Google Currents

Platform iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, Android. OS: iOS 4 or later, Android 2.2 or laterThe Basics Debuting in December, Currents, the newest and simplest of these apps, provides access to news from approximately 150 selected publications. It also successfully integrates social sharing.Look and Feel Currents' layout shares much with its app siblings. The Library—the opening screen in Currents—is clean and straightforward. At the top (if viewing in portrait) or on the left (in landscape mode) is a set of rotating news article images and headlines. Logo icons represent the publications you subscribe to. For the share link, Google decided to use a circle with two arrows pointing outward, which seems confusing. Tapping on the trending tab—in the middle or at the side of the screen—takes you to another set of rotating article images and headlines. On the right or underneath on this screen are even more headlines with thumbnail images.How It Works Once logged into Currents with your Google username and password, it's time to build your library of publications with the "Add More" icon. By tapping on the logo of publications you've selected, you get a list of current stories. Swiping to move through the publication, all it takes is a tap on a headline to read the full article.Tapping on the Trending tab takes you to Currents' list of headlines. Swipe up or down to browse. A flaw in this trending section is that a tap on a headline doesn't take you to the actual article; instead, you land on a list of several articles on the topic related to your choice, including the one you wanted in the first place.For Teachers, Librarians, and Students The best part of Google Currents is its Web-based Producer tool. With Producer, a librarian or teacher can make new content available to other Currents users. For example, if a teacher or librarian has a blog, they can add it to Currents' universe of publications, thereby offering it to the school and library community.