It’s a nice thing to always be connected, sometimes. When it comes to getting important information, having a phone or other always-connected device on-hand is pretty remarkable. Especially if you’re someone who likes to have the latest information available whenever and wherever you are. Our phones and tablets make that possible at all times of the day. But, much like when it comes to books, I’ve found that it’s all about the reading experience for me.
I have a lot of different news aggregation applications on my phone. Some of them are all-in-one options, which pull information from sites or organizations all over the world, while others are just apps for a specific place. Either way, they all offer up a different user experience, even if in the end you’re still reading text on a screen, or looking at a collection of images. Even if you are just reading something, that user experience can really make or break it for me.
On the other hand, it all depends on the device and how prevalent it is in my life. For instance, my phone is always on me. Always. So, having those applications that feed me the information I want when I want it, is really nice. But, in all honesty, reading something on the display that can fit in my pocket, especially when it’s a lengthy news article, can be kind of a bummer. Having a device with a 7-inch display, or bigger, to read the news has always been my favorite way to do so.
For as long as that’s been an option, that is.
It may be a personal thing that harkens back to the days of a newspaper, where you’ve got something big enough to read everything and look at different things when you want. Reading a news article on my phone means I’m looking at a single article, and maybe even an advertisement, but that’s it. There are some news apps available for tablets that let you scan nice images that lead to in-depth articles, and the whole experience, to me, is better because of the larger screen real estate.
But I don’t carry a tablet with me wherever I go. Actually, at the moment, I don’t even own a tablet. Sure, I’d love to own one, but so far I’ve just been unable to keep one. Buying something like that just to read the news doesn’t sit well with me. So far, that’s all I’ve used a tablet for, for the most part. That’s why I’ve tried to grow accustomed to reading more news pieces, whether they are long- or short-form, on my phone.
I’m pretty sure Taylor would point me to the Galaxy Note II, as a lot of you would, and that’s probably worth looking into. I do love the combination of the phone and tablet (I refuse to say “phablet”), and that larger display, along with being able to multi-task in a whole new way for a “phone,” makes it a device that would probably suit my needs quite well. I’m just not sure how I feel about using a 5-inch device as my main go-to handset.
It’s a vicious circle I’m caught in, but one that will probably be alright when it’s all said and done. After all, news is news, and as long as I’m able to keep connected and get it when I want it, or need it, then it should be all good.
So tell me, Dear Reader, on which device do you prefer to get your news? Do you love reading news articles on your phone? Or are you like me, and prefer to read your news on a device with a little bit more screen? Do you just skip reading the news on your device altogether, and just keep that for an old-school newspaper, or computer? Let me know!