Essential Apps: Something Good to Read
If you’re anything like me, the constant interruptions of Twitter means that while it can still be a useful tool for news and updates, I have found that I’ve needed to turn off notifications just to be able to concentrate throughout the day.
As one of those people that needs to stay abreast of the latest tech news, I’m always searching for good news stories and information about the latest mobiles, apps, and other weird and wonderful gadgets. But the issue these days is that one ends up using a half-dozen or so different news apps, taking up valuable space on my phone and adding to the general dirge of notifications.
Wouldn’t it be great if you could just follow those you’re interested in on Twitter, disable notifications, then read the relevant articles in a much more non-intrusive way without being constantly alerted every time someone posts a picture of their lunch?
Here’s a short and sweet summary of a new app we’ve been using recently…
Something Good to Read
It was recently brought to our attention at Mobile Industry Review that there’s a new app that can do just that. Called Something Good to Read, the free iPhone and iPad app was developed by Ed Lea, previously of Paddle, and we’ve been using it briefly to see whether it’s a viable source of news and information.
The concept is simple – the app connects to your Twitter account (yes, you still need one of those), and pulls down relevant articles that it thinks you’ll like. Each article or news story is presented in a very minimal, clean interface, and once you’ve read it you can simply swipe to the left (if you like it), or swipe to the right (if you don’t) to dismiss.
The app also constantly learns your preferences, so should you be more interested in Apple Watches than Android Gear for example, it should deliver you more relevant articles over time. News stories are also saved offline so you can read at your leisure, even without an Internet connection.
In terms of the settings, user interface and controls, there’s really not much to customise (except for example whether you want it to refresh itself in the background). In my opinion that’s a good thing – it’s as simple as can be in terms of using the app and browsing stories, focusing on what you really care about – the content.
I spent the last few evenings using Something Good to Read on an iPhone and iPad, and I can honestly say that I will continue using the app in future. For someone who is constantly bombarded with news and alerts on some days and on others can’t find anything good to read, Something Good to Read is an absolute Godsend.
Something Good to Read can be found on iTunes here.
Mobile Industry Review would like to thank Ed Lea for bringing the app to our attention. It’s always great to hear what people are working on. If you’d like us to check out any specific apps that you are developing or feel are innovative, please drop us a line…
