Google has quietly launched Google Currents for Android and Apple iOS, a free app with the lofty goal of “[letting] you explore online magazines and other content with the swipe of a finger.” And today, right now, Google Currents supports over 150 publishers, including CNET, Fast Company, Huffington Post, and PBS.
In addition to the magazine and website content designed specifically for Google Currents, you can also view your Google Reader RSS feeds, public Google+ feeds, and basically any other RSS stream you care to view on your mobile device. There’s even a “trending” function to find what news items and sources are hot. Basically, it’s designed to be your one-stop shop for consuming web media on the go, according to the official blog entry.
So how does it work? Honestly, at least on my iPhone, it reminds more of the already-available Pulse app than anything. Clicking a news source in your so-called Library brings up a frontpage with its most recent and featured stories. Swiping to the left or right flips pages. A Google+ +1 button is pretty prominent in the reading interface, but it also supports sharing content to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, Instapaper, Pinboard, or even Email (but who uses that?).
But Pulse doesn’t have Google’s cachet with content publishers, and Currents’ list of officially-supported outlets is a pretty big plus. And speaking of publishers, Google is offering a self-service portal for even the smallest of news organizations to make their content look spiffy in Currents. Additionally, publishers can connect their Google Analytics accounts to their Google Currents feed and make sure they still receive that data.
I’ve only had a few minutes to play with Google Currents so far, but I’m starting to see what the search giant is getting at. If you’ve had a little more experience with it, let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
