sources like Time and CNN while other are aggregators like Pulse. Today I will take a look at News 360 which is a news aggregator. The unique feature behind News 360 is that it allows you access information on one news story from many different sources which is the 360 view and is not found on other news apps.
The News 360 home screen is split-view with a scrolling bar on the left for you topics and news stories in the main window. The news stories have the links for the different sources so you can go straight to that source. Once you pick a story then you go to a new screen that has many different features. The top bar allows you to choose your news source which includes twitter. If you choose the “more” links then you get a graphic timeline view that displays the articles and what time they were published.
The main window area has a summary of the article plus a tab that scrolls up to view the full web page article with an in-app browser. You also have the option of using the “Reader” which shows the article in full-screen and is your best option if you just want to read with no graphics. On the right, you have pictures and videos related to the article that can be viewed full screen. Another unique 360 feature is that companies, people and locations are highlighted and clicking on them will take you to a new page with info and story on that selection. Just from one article and screen you can access a tremendous amount of information. You can also share any article or save it to your News 360 account.
Other features of the app include the ability to sync across all devices with a News 360 account. Once you have an account, then you can save articles and create your own topics and interests. The app can personalize your news by connecting to Facebook, Twitter, Google+, Evernote and Google Reader. You can access local news based on your GPS setting which is something I haven’t encountered in most news apps. Lastly, there is the “360 View” which is a scrolling picture cloud. The idea is that you will discover new stories based on pictures that you may have missed otherwise. I don’t personally use it that often but it’s definitely unique and cool. Overall, News 360 is a great news aggregator that is visually appealing and rich in information and features.
Download from the Android Market.
On the Kindle Fire download from the Amazon Appstore.
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