With Google intending to kill off Google Reader by July of this year, people in my industry are freaking out a bit. You see, we all live and die with RSS feeds as we browse dozens throughout the day to help us create the stories that we bring to you. But we’re a small group, as the comments on this site and Twitter have helped us realize. RSS feeds are not as popular as they once were – if they were, Google wouldn’t be killing off their famed service. Many of you have turned to Twitter, Pulse, Flipboard, Google Currents, or a variety of other services.

Speaking of Currents, I retweeted a comment this afternoon from a reader who suggested Google kill it off instead of Reader. As someone who rarely looks at Currents unless it has received an update, I fully agree with this person, however, many of you were quick to point out that you enjoy the service and would rather stick a needle in your eye than use Reader.

So that brought me to today’s poll – how are you gathering your news throughout the day? News readers? News gatherers like Pulse? Social media?

Question of the Day: How Do You Find Your Daily News? is a post from: Droid Life

Google Currents received an update this morning that introduced all sorts of audio enhancements for editions that include audio. Our edition doesn’t include audio, nor am I subscribed to any that do, so I’ll simply have to re-hash whatever the changelog says to get you up to speed.

In this new version, you’ll find audio playlists, a media bar (with stop, start, next, previous controls), a story scanner for audio icons, status bar audio controls, and post read syncing between devices.

Play Link

[Subscribe to Droid Life]

Cheers MrEastwood!

Google Currents Receives Update to 2.1.0 With Audio Playback Enhancements is a post from: Droid Life

A couple of popular Android apps received updates this morning that make them tablet optimized. NFL Mobile, the Verizon exclusive, now supports bigger screens with a new tablet UI, is ready for the post season, will have live video of select post season games (including the Pro Bowl and Super Bowl), and live audio of all post seasons games.

Flipboard, the popular news feed app that came over from iOS this year, received an update that only lists it as being “bug fixes,” however, it actually introduces a new tablet optimized layout. Instead of flipping up and down to jump between pages and stories, you now flip left and right. It looks a lot like the newest Google Currents, actually – very nice update. 

Play Links:  NFL Mobile | Flipboard

Cheers James and Trey!

NFL Mobile and Flipboard Now Tablet Optimized on Android is a post from: Droid Life

Looks like Google is to start pushing Currents again, as it just received a major update to version 2.0. This year at Google I/O, they released an updated version of the news feeder app that brought Nexus 7 support and a basic redesign. This time, in 2.0, the entire app has been re-imagined and it’s much prettier than it was previously. 

Now, you go through your feeds by scrolling left and right, and go through stories by swiping up and down. There is a dedicated sidebar for quickly accessing other topics, as well as breaking news. To top it off, they have also added a widget that is reminiscent of the YouTube widget, where you scroll through stories.

What’s new in 2.0? 

* Edition sidebar – quickly access your editions within categories such as business, sports, etc.
* Fast scan – Vertical swipe to scan an edition, horizontal swipe advances to next edition
* Edition-section chooser – Choose “Customize” to filter out sections
* Unread marks – Read stories are marked. (Setting to hide)
* Breaking stories – ranked by Google News. Links to full length content.
* Saved stories – star for future reference
* New catalog design
* Widget

Overall, this update may actually get me back into using it. Try it out and let us know what you think.

If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to Droid Life on Currents. We currently have over 250,000 subscribers.

Play Link

Via: Google

Google Currents 2.0 – New Sidebar, New Widget, and Much Improved UI is a post from: Droid Life

After the update to Android 4.2, many users of the Nexus 7 have experienced major lag issues, with no real fix or explanation for the occurrence. Neither ASUS or Google have acknowledged any issue, which isn’t a shock, but that hasn’t stopped one member of XDA to dig for a solution. 

During his research, he discovered that Google’s Currents app could be the culprit. With tons of forum members supporting the post and even users on Reddit stating that the fix has worked like a dream, here’s what you can do to fix the alleged lag on your Nexus 7.

1. Open your app drawer
2. Open Google Currents
3. Click the three dots in the top right corner of the app
4. Tap “Settings”
5. Uncheck “Enable Background Sync”
6. Reboot your Nexus 7

If this helps speed up your Nexus 7, let us know and be sure to spread the word.

Via: XDA

Cheers Dominick!

Google Currents to Blame For Nexus 7 Lag After Update to Android 4.2? is a post from: Droid Life

One of Google’s newer applications called Currents, which delivers magazine-like content from everyone’s favorite websites, just received a much need update to boost performance. Users will notice a drastic speed boost when navigating throughout the app and also a new auto-sync feature which was really needed so you don’t have to manually update your feeds once the application is opened.

What’s in this version:

1. Sync speed – Dramatic (7X) performance boost.
2. Instant online sync – No need to press “sync”. Just open an edition for latest content.
3. Offline reading – Choose favorite editions for offline images.
4. International – Currents now available worldwide (in 44 languages).
5. Translate – Translate complete editions to your preferred language. (38 languages).
6. Trending – Local trending stories provided for US, FR, UK, DE, IT, ES, JP, AU.
7. Bug fixes

Make sure to start following us on Currents!

Play Link

Google Currents Updated, Faster Browsing and Auto Syncing Included is a post from: Droid Life

The Google team popped out their latest product today called Currents and asked us to join in on the launch party. Currents is an application that runs on both Android and iOS phones and tablets, giving you a beautiful view of your favorite websites in an almost magazine-esque format. As a part of the original group of sites to be featured, once you load it up, you can find the Droid Life edition already available under “Science and Tech.”  

How does Currents work? It functions almost like a feed reader app, except that it allows for publication owners to create their own editions with special features, custom layouts, and pull content from a variety of sources. As you will see in the DL edition, we have both DL and Android Life feeds, our Youtube channel and even our Google+ feed (which we promise we will start using more). And if you are unable to find a specially made release from some of your other most-visited sites, you can go ahead and pull in their feed from your Google Reader list.

Swiping. Currents employees the swiping techniques that most of Google’s current crop of apps continues to use. You can swipe from home page to section, section to individual story, and then in between pages within a story. You almost never need to touch a button while using this app thanks to the fluidity of the interface.

Why should you use it? Like I said previously, it can easily replace your drab feed reader application, but most importantly, it allows you to access all of a web publication’s info from one spot. If you needed your entire Android fix all in one place, you can get that using Currents and subscribing to the DL edition.

Phones and Tablets. The Google team has done an amazing job at making this compatible with big and small screens. You get a completely different layout with more content on a tablet, yet the much more condensed visual version on phones works just as well.

Other bits. If having custom magazine style feeds from your websites wasn’t enough, you can also pull in trending topics on your favorite subjects from the main screen, share content quickly with your favorite apps, and view pictures in a snazzy looking gallery.

Here are some additional screenshots:

And a video overview:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Market Link

Google Introduces Currents to Android and iOS, A Beautiful Way to View Your Favorite Websites Including Droid Life is a post from: Droid Life