How did the world get its news before the Internet was around? When I was a kid, you didn’t know about what was happening across the globe until 5:00. Now, news is reported within minutes of events. With the proliferation of mobile devices, people can even read breaking news from anywhere, anytime.
The writers at iDownloadBlog have come up with a list of what they think are the 10 best news apps of 2013. Check out our favorites and then vote for the one you like best to be added to our Best Apps of 2013 list…
Reeder 2
Reeder used to be the number one app for viewing your Google Reader RSS feeds. Then, Google killed the popular RSS feed service and the non-related app was up a creek without a paddle. Finally, in September, Reeder was given a complete redesign and overhaul and now supports RSS feed services like Feedly, Feedbin, and more. Now, you can get back to reading your favorite blogs from your favorite RSS app again. This app is available for $4.99.
Castro
People have often complained about Apple’s native podcast app. Personally, I like it. I can find what I want and discover new shows by browsing certain categories. Some of my friends would vehemently differ in opinion and I’m sure they are not alone. That is probably why Castro has received so much attention in its very short life. It offers a beautiful design and friendly user interface. This app is available for $2.99.
Wibbitz
This is probably one of the most unique news reading apps to come out this year. It features images that are presented along with graphics of words that coincide with the full articles that are read to you. It would make the perfect news app for an office lobby, or while you are having breakfast. You can keep your hands free while hearing the headlines and getting some visuals to go along with it. This app is available for free.
Ruby for Reddit
There are not very many good apps in the App Store for getting your Reddit news, even though it is one of the most popular social networking sites around. While Alien Blue is a fan favorite, it is nice to have options. Ruby is a sweet surprise because it has fantastic navigation controls and full-screen capabilities. The iOS 7 design will make you forget you are reading Reddit articles. This app is available for free.
Potluck
In a time where the world is available to us in an instant, our attention spans seem to get smaller and smaller. That doesn’t mean we don’t still want to read the news, it just means we want it summarized into “bite size” articles. This app gives you quick headlines for topics you think are interesting and lets you share them with friends so you have something to talk about at parties. This app is available for free.
Reverb: Discover, Read, Share, & Collect
If you tend to share news with others through social networking services like Facebook and Twitter, this might be the app for you. It customizes your content based on what you share with others. It also highlights and organizes content and gives access to the most important stories of the day. You can see what is trending, find related articles, and share your news with others the way you love to. This app is available on the iPad for free.
Swell Radio for News and Podcasts
If Spotify is the music discovery service of the decade, then Swell is the radio news discovery service. This app gives you the option to like or dislike certain news stories that are streamed to you from NPR, ESPN, BBC, and more. If you like it, your stream will aggregate similar stories, if you don’t, Swell will try to find new content that might interest you more. This app is available for free.
Interesting for iPhone
It is impossible to read all of the Internet, no matter how hard you may try. This app might make your impossible goal a little easier to handle by aggregating thousands of articles from the web that you can browse through. Find articles you like from technology, sports, politics, and more. Plus, this app was recently updated to include Reddit integration, so now there is no turning back. The Internet is yours to read. This app is available for $1.99.
Gist
Did you know there is a feature on your Mac that lets you summarize text when you highlight it? It used to be one of the available features in the dropdown menu when you selected a paragraph. Now, you have to enable it from your Keyboard Shortcuts preferences. Gist does something similar with news articles on your iPhone. It uses an algorithm that summarizes articles into five bullet points. This app is available for $0.99.
Sylfeed for iPad
If you are not a big fan of full gesture movement on your iPad, you will be interested to know that this RSS reader offers simple and minimalist swiping movement to make it easier for you to read articles without having to lift a finger. It syncs with iCloud and Feedly and preloads images when running in the background for faster download time. You can also share news on Facebook and Twitter or send them to Evernote and Instapaper to read later. This app is available for $2.99.
Cast your vote
We are also taking a poll from our readers on the top apps in each category. Out of the 10 apps we presented today, please cast your vote on which one is the very best. The winning app will be included on a list of the top readers’ choice apps for 2013. Please take a moment to make your voice heard and tell us which news app from the list above is your favorite.