Pulse 2.0 for Android, iOS adds social feeds, triples speed
updated 02:05 pm EDT, Fri March 25, 2011
Pulse 2.0 adds social feeds, boosts speed and size
Pulse wrapped up the week by launching a major upgrade to its news reader. The Pulse News 2.0 update for the iPad (free, App Store), iPhone (App Store), and Android (Market) all add social feeds. Users can now get content shared by others on Digg, Facebook, Hacker News, and Reddit for conventional articles, as well as Vimeo and YouTube video clips.
They can similarly share out through Facebook and Twitter within the context of a story.
Regardless of the platform, Pulse expects the app to run about three times faster, including both for loading content and for scrolling through the image-heavy news pages. The number of pre-supplied news sources has also roughly tripled to about 60. Those wanting to get started quickly can get collections of updates, known as Pulse Packs, based around a given theme like technology news or sports.
The update is built partly with smartphones in mind. About 70 percent of new Pulse app installs are on phones and not tablets. On smartphones, the extra speed and sharing are more important than on tablets, Pulse said.
