Search This Blog

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Zite Gets Total Makeover in Version 2.0





Fans of the popular personalized magazine app Zite might want to head to the updates section of their App Store app right now and download version 2.0. Not only did the media aggregate get an adorably hip new logo, but the entire app has also been redesigned from the ground up and it's gorgeous.



Zite just happens to be the app I use every morning to read up on trending baking recipes, photography how-to articles, and big news in the tech industry. I love the app because it doesn't just show me what is already in my RSS feed. It aggregates new stories from blogs I may or may not know anything about so that I can find out about all kinds of interesting new stuff.





I didn't think the app needed an update, but to see the new design, I'm glad it got one.



Users now see their top stories in a totally different, cleaner way. The home page doesn't show your Quicklist anymore. Now, to access it, users tap a menu icon at the top right of the screen.



The article layout is completely different now. Before, the look had a slight skeuomorphism look to it, which I personally liked. It made the stories look kind of like a newspaper. Even though I enjoyed the old look, the new one is even better. Articles are spread out in a variety of sizes and have a minimalist futuristic look.




Zite Before




Zite After



The best part of the update is that users now have the ability to immediately see other stories within a certain subject. Previously, if you wanted to see more articles about the iPad, you'd select that from a sidebar and the app would aggregate new stories that would appear the next time you refreshed.



Now, if you wanted to see more stories about a subject at that very moment, just tap the tag at the bottom of the article and you'll be redirected to a list of stories with the same tag. For example, if you were reading an article about Asthon Kutcher starring as Steve Jobs in a new biopic, you could tap the "Steve Jobs" tag at the bottom of the article and be redirected to a list of articles that have reference to Apple's former CEO. If you always want to read articles relating to Steve Jobs, tap the heart icon at the top of the screen and it will be added to your quicklist the way it used to be.



Zite is a free app and version 2.0 is available for download in the App Store today.



No comments:

Post a Comment