iPhone News Apps from the Past

LinkedIn Pulse by LinkedIn

Pulse has long been a close competitor to Flipboard and was the first to successfully feature a web-based version of news reader. The talented Pulse team was acquired by LinkedIn and since then has undergone several iterations. The current version integrates loosely with LinkedIn but still maintains the centrality of a newsreader experience. On the main page, you will find your profile picture at the top and underneath a news feed with top headlines. You can swipe to the right to save articles for later, swipe left for articles you don't like, and you have the option to select the thumbs-up button or ribbon to like and save articles. A smaller profile icon can be found at the top right. Here you can locate your most recent activity, save articles, and people you are following. (Note: This app was discontinued as a natural consequence of the purchase of LinkedIn by Microsoft.

Paper by Facebook

Zite by Zite, Inc

Zite was one of the first news readers to add the ability to personalize your content. Zite remembers the pages you like and makes recommendations based on your interests. Zite now has a new user interface with swiping gestures that enable you to browse articles quickly and easily. Version 2.2 also provides the ability to view photo galleries. Zite is a universal application for the iPad and the iPhone. Note: Zite was purchased by Flipboard. As of December 2015, the app is no longer available.

Pulse by Alphoso Labs, Inc

Pulse for the iPhone and iPad is a gerat source for getting your news via feeds. In the past, feeds were acquired through aggregators that required you to manual submit individual feeds. Pulse's stories and topics are provided as a menu of categories, so that you can sync to news feeds  automatically. The app features a beautiful tile layout with a scroll and swipe interface. Pulse can be used vertically or horizontally and there are various options for sharing, emailing and saving articles. By clicking on the settings icon, you can only easily manage your feeds and organize them by category. This amazing app is free!! In April of 2013, LinkedIn purchased Pulse for 9 million. 

SkyGrid by SkyGrid

SkyGrid offers a surprisingly quick and easy interface and the tile, grid, layout construction makes browsing for news a pleasurable experience. Like the other news apps, you can browse for categories or topics and share stories via email or social networking sites. The tile format is larger than your standard app, and includes transparent title overlays, and information that is easy to read from a distance. This is very helpful when the iPhone is your preferred way to get the news. And the best part of all is that SkyGrid is FREE. As of December 2015, SkyGrid is still available.

Flud by Rabbit Inc

Flud is a close competitor to Flipboard and Pulse in terms of quality news readers for the iPhone and iPad. Flud has undergone several redesigns and each time it gets better. The current design is simplifed, providing a summary of each article and links to the original sources. The screenshots below are from an earlier version, but the functionality is very similar. I will add images for the latest version very soon. Flud is also free!

Note: Flud underwent several iterations and for the longest time was a close competitor to Flipboard and Pulse. Unfortunately, the developers were forced to discontinue this application. It's last day was August 8, 2013.