Google launched Currents – their newsreader application, a few days ago and while it’s too early to state whether it’ll be a success or go the route of other recent Google products, it isn’t too early to offer my quick review.
Google’s attempt to compete with the massively popular app Flipboard is just that…an attempt. Flipboard by far my favorite iPad app. I use it religiously throughout the day and it’s my primary source for news. However, being a Google fan, I downloaded Currents and gave it a shot. The end result: it does some things nicely, others not so much.
The problem with new products that come out and attempt to compete with other products that are already very successful is there really needs to be an incentive to change. Outside of experiencing a major issue with a product or service, the act of changing one’s behavior requires something more than “comparable.” The new product needs to offer something the current product doesn’t — and that’s where I believe, at least for me, Currents fails.
Currents is a nice app. It has a beautiful design, it has a lot of publication feeds and it’s fairly easy to set-up and use. To be honest, the one thing that Currents does better than Flipboard is the set-up function. It’s a lot easier to find and add a publication to your feed in Currents than it is through Flipboard. But that’s where it ends. Currents doesn’t offer me anything Flipboard doesn’t. I’ve invested a lot of time and I’ve become comfortable with Flipboard. If Currents doesn’t offer me anything Flipboard doesn’t, why would I change?
Outside of not differeniating itself from Flipboard, at its core, Currents isn’t social. Right now, that’s what I love about Flipboard. Flipboard makes it easy to share what I’m reading. Currents does allow you to +1 (recommend) an article and does allow you to share via Facebook, Twitter, etc., but it’s not as easy as it is on Flipboard.
Overall, Currents is a fine newsreader app. It mirrors Flipboard…just not as nicely. While Currents is a good option for those looking for a news aggreator app, Flipboard does it better and is more social. I’m sure Google will make some improvements to Currents, but right now, I’m sticking with Flipboard.
P.S. How the heck does one get to the original article through Currents? Flipboard gives you the article’s link, but I have no idea how to access the original article through Currents. Someone help me out.
