Flipboard brings the noise in NPR-ified app update, Britta will be pleased
Do you loathe the sound of silence? Check out the latest update to Flipboard, bro. The most recent update to the social app now includes an audio selection that'll pump out NPR podcasts and SoundCloud tracks, amongst a litany of others, at will. The update will also benefit the visually impaired, as it now includes VoiceOver features to enable it to read your social media offerings out loud. Hopefully those features will be included as standard when it makes a more, ahem, legitimate arrival on Android.
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Flipboard Brings Sound to Your Social Magazine
From Snoop Dogg to "Fresh Air" -- Flipboard Partners with SoundCloud, NPR and PRI; Now People Can Listen to Their Flipboard
PALO ALTO, Calif., May 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The newest edition of Flipboard™, released today, is all about sound. Anyone with Flipboard on Apple's® iPad®, iPhone® or iPod Touch® can now listen to amazing audio shared on SoundCloud and world-class radio programming from NPR and Public Radio International (PRI), all while reading their Flipboard. Additionally, Flipboard is now more accessible for users with visual disabilities, integrating Apple's VoiceOver® features into the experience.
To start exploring the wide range of audio now on Flipboard, a new "Audio" category has been added to the Content Guide, which opens when a user taps on the red ribbon or magnifying glass in the top right corner of their Flipboard. The Audio category features NPR and PRI programs -- segments from shows such as Fresh Air and PRI's The World® as well as Flipboard's recommendations of SoundCloud users ranging from updates from This Week in Tech to original beats from Snoop Dogg and songs from Atlantic Records' artists.
"The addition of SoundCloud is a great example of how Flipboard makes social content more discoverable and a more immersive experience," said Mike McCue. "With this latest addition, we're giving our readers a personal soundtrack to their Flipboard."
SoundCloud is the world's leading social sound platform that lets anyone create, record, promote and share their sounds on the web in a simple, accessible and feature-rich way. With the new integration, Flipboard users can easily browse SoundCloud to discover sounds or use their SoundCloud account and access sounds from people they follow and lists they've created. Existing SoundCloud users simply select the Accounts tab on Flipboard to connect to their SoundCloud network and then listen to, comment on and like sounds right from Flipboard.
Once a track is selected, Flipboard users can read other sections while the audio plays in the background, an amazing new capability that lets people listen while they continue flipping through their Flipboard. The next track in the section will automatically play; a section can be a series of NPR or PRI shows, curated interviews or a "set" of your favorite sounds on SoundCloud. The music note icon in the bottom left corner of every page makes it easy to control audio tracks from anywhere in Flipboard.
Accessibility
Flipboard integrated Apple's VoiceOver features to make it easier for people with visual disabilities to use the social magazine. Once VoiceOver is turned on in the settings of an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch, the gestures to control Flipboard change and everything on a page is read out aloud. For instance, with one tap on a section a voice reads the title; a double-tap opens it.
Other new features
A fully localized Japanese edition for readers in Japan.
Add multiple sections at one time from the Content Guide by using the plus sign next to the publication.
Support for Pocket, formerly Read It Later, and Readability to save articles to read later.
Introduction of tips to discover more of Flipboard.
Improved photo layouts, even more beautiful with black backgrounds.
About Flipboard
Flipboard is the world's first social magazine. Inspired by the beauty and ease of print media, Flipboard's mission is to fundamentally improve how people discover, view and share content across their social networks. Start reading your magazine by downloading Flipboard at www.flipboard.com. The company is based in Palo Alto, California and backed by legendary investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byer, Index Ventures and Insight Venture Partners. You can follow us at twitter.com/flipboard.
