iCurrent
Overview
The web browser start page market is becoming increasingly crowded so new entrants have to offer something different yet relevant. Using RSS readers and widgets is not enough, there needs to be some sort of filtering to bring the relevance. to the user - the iCurrent is a fresh attempt.
iCurrent may not be a revolution but it has highly sophisticated engine to generate relevance. While the categories and sources are typically the same as others it enables the user to highlight the news they like and see more of it. From this it can create a "channel" for you withinf its mainstream categories. The look and feel is a combination of a newspaper with a website and a balanced range of images.
The homepage has proven to generate relevant stories in personalised channels without overhwelming me. The categorisation leaves a lot to be desired: I set up a category for my football club but many articles are not related to my club. The learning curve may be a turn off for some but worth it in the end. January 2010.
iCurrent
Conclusions
Newsy and relevant content
A developing news homepage that brings interesting news rather than lots of it. The news generated can be odd at times.
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Newscred
Overview
The site is straightforward to set up. After giving the site a title topics are chosen - a number of given to assist the user. These include the usual suspects - tech and politics, and the user can create their own. NewsCred generates a virtual newspaper containing the latest news for each area. News is collected from popular sites and blogs, The user can add RSS feeds. A list of sections provides feeds to add.
Where NewsCred differs from a standard aggregator is that it enabloes the user to write editorials right on to the front page. This is only useful where the paper is going to have an audience. There are further options with the pro version for business users and to create your own Huffington Post style blog.
NewsCred relies on having a broad range of quality feeds that are relevant and up to date to be successful.
Conclusions
Newsy and relevant content
The app is in a crowded market with no tangible features different from the competition in the fremium model. It succeeds and fails on the quality and up to date feeds it pulls in.
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Comment
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