Is Flyscreen for iPhone the Flipboard We Never Got?
By: Hillel Fuld
One of the most revolutionary apps on the iPad, almost everyone agrees, is Flipboard. It enables you to access your favorite content and streams in a magazine-like experience that is as close to a real magazine as anything. There is however, one major problem with Flipboard. It is not available in a smaller version for iPhone.
Now, I know what you’re thinking, the whole Flipboard experience requires a large screen and just would not be the same on a 3.5 incher. I agree completely. Having said that, what about us iPhone users? We don’t deserve to read our content in a comfortable and streamlined environment? Enter Flyscreen.
Full disclosure: The Founder and CEO of Cellogic, makers of Flyscreen is a good friend. I have been watching the company from day one when they first launched their Android app that acts as a replacement for the lock screen and brings you all your Web content without ever unlocking the device. The reason I am telling you that is because I believe all developers and entrepreneurs in general can learn a lot from this team.
They have been plugging away at this product for years and their drive stemmed from the belief that they have a great concept and product on their hands. That is entrepreneurship 101! Believe in your product. In addition, when they finally made the switch over to iPhone, it was not an easy transition. Apple, as you probably know, is not exactly welcoming when it comes to accessing the insides of the iPhone, which for Cellogic meant, no access to the lock screen.
Instead of giving up on iPhone, they adapted their product. Again, entrepreneurship 101. If your particular model fails in a certain setting, you need to have the ability and flexibility to pivot and that is what they did here.
Enough praising Cellogic, let’s talk a little about Flyscreen. Flyscreen for iPhone could not be simpler. You choose your widgets based on what you want to read. That includes different sites in many different categories and if you choose to upgrade, which I did, you can access your social networks including Twitter lists, and add them as their own widget.
Here is the kicker. Besides the comfortable RSS reader environment, Flyscreen for iPhone also has ambient themes, in which your content is displayed to you in a more passive fashion. So, as the founder explained to me, if you are sitting at your desk, you can dock your iPhone and Flyscreen will display the latest stories in one of many different formats.
Is it really fair to compare Flyscreen to Flipboard? Well, not exactly, but the bottom line is Flyscreen for iPhone is the app I use first thing in the morning to catch up while drinking my coffee. It provides a superior user experience and the ability to add custom URLs and ambient themes, make the in app purchase totally worth it.
Have you tried Flyscreen on Android or iPhone? What did you think? You know the drill, comment below or ping me on Twitter.
