Top 7 Elegant Android News Reader Apps

Many Android developers do not give enough attention to user interface and fail miserably in terms of quality of design and usability features. This article will be more than just a round up and highlight the key features that will help every news based App to become a success. I have omitted some Apps previously reviewed on this site like News Republic and Read it later Pro.

1. Feedly (Free)

Feedly is obviously the number one on this list as it clearly stands out from the crowd by its "out of the box" layout with minimal text based article listings and cute little icons. Powered by Google Reader, Twitter, Instapaper and Read It Later, it is clearly the best news feed reader out there.

Feedly: 1. Title Page; 2. Options drop down menu

Feedly comes in both light and dark versions. The opening page has nice big title and lots of white space that is pleasing to the eye. When you tap the header bar you get a nice scrolling options drop down menu with a pre-populated list of useful RSS feed sources. If you sign in to Google Reader then this list will be replaced by your Google Reader settings. I am really digging the minimal style of article lists with thumbnails. The icons in the top bar are self explanatory and users have no difficulty in using them. Articles are displayed with minimal text based layout by default but users can always switch to web view.

Feedly Image Gallery: 1. portrait style; 2. landscape style

The image gallery is excellent and has two styles depending on the source feed with titles overlaid. I have checked various multimedia RSS feeds and found the experience exhilarating. Vimeo or Youtube feeds work the best.

2. Pulse News (Free)

Our close runner up to the top position is Pulse News App. True to its description, Pulse takes your favorite websites including Facebook and transforms them into a colorful and interactive mosaic. It is also my favorite App for daily use. The developers clearly made a remarkable feat by redefining the “listview” for articles; instead of a vertical scrolling list we find a very convenient horizontal scrolling news feed with thumbnails. The smooth transitions and animated swipes make it an enjoyable experience.

Pulse - how to add a source

When you first open the Pulse News App, you will find an elegant handwritten instructions panel to add source feeds. The latest update comes with five main pages (1) or containers to hold the news feeds. Just like Feedly there is a pre-populated list of sources. For example when you click on Technology (2) from the Top page it will instantly add “Top Stories in Technology” to that page (3). You can swipe left or right on each row (4) to see current and previous articles. Clicking on the thumbnail will move the entire row down, exposing the article view.

Pulse - Share to Facebook and Twitter

3. CNN (Free) 

CNN News App - Headlines and Dashboard

CNN for Android Phone is definitely a smarter, sleeker way to experience a world of news and insights. I was really impressed by the dark theme and multimedia content (2). If you are someone who wants breaking news with video content then this App is a must to download. The dashboard icon (1) is a useful shortcut to headlines (3),  iReport (4)  and other options.

CNN News App - iReport and Video content

4. CNET (Free)

CNET News app delivers award-winning coverage of the consumer technology world and a must download for every tech savvy person out there. The best features are image galleries and video content. The bad part is many users complain that there are too many ads. But nevertheless it is a well designed app and deserves to be on this list.

CNET News

5. MSNBC (Free)

MSNBC is a very popular news source, backed by Microsoft, with rich multimedia content. The MSNBC app for Android meets our expectations and provide diverse and engaging articles and related videos. I really love the flower petal (or is it two peacocks?) navigation to various sections of the news.

MSNBC News for Android

The Zumobi Network has many similar apps in the Android Market and worth checking it out. My only complain is the huge logo in the bottom and the amount of ads. This app made this list purely because of the aesthetics and nice icons. For controlling instant updates you need to download another app called Airmail which i think is an unnecessary step.

6. USA Today (Free)

I have been using USA Today since the Android 1.5 days as it was the only one that would work in those ancient versions. It is very useful for latest US News, Sports, Weather, Pictures and Snapshots.

USA Today - 1. weather; 2. snapshots

7. Yahoo News (Free)

I have Yahoo as my homepage on the desktop. So I wanted to check out the Yahoo News App for Android… and was a little disappointed actually. I liked the clean minimal layout but do not we expect more from Yahoo? Yahoo search is integrated and the content is fantastic. You can probably use the browser to visit the mobile website of Yahoo instead of downloading this app, but the app will save you a lot on loading time and data usage.

Yahoo News: 1. search; 2. navigation