The problem that most people have with news is the lack of focus. News companies are all about reaching the most people while still trying to inform, and that sometimes means mixing presidential primary information in with Kim Kardashian news and sliding weight loss miracles next to riots in Uganda. It can be hard to go through a news site and find what you want to read sometimes. But, with News Republic, that doesn’t have to be the case.
News Republic is basically a news gathering app which scans more than 1000 trusted websites hourly for news, then categorizes it and formats it for you. All users have to do is select which topics they wish to read about, and News Republic does all of the rest.
Using the app is a breeze, and while there isn’t really a tutorial on the app, much of the navigation is self-explanatory. Articles are displayed as headlines and photos with a snippet of the first paragraph.When you find an article that interests you, you can click on it to see more of even read the whole article. It’s probably the most effortless way to stay informed with what’s going on around the world.
Unlike many other similar apps, News Republic isn’t full of ads or pesky links and annoying questionnaires. All you’ll find are top stories from popular news sites like Huffington Post, Bloomberg, Aljazeera, AP, CNet, Reuters, TechCrunch and more.
For me, the coolest part of the app is that News Republic keeps track of your preferences and what articles you read, rate and comment on in order to give you better news and information. It’s almost like having a personal reporter that only tracks stories you care about. The more you use it, the more helpful News Republic’s algorithm will be. The app also features push notifications for breaking news as well, which is pretty nice if you’re following a specific topic.
In short, there are lots of ways to stay in touch and stay informed with the world around us. But, if you’re feeling way too lazy to sort through all of the muck and boring yourself or you don’t have time to visit a dozen different sites all at once, then News Republic is probably your best bet. I have spent much of my career in some form of writing or news-related industry and I can say with confidence that this app is one of the best and easiest ways to read the news that I have found. Unlike Flipboard (which we reviewed earlier this year), News Republic is focused on news first and content second, meaning that there are more options for actual news and the UI is much easier on the users as well.
News Republic is free to download for Android and iOS and can also be downloaded on the Amazon App Store. Unfortunately, the app is no longer available for Windows Phone. It doesn’t cost anything to download and I haven’t come across any advertisements within the app yet (or, at the least, they have been so unobtrusive I haven’t noticed them) which is a definite plus and extremely uncommon in free apps.
While I’ve only been using it for a couple of days thus far, News Republic has quickly become my go-to app to stay informed and has already made it to my top list of must-have, never-uninstall apps. Not everyone has time to sit down and watch the Nightly News every evening, but everyone has time to flip through a quick app. So go download it, and become part of the News Republic.
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Posted in Mobile Apps