After hearing Flipboard, one of my ultimate apps for iPad, was coming to smaller screens, I couldn’t get the app on my iPhone 4 fast enough. Yes, the beloved iPad app has arrived for iPhone and iPod Touch, and if you haven’t had a chance to use it there, you won’t want to hesitate in downloading.
Flipboard for iPhone’s interface feels like original Flipboard, but instead of relying primarily on swiping, this Flipboard uses up-down flicking to flip the pages. Although this takes a bit of getting used to (I still find myself trying to swipe), this GUI makes the best use of the narrow vertical screen space and is actually user-friendlier for iPhone’s size.
My favorite part of Flipboard is the brand-new Cover Stories feature. This oft-updated section pulls in interesting stories from all of your feeds, including Facebook and Twitter if you have them integrated, to create basically a custom magazine newsfeed for you. If you don’t like the initial offerings in Cover Stories, keep reading anyway — Flipboard will learn your preferences and tailor its content. And, Cover Stories is a feature not currently available on iPad, so don’t you feel special?
If you aren’t interested in an amalgam of content, you can stick to subject-centered sections, such as Style, Humor or Food, or add specific sources to your Flipboard, like Mental Floss or CNN. Not all of these providers are app-optimized, but the websites load quickly in line if they aren’t. If you’ve integrated Twitter, you can also share and retweet items from a top toolbar, which is pretty slick.
My one minimal gripe with Flipboard is that sometimes when flipping through an optimized-story I would find myself back on the menu page (the only place you can swipe in the app). This has much to do with app sensitivity and user thumb placement, so it’s definitely not a deal breaker, but it was frustrating to be on page 11 of 12 and accidentally hit the main menu since the app doesn’t let you swipe right back in.
Nevertheless, I haven’t been this excited about an app in some time, and I think you’ll like it, too.
