A lot of people who use tablets and smartphones often say that they’re only good for one thing – playing games. For the past few months, I’ve been using my devices for reading – not books, or articles from the Internet, but newspapers thanks to an app called PressReader.
What is really neat about PressReader is that you can carry your favorite newspaper subscriptions with you in one convenient app. For example, I can download some of my favorites – USA Today, the Los Angeles Times, New York Post and The Washington Post (among others) and take them with me without carrying a huge stack of newspapers.
So what else can PressReader do besides let me read newspapers?
What I like about this app:
As I mentioned, one of my favorite things about PressReader is that it allows me to take some of my favorite newspapers with me. What I didn’t mention is that PressReader features 2,200 full-content newspapers and magazines. In addition, PressReader features media from 97 countries in 54 languages. If you happen to be an avid traveler, PressReader will come in handy because you can read your favorite papers from back home while you’re traveling without missing a beat.
Another neat feature about PressReader is that it also has an audio feature that can speak your favorite articles to you – great if you don’t want to flip through pages or for when you’re working out and you need your hands for exercising.
PressReader also offers a host of other features, which I’ve listed below.
- 2,200 full-content newspapers and magazines
- Content available from 97 countries in 54 languages
- Auto-delivery of your favorite publications
- Attention-grabbing SmartFlow stream (iOS & Android)
- Printing full pages or articles
- Share articles by email, Facebook, Twitter, Instapaper, Evernote or print them
- Listening to articles using on-demand audio
- Cop and paste entire articles into note taking applications
- Sharing your opinion by supporting or opposing a story
- Adjustable font size and type
- Automatically aligning with the beginning of an article using the option SmartZoom feature
- Cross title search
- Take a print screen of an article
Available Platforms:
One of the best things about PressReader is that it is available across a number of different platforms. Below are the platforms that PressReader is supported on.
- Windows 7 Phones
- Windows 7 Tablets
- Blackberry Playbook
- Blackberry
- Google Android (Honeycomb)
- Google Android (Gingerbread)
- PC
- Mac
- Apple iOS (iPhone, iPad, iPad Mini, iPod Touch)
Subscription Options:
So I know what you’re thinking – 2,200+ newspapers and magazines. How much does PressReader cost? Here’s a breakdown.
Overall, I loved the layout of PressReader. I found it easy to navigate and download newspapers and magazines. I also liked the sharing options. It looks like they covered every social network. Downloading magazines was also fast.
When it comes to pricing, it wasn’t too high when you compared it to normal newspaper subscriptions, especially given the convenience you have of downloading newspapers and magazines to your devices.
What I didn’t like about this app:
It’s pretty hard to find something I didn’t like about PressReader. The biggest drawback I would have to say is that if you’re not used to buying newspapers, it can seem high. Also, because there are so many newspapers and magazines to choose from, it can seem overwhelming at first.
Wrap-up:
If you’re looking for a convenient way to read your favorite newspapers and magazines without having to carry a lot of them with you, PressReader is for you. One last thing I thought was great is that with the holidays coming up, I could see this being a great app for family and friends who have just gotten their first tablet or smartphone. Not only is the app easy to use, but it offers great navigation and features that make reading newspapers and magazines inviting.