After what seems like forever, the Flipboard app is finally available for the Windows 8 platform. You'll need to have the Windows 8.1 update to download Flipboard, which shouldn't be a problem since Windows 8.1 is a free download for Windows 8 users. If you're running Windows 7, then Microsoft requires a one-time payment for you to take advantage of all the new features Windows 8.1 brings to the table, along with Flipboard.
If you're not familiar with Flipboard, it's a magazine-style news reader that has been quite popular on Android and iOS. What really makes this app special is the way it handles social media. Flipboard has the ability to integrate your social accounts and present updates just as it would with a news story. Blend this with Flipboard's gorgeous tiled interface, and it's easy to see why millions of users love using the app so much.
The first thing you'll notice when Flipboard is up and running is the clean interface with vibrant display of photographic tiles. What's even great is the smooth page flipping animation that gives off the feeling of reading a magazine. It's very lovely, and because of this, we can't go back to using another news reader that doesn't incorporate such a rich design and animation.
Bear in mind though, Flipboard for Windows 8 is not just an app with a pretty face, it's actually quite rich in features. Users have the option to add feeds from a number of social media accounts. However, this only includes Facebook and Twitter, while the version for Android/iOS includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Tumblr, Instagram, Google+, and YouTube. This isn't a deal breaker for us, but for those who are knee deep in several social media apps, it could become a problem.
As it is customary with other news reader apps, Flipboard has the option for users to add news feeds from any news source. So in short, it's similar to Google Reader but with more features and more elegance in its design.
The only problem we have with FlipBoard for Windows 8.1, is the lack of support for Live Tiles. It's very disappointing and we hope in the future the developers will incorporate this feature to allow for a better experience that fits the bill on a Windows 8.1 device.
Interested in Flipboard? Get it free here.
