Site Aggregators for iPad

One of my favourite aggregators is Zite. I've mentioned it a couple of times previously.

With it, I've been able to read extensively into areas of interest with minimal effort. I like the fact that I am able to just type in a category of interest and it will do the aggregating on its own for that particular category. And if I like a certain area within that category, 'Like' it and the app will try to get more of those articles for me. It's like having someone do the library search for me, a personal assistant that you don't have to pay a salary. I like this app cos you can customize what you want in it. In other words, you get to choose your own magazine content.

Pulse is one of my earlier aggregators. This one I like cos it's so graphic; pictures and articles come in film reel format for easy sight. As you can see, I've almost one whole page dedicated to food. I've other pages dedicated to blogs, news, geeky stuff. This particular page is really colourful, appetizing and nice to look at. I haven't really tried any of the recipes or food suggestions, though I must admit that I am rather tempted to do one; the pink pickled eggs. 8)

Flipboard is my latest addition to my aggregator collection. The interface is cool. I like its minimalistic approach with maximum show-and-tell on one screen. And like the above, you can customize it to your preference.

I've just begun to get it organized and I like its simplicity. I think the simplicity of interface and vivid contents have made it easy for those with computer phobia to be able to manoeuvre their way around the iPad. And the screen size is ideal. Android may be catching up fast; I read somewhere that in a couple of months, there'll be more apps in the Android store than Apple Store. But there are already over 100 000 apps available for the iPad and they're growing. Maybe I'll even take a bite and try an Android tablet one day but for now, I'll stay with the iPad. There are so many things to read and 24 hours a day isn't enough for all the things I need to do and want to read because of the iPad.

I occasionally use this to read local mainstream news, for quickie updates. This is a paid app but I got it free during its one month promo period. Sometimes you might get lucky and come across such freebies. But this is cheap... 99 cents if I'm not wrong.

News articles are displayed newsreel style, like Pulse but minus the pictures. As you can see at the bottom are lists of Malaysian sites. There is another version which aggregates the Singapore news called NewsApp Singapore. I got that free too during their one day promotion in the App Store. Happened to be checking the App Store on that particular day when they released it. 8) It's also 99 cents. 8) There are iPod versions too but they're too small to be comfortable on my eyes. My iPod is mainly for book reading these days and occasional updates of records.

If I want something more country specific, I use this... also occasionally. It aggregates news briefs of a specific country. You get to pick them by clicking on the flags. This is a free app. There are many other apps available such as Times, NY Times (but you only get to read their top news section for the free), Popular Science, etc, etc. The list is long enough to exhaust you. You can read till your eyes bulge or get brainwashed... as some of us believe that there is this conspiracy to shape the readers' minds via media.

Lifelong learning, lifewide learning, reading for fun... in short, reading has taken on a whole new dimension for me. No longer do I depend on my school to send me for courses, or the physical books that I buy from the store or even depend on Google. In fact I find books rather cumbersome to carry about and many of the speakers at courses boring. Plus most are unable to introduce some 'wow-ness' into their courses. I get more up-to-date developments, ideas and info way faster via reading; with most of them written by experts or at least have references to experts of the respective fields. I would never imagined that my reading eyes can be set so far. And it's reshaping the way I view learning. But the learning is dependable on our attitude and how pliable we are in learning to utilize the technology around us as an enabling tool.

And hence, our preoccupation with getting another iPad... one for me, and one for Other Half. Right now, Other Half is squinting his eyes a lot just reading into his iPod Touch. But magazines (in PDF) are a no-no on the small screen of an iPod. Site aggregators have really changed the way I read, that's for sure. And I am enjoying it!