UK publishers launch on Google Currents social reader app

UK publishers can now add their content to Google Currents, a social reader app for iPad, iPhone and Android devices launched in the US in December.

The Guardian, Metro, Independent, Sun, Evening Standard, Now Magazine, and NME are among the titles now available on the app which appears to be Google's attempt at offering an app similar to Zite and Flipboard.

Nearly 400 publisher editions and over 14,000 self-produced editions are now available, according to the Google blog.

Using Google Currents Producer, publishers and bloggers can now begin adding content to the app.

App users can also add RSS news feeds from Google Reader.

Google Currents offers articles in multiple languages and has a built-in translation feature, something the Guardian is utilising.

"Currents is available in 38 languages and we have taken advantage of its translation feature, so that articles in the Guardian edition get automatically translated to a user's preferred language," the Guardian states in an article.

The new 1.1 version of the app also has a "dynamic sync" offering content local to the app user's area.

According to Google's terms, "Google shall be allocated at least 30 per cent (or larger amount if determined by publisher) of ad slots in any Currents edition."

Emily Hutchings, publishing director, NME, said in a statement: "On NME, we're constantly striving to make our services more innovative, more powerful and more usable. Google Currents is yet another way in which our audience of avid music fans can connect with their favourite music brand, keeping them up to date with everything that’s happening in live music on a daily basis. We want to be everywhere our users want us to be and our new live edition on Google Currents allows us to do just this."
 
Sandy Gale, publishing director of Now, added: "This is an innovative partnership that illustrates the growing power of Now in the digital space. Now already delivers a daily definitive fix of the hottest celebrity and style news to our consumers through nowmagazine.com, Twitter and Facebook, so our new Google Currents edition will give our consumers yet another great way to get close to the celebrities making the headlines."

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