Flipboard has launched an Android version of its news reader on Friday, June 22, and confirmed its partnership with Google+ and YouTube. The service also announced it will extend its reach to five new countries: Germany, Korea, Italy, Spain, and the Netherlands.
With the new version for Android, Flipboard will now be available on Android phones, as well as Amazon's Kindle Fire and Barnes & Noble's Nook tablet. The free app that delivers Web-content into magazine-like pages is available for download from Google Play, the Amazon Appstore, and the Barnes & Noble Nook store. Flipboard will also be available via Samsung Apps, and it will come pre-installed on Samsung's Galaxy S3 on the major U.S. carriers: AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile USA, and Sprint.
Flipboard had its coming out party with the iPad back in 2010 and reached the iPhone late last year, hitting one million downloads in no time. Once a user creates a Flipboard account, the free app will scan friends' social posts and display their links and articles in a magazine-style layout.
"People are amazed by all the things they can see on Flipboard, and often the most personal and interesting stories come from friends," Flipboard CEO Mike McCue said in a statement. "Today we have over 2,000 featured content partners from around the world and, now with the addition of Google+ and YouTube, we have all of the popular social networks for our readers to sit back and enjoy."
Flipboard allows users to keep an eye on many networks and news sources, as the app supports Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Google Reader, Instagram, LinkedIn, Tumblr, and more. Once you've linked your preferred networks to the Flipboard account, the app will present a comprehensive stream of information.
Getting Started
Once you've downloaded and installed Flipboard for Android, open the app and swipe your finger upward on the display to see the Get Started and Sign In options. The vertical swipe to navigate the interface is a welcome change from the iPad version of Flipboard, which works with horizontal swipes, as it feels more natural.
Select the Get Started option and choose which categories you are interested in. Picking categories here will then populate your Flipboard news stream so you can enjoy the app's functionality. Swipe your finger upward again and select Flipboard Account. Press Create and fill in your personal details to be linked to your new account.
If you want to add more social networks into your Flipboard news stream, press the blank gray square or the Twitter and Facebook squares, and select Accounts. This will display all of the services that can be integrated with Flipboard. Choose your preferred service and fill in the required information to add it into the Flipboard news stream.
By default, users need an Internet connection to read articles on Flipboard. However, if you have an Instapaper, Pocket, or Readability account, you can save individual pages and read them later offline. In addition, Google Currents and Android news aggregator allows users to save articles without third-party apps.
