Google today launched the Google Play Newsstand application for Android tablets and smartphones which merges the previous Google Currents and Magazines app. The new app lets users bring together all of their favorite newspapers, blogs and magazines under one single proverbial roof. It is also the first app from Google which lets customers subscribe to newspapers through the Google Play Store, available newspapers include Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. In all, over 1,900 free and paid full length publications are available for users.
When the app is launched, it puts breaking news and trending articles from subscribed publications front and center. It will also present stories based on the user’s reading history, “the more you read the better it will get,” says Google. The app allows articles to be accessed even when there’s no internet connect and users can also bookmark them to read later. For now, the Currents app will exist but in due time it will start redirecting to the Newsstand app whenever its launched. Subscriptions will be automatically ported from Currents to the new app. Google is working on a Newsstand version for iOS, so for now Currents for iOS will remain available for download. Google Play Newsstand is available as a free download from the Play Store.
Filed in . Read more about Google.