Get The News Quickly And Easily Through Twitter With NewsTweet
NewsTweet ($0.99) by Tapfuze is a news app for your iPhone that pulls data from the latest way of consuming news as of late: Twitter.
When we're in a rush to go about our daily lives, sometimes we don't really have the time to go through the newspaper or websites. But knowing what's going on in the world is pretty important and shouldn't be ignored. So what's the best way to go about this? Well, Twitter makes it super easy to consume news (if that's what you primarily use it for). News Tweet is based off of this concept.
On the initial launch of News Tweet, you'll be given a Suggested User list. This list is composed of most of the major news sources on Twitter, such as CNN, USA Today, BBC, NPR, and others. This list is pretty solid, and you more than likely already follow at least one if you're a pretty avid user of Twitter (or follow them in other ways). To add sources you like to your News Tweet list, simply tap that Follow button.
When you're done adding news sources, you'll be taken back to the main screen of the app. All of your followed sources will appear as round icons on what looks very similar to the iPhone's own home screen, except it is a 3x3 grid. Following with the simplicity of Apple's own design, the icons can be rearranged by tapping and holding, then you are free to delete or move icons around.
There is a Settings icon that is located in the top left corner of the grid by default. Tapping this allows you to reset the app, which deletes all the current sources you have and will present the Suggested User list again. There is another nifty thing you can do: add your own users.
Going back to the News Tweet "home screen," if you tap on an icon for a news source, you can view all of their tweets (marked with timestamps so you can see when it happened). It's a great way to go through the headlines of the day. Since these are news sources, there may be the occasional link to a story. These tweets will be marked with a red arrow, and you can tap on the tweet to view the article from the in-app browser.
Happen to find something else interesting to read while reading that original article? Don't worry, there are back and forward buttons for your convenience, like any other regular browser. However, you just can't input a new URL, only navigate back and forth.
From the in-app browser, an article can be posted on Facebook, sent to Read It Later or Instapaper, or shared by email. Ironically, you can't log in to Twitter.
News Tweet is a pretty good app for those that like to use Twitter as their way to get the headlines of the day. The interface is slick and non-distracting, and even has a news ticker at the top that displays the latest headlines and breaking news (kind of like a real news ticker, yeah?), which is pretty nifty.
My only little gripe with the app is the fact that you can't recall the Suggested User list without resetting the app. It would be nice to just have the list as a separate option in the Settings to reference later if you decide to change your mind and add a source you didn't on the initial setup.
Another thing, while it pulls from Twitter but doesn't require you to share on Twitter, this could be an option for those that want to. Allowing Facebook but not Twitter seems like a step backwards to me, personally. At least include the option to login and retweet something.
Otherwise, this is a good way to get your daily headlines if you're not a big news reader. If you want to separate your news from your Twitter account or just get the latest from Twitter without making an account (it seems it's the fastest way to get news nowadays anyway), then this is well worth that dollar it's asking for.
