Google announced Thursday that it released a new product called Google Currents, a mobile application for Android devices, iPads and iPhones that lets users digest content from magazines and other sources with the swipe of a finger.
There are already more than 150 publishing partners signed on to Google"s new content delivery experience, including the likes of CNET, Forbes, Saveur, PBS, Huffington Post and many more. The app also seems to play nicely with most RSS feeds, so you can even add other sites that haven"t been tailored to Google Currents yet. For those that haven"t, Google is also launching a new self-service platform alongside Google Currents, that gives content publishers the power to customize their web content so it will fit naturally in the new app. Google claims that even small organizations like regional news outlets and non-profits can "effortlessly create hands-on digital publications for Google Currents."
Google Currents is unsurprisingly connected to Google+, as part of the company"s efforts to move into the social space dominated by Facebook. Users can do the requisite sharing of articles and videos with their circles, which is something that can already be done outside the app on the web and in other Google products like Google Reader (which recently lost its own built-in sharing system in favor of Google+"s).
Google Currents can be downloaded now in the Android Market and as a universal app in the Apple App Store, unless you happen to live outside the United States. For unstated reasons, Google Currents is only available in the USA at the moment. This is likely due to legal issues regarding content publishing, so it remains to be seen if or when this new app will become available in other regions.