Last month, one of the best looking and most functional applications I have ever used on my iPad, became available on the Google Play Store for Android users. While this excited me, I was extremely worried that they wouldn’t be able to replicate that same gorgeous design on a different operating system, and that it would become just another news reader.
However, my fears were short-lived. After logging in using the same account I use on my iPad (guest log-in is available also), the same black and red colour scheme which has become so familiar to me recently was suddenly on my Desire S. Now, as much as I love Android, I do agree with the opinion of most in that while Android apps offer a lot of functionality, the often lack the same effort when it comes to the design department. This is where FLUD changes things. Of course, I expected this after using the iPad app and seeing the iPhone version, however it was extremely satisfying to see it on my phone.
The UI, although nice, needs to be easy to navigate to collect your daily dosage of news. Failing to do this would make even the most ugly of news readers superior. Fortunately, the functionality matches the user interface. It’s insanely easy to navigate. All you have to do is scroll sideways to change news sources, and scroll down to view the most recent articles available from that website. A relatively new feature on FLUD is the ‘FLUD Stream’ section, which collects and show you what your friends have been looking at. If you are into that kind of thing, that’s great…but not many of my friends are as interested in technology as I am.
As I mentioned above, FLUD is a multi-platform application. That means that I can view my news on my Wi-Fi limited iPad, and pick up from where I left off on my phone when I leave my home. Having this kind of cloud functionality really makes you feel like you will never miss a single news story again, as it can literally be taken anywhere!
Now i’m going to be honest. Up until last month, my preferred news reader of choice was Flipboard. The reason behind that being that when I was looking at purchasing my iPad, Flipboard looked like one of the most revolutionary apps ever. Even now I don’t think Flipboard is bad, it’s very very good. However if they fail to release it for Android, soon enough they will begin to lose more and more customers to FLUD, as it shares an equally amazing design, but on more platforms.
In the last couple of paragraphs, I have trailed from my main review or the Android application, and have discussed the entire news reader as a whole. And rightly so, as the application is the same on all devices. Sure, it is a bit smaller, but that is in screen size only. It still packs just as many features on all platforms and devices, has a simply gorgeous design, and is a must have for any Android, iPhone and iPad user.
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You can now find Geeks Have Landed on FLUD! Simply go to the Technology section and tap our name!
