Flipboard is a social-network aggregation, magazine-format application software for Android and iOS.

 

It collects the content of social media and other websites and presents it in magazine format and allows users to "flip" through their social-networking feeds and feeds from websites that have partnered with the company.

 

Originally designed specifically for the iPad, in December 2010, the application was updated to add support for the iPhone and iPod Touch. On May 5, 2012, it was announced that Flipboard would be released for select Android phones, beginning with the Samsung Galaxy S3. Later, on May 30, 2012, a beta version of Flipboard for Android has been released through its website. A final stable release of the Flipboard for Android was released on June 22, 2012 in Google Play[4] while the China version of Flipboard for Android was released on June 26, 2012. 

 

It is produced by Flipboard, Inc., a United States-based software company founded in 2010 by Mike McCue and Evan Doll and headquartered in Palo Alto, California.
 

 

History

Invention

According to McCue and Doll, the idea for the application was invented during a brainstorming session between them, during which they tried to imagine what the web would look like if it were designed from scratch. The design they came up with placed emphasis on the social web and the ability to consume content in a graphical magazine-like format. 

 

Reaction

The reaction to the application was mainly positive, with some calling it a "killer" iPad application. Apple also positively reviewed it and named the application Apple's iPad App of the Year in 2010. A new update of the software added more features such as support for Google Reader, a web-based aggregator, and content from more publishers. This update also received mostly favorable reviews.

 

Censorship

On May 15, 2011, Flipboard was blocked by the Great Firewall of China. McCue said on his Twitter feed – "China has now officially blocked Flipboard". 

The company then released its first international edition for China. Beginning in February 2012, the company started self-censoring if the user is using the application from China. The content guide for China does not include Twitter and Facebook anymore. Existing subscriptions for Twitter or Facebook are also automatically removed. 

 

User interface

The application's user interface is designed for intuitive flipping through content. Once the feeds have been set up, the first page seen when the application is opened is a visual list of the subscribed content. The iPhone version introduced a prominent "Cover Stories" section on the first page collating only the most recent, important items from all of the subscriptions. This is meant to be read when the user only has a short period of time for reading.