Reading a newspaper in the morning is one of the habits that are good and healthy. But one cannot read all the news in the newspaper with the busy schedules we have these days. However, the amount of technology aids that we have at our disposal at the moment – in hindsight – could not be even imagined a decade back. An inconspicuous smartphone has very much changed the way we used to live. This is more relevant with the amount of information feed that we get everyday through the various apps installed on our phones.
A common sight while travelling in a public transport system such as metro rail nowadays is seeing people dabble with their phones reading news amongst other things. Admit it, we Indians do love to read news from around the globe. Now, smartphones and tablets with internet connection are perhaps the best companion for doing that. Although we do have access to a lot of Indian and international apps, here, we will give you a list of a few news apps for smartphones which are popular and well accepted by the masses. Some of these apps are news aggregator apps, while some others are from official news sources such as newspapers. Read on.
Newsstand
As the name says, Google Play Newsstand is the news curator application for Android Smartphones. This app is, with no doubt, best of category, as it is from Google, literally an emperor of World Wide Web. However, this is available only for Android Smartphones. If you have a device running Android version 2.2 or later, you can install this app, and it will bring you news based on your location and interests. In addition to this, you can select the favourite topics to form a section called ‘My News.’ There are options to enable articles for offline reading and viewing videos.
Dailyhunt
Dailyhunt is an Indian-made application that brings latest news from various newspapers of different states. Though its main sources are newspapers, you can get instant updates as well. This application, unlike the aforementioned one, is available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone. It supports different local languages such as Hindi, Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, and Bengali amongst others. It has collaborated with established newspapers and other trusted sources, and users can be sure of the authenticity of news Dailyhunt brings. Availability: Free On Android, iOS, Windows Phone
Probably the big daddy of news aggregator apps, Flipboard has been around for a while and has been the ‘go to’ app, especially for tablets and big screen tablet phones. Geared more for leisurely reading rather than frenetic updates on the go, Flipboard’s biggest strength is its visual appeal, that works particularly well in large format screens. Flipboard gathers news and opinion pieces from all over the world but also features a unique ‘Daily Edition’ that rounds up India specific updates. Available on: Android, iOS, Windows Phone
FirstPost
FirstPost is the official application of FirstPost, which is a popular Indian news portal. This app, available for Android, iOS and Windows Phone, brings news from the portal quite instantly. Using this app, you can check out news articles and other media such as photos and videos. Plus, there is an option to personalize FirstPost according to your tailored topics of news. And it allows you to read popular FirstPost blogs as well. You can save stories for offline reading also. Availability: Free On Android, iOS, Windows Phone
News in Shorts Â
To understand a situation, the short way is better rather than reading long paragraphs of contextual texts. News in Shorts is not just another news app, but the one where all the news is written in 60 words which pretty much covers the whole thing and can be read in a minute rather than wasting time. Be it any genre of news, all in 60 words, that’s it. Available for iOS and Android
News 360Â
Another app that packs serious visual appeal, News 360 also learns from your navigation patterns, recommending features based on your areas of interest. The app allows you to save features and news items for offline reading; perfect if you need to catch up on your favourite updates on a flight or during an underground metro commute. Available on: Android, iOS, Windows Phone
Not your everyday news aggregator app. Pocket’s biggest strength is its ability to ‘pocket’ news items and web pages that you can save for reading later. It’s not just news sources within the app but Pocket’s ability to pick pages from sources as diverse as Google Chrome or Social media feeds. Aside from gathering pages from other sources, Pocket curates a list of ‘recommended’ articles that you can read online or save for offline reading later. Available on: Android, iOS, Amazon (Kindle)
Feedly
Simple, yet fast and efficient. This RSS (Rich Site Summary) powered news aggregator keeps track of almost any news source or blog thanks to its ‘open’ environment. The app’s search bar manages to retrieve almost anything you are looking for and allows you to make fun discoveries along the way. We also like the social media integration that allows you to share your favourite stories across platforms effortlessly. Available on: Android, iOS
The Hindu This is the official application of the popular Indian daily, The Hindu, which is published by Kasturi & Sons. This app has a simple UI but speed is good even if you are using a slow 2G internet connection. Rather than home screen, which shows top news from different sections, you can slide from the left side and dig into your favourite news topics. The file size of this application is very low in all platforms. Obviously, since The Hindu is a trusted source of Indian news, this application is highly recommended. Availability: Free On Android, iOS, Windows Phone
The Times of India Â
The Times of India is one of the most read Indian dailies. Its app is equally popular. This brings the latest happenings, breaking news and all the trending topics concerning sports, general, technology, career, world and everything else. The apps is very free to use, all the latest news are filled in the notifications bar and also you can select the topics on which you want to know about. Availability: Free On Android, iOS, Windows Phone
Dainik JagranÂ
The official application of a popular Hindi newspaper from India, Dainik Jagran, allows you to read news in Hindi, and the application is available for Android and iOS. There are options to personalize your news by providing your state and city. Also, you can check out news from different categories including international affairs. Currently, it offers a special coverage of the upcoming election as well. Availability: Free On Android, iOSÂ
These are only a few among the innumerable news apps that are available for free download. We hope, all these applications will satisfy your thirst to know the latest news around the country. Do you use any other news application? We await your response.
