[itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/taptu/id392240746?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”taptu” text=”Taptu”] is an alternative news-aggregator that allows you to personalize your streams with anything from Facebook to a specific area of interest. It doesn’t deliver a magazine-like experience like the competing Flipboard, but for now that app is limited to the iPad and it’s capped at 21 sections of content. Taptu is available for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pulse-news-mini/id377594176?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”pulse” text=”Pulse News”] is also a like-minded application, but you’re limited to 60 content sources.
Taptu, on the other hand, supports up to 200 streams in a clean grid interface. Read through your selected content and get a snapshot of your streams or you can tap on one individual headline to access the full story.
The full story pulls up right away, and there is no lag time while it goes out to another website within the built-in browser (looking at you, Pulse). To save a particular article and read it later, tap the star button in the top right corner of the app’s toolbar.
A unique feature Taptu holds over its competition is the mixed topic streams that aggregate content from multiple sources. For example, if you select NFL from Taptu’s StreamStore, a stream will pop up on the home screen that displays headlines from The New York Times, NBC Sports, The Boston Herald, and Fox Sports.
Taptu says its editorial team curates these topics with the help of advanced algorithms that emphasize mobile-friendly sites. Topics range from News and Sports to Arts & Entertainment, Travel, and Celebrities.
You can also create your own streams for your favorite content. You can build a news ‘playlist’ from scratch, selecting and merging your favorite feeds from Taptu’s StreamStore or you can edit the topic streams that Taptu’s already curated by removing and adding the streams you want. You can even share your streams with your friends via Facebook, Twitter or email.
You can download [itunes link=”http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/taptu/id392240746?mt=8&uo=4″ title=”taptu” text=”Taptu for iOS devices “]from the App Store for free. Taptu is also available for Android devices running OS 2.1+ in the Android Market.
