Google Caught in Currents: Flipboard and Zite Row Harder
December 27, 2011
Google has gained international recognition for creating innovative software that has transformed the role of search engine’s as we know it. With this reputation in mind, I was surprised to hear that Thursday’s release of Currents, Google’s news-reading app, has proven to be more than a little disappointing.
According to the Matthew Ingram’s recent Gigaom article “Google Doesn’t Seem to Get How Media Works Now,” much of the coverage of the new app have compared it to existing tablet and iPhone news-readers like Flipboard and Zite. Unfortunately, while Google Currents is superficially similar to these other services, there are some significant differences.
Ingram writes:
Google’s app, while well-designed in many ways, lacks much of the polish and user-interface elements that make Flipboard so compelling (to me at least). And at least in my limited usage of it so far, it doesn’t even manage to rise to the level that Zite provides…It’s entirely possible Google’s app will improve over time, and it does offer some interesting features — such as the ability to sync the content you’ve read between devices — but I still think it’s missing some crucial aspects.
What is the deal Google? has the search giant become dull, normal and slow on the uptake? or just indifferent?
Jasmine Ashton, December 27, 2011
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