Pulse, one of the most popular news reader applications on Android and iOS, has been acquired by Linkedin. After rumors of talks between the two spread across the internet over the last couple of weeks, this move isn’t entirely all that surprising, but still news none the less, as it may affect Android users at some point in the future. 

As of today, Pulse and Linkedin both stated that Pulse’s apps will remain the same “for now” and “in the meantime.” Clearly they are leaving the door open for changes, which makes sense for two companies who have just joined forces. If you didn’t want to make changes, why acquire something? But I digress.

The move will help push Linkedin in the publishing field, something they have been working towards for some time now. They continue to seek out professionals who not only want to consume content, but publish it as well. Using one of the hottest news aggregating services in the world isn’t a bad place start.

The transaction is valued at approximately $90 million.

Any big Pulse users out there?

Via:  Pulse | Linkedin

Pulse Acquired by Linkedin, Apps “Will Remain the Same” for Now is a post from: Droid Life

Yesterday, the popular Pulse News application received an update to version 3.0. Included in the update is the ability to add unlimited pages (feeds), swipe from off the screen to view your stories feature, and a brand new widget for viewing important news right from your homescreen without the need of opening the app.

If you haven’t tried Pulse before, it’s a very well-made application that has been on Android for quite some time. It looks especially good on tablets, so if you’re in the market for a free news reader, check it out.

Play Link

Cheers Jeremy!

Pulse News Updated to Version 3.0, Allows For Unlimited Pages and a New Widget is a post from: Droid Life

Hooray for more tablet apps!  The number of Honeycomb apps seems to be on the rise these days, but we could always use more, especially the apps we use on a daily basis.  Google Reader is by far my top choice for a feed reader, so I couldn’t be happier that it now looks tabletified.  Sure, there are plenty of spicy photo-centric readers like News360 and Pulse that get the job done – I just like my news simple.  If you want something without all the fluff and that reminds you of an in-browser reader, then this is a great choice.  

Market Link

BlazersEdge shout out!

Tablet Support Comes to Google Reader App in New Update is a post from: Droid Life

There is an excellent selection of news readers on the Android Market. FLUD is yet another awesome choice, proving that you can never have enough of a good thing. FLUD brings excellent integration with your Twitter, Google Reader account, and any RSS feed from the web. It has a beautiful UI, with an easy swipe through feed that is super easy to set up. 

Market Link

Features:

- Access your own carefully chosen feeds, at any given time, in a beautiful and usable news interface
- Search for RSS feeds of interest inside the application and add them with a single touch
- Connect to Google Reader
- Mark the article you “Love” and influence what other FLUD user will read on a minute-to-minute basis
- View all articles you “Loved” on your Bookmarks page
- Manage, reorder or remove feeds
- Organize feeds into categories
- Browse the web inside the app and play video seamlessly
- Share articles of interest with you friends on Facebook and Twitter
- E-mail articles to your friends from inside the application

Anyone thinking this could be better than Pulse, or even Taptu? Let us know what you think, and if you decide to stick with it, don’t forget to subscribe to us on your news feed. To learn more about Flud, check out their website, here.

FLUD News For Android, Because You Can Never Have Too Many News Readers is a post from: Droid Life

We’re finally starting to see full tablet support on an abundance of apps these days, and Taptu is one of them.  Rebuilt from the ground up with Honeycomb in mind, this is picture-styled news reader which will remind you of Pulse, except that it has unique features like the ability to import up to 100 feeds from your Google Reader account.  They also tossed in the ability to add multiple Twitter accounts, which is something the iOS version can’t even accomplish.

The rest of the goodies in this release:

• Themes: Change the color theme from dark text on a white background to white text on a background for better reading day or night.
• Full screen reading: Read articles in fullscreen instead of a tabbed look.
• Instapaper support: Don’t have time to read it now? Send it to your Instapaper account to read it later.

Market Link

What are you guys using on your tablets?  Google Reader, Pulse, or Taptu?

Taptu Updated with Tablet Support is a post from: Droid Life

Everyone’s favorite picture-laden news reader app, Pulse, updated to version 2.0 today and now allows you to add up to 60 of your favorite feeds in that beautiful column format.  They’ve also enhanced the performance by improving swiping smoothness and made sharing with your favorite social outlets easier.  Is anyone using anything besides Pulse or Google Reader these days?  Top two in my opinion.

What’s in this version:

1. Three Times More Sources: Personalize your mobile news reading experience by selecting up to 60 news sources (compared to the previous 25) across five customizable pages.
2. Social News: Easily browse social content from Facebook, YouTube, Vimeo, Digg and Reddit
3. Improved Google Reader: We now save stories read offline on Pulse and sync them to Google Reader when the app is online later.
4. Smooth Swiping: We have improved swiping between stories in text and web view to be smoother than ever.

Via:  Pulse

Pulse News Reader Updated to Version 2.0: Add up to 60 News Sources, Share them Easier is a post from: Droid Life