Handmark Express News Review

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There are a lot of free apps in the Android Marketplace.  One app that I came across recently  is the  Handmark Express News.

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Handmark Express news is a news reader for Android handsets including the HTC Dream/T-Mobile G1, HTC Magic/myTouch 3G.  The interface is pretty easy to understand with a list of stories presented soon after loading.  To read the full story, just tap on one that interests you.

When you are done reading one category you just swipe a finger across your screen to move to another category.  You can also switch categories by  swiping down near the little tab on the left.

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One nice option is that you can share the story via SMS or E-Mail.  Just tap on the “Share This Story”.

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Select the option you would like to use when sharing the story.

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Then it will copy the story into the e-mail with a link to the Pocket Express website where you can download Pocket Express programs for other phones.  There’s no Pocket Express program for Android except the Express News client.

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You can add more news to your favorites by tapping on the “View More Categories” button which brings up a dialog where you can add more categories to your favorites list.

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Here is the Baseball category.  To add it to your favorites, just tap “Add to Favorites”.

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Try as I might, I cannot find a way to add RSS feeds from sources outside of the ones that Express News already recognizes.  Plus the only ones I see in the list are ones that seem to be from sources like AP, AFP and so on.  No independent web sites seem to be a part of Express News.

While it’s a nice app, Express news is not a app for most of the internet savvy users out there.  Those of us who already know what a RSS feed is will find Express News extremely limiting.  The Internet savvy news reader should just look to other RSS readers insteasd of this app.

Express News is available on the Android Marketplace or by downloading from the Handmark website.  It is also free!

What I liked: Dead simple to use.  The sharing feature was good, but kind of old school when compared to sharing stories via Google Reader or other Social Networking websites.

What needs improvement: Integrate some Social Networking functionality.  Also allow custom RSS feeds.

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About the Author

Joel McLaughlin
Joel is a consultant in the IT field and is located in Columbus, OH. While he loves Linux and tends to use it more than anything else, he will stoop to running closed source if it is the best tool for the job. His techno passions are Linux, Android, netbooks, GPS, podcasting and Amateur Radio.

2 Comments on "Handmark Express News Review"

  1. Joel McLaughlin | June 22, 2009 at 10:02 pm |

    Hah! Just realized the Baseball part of Express News has a schedule for the San Angelo Colts! Judie should notice that…

  2. OldManRiver | May 3, 2011 at 11:18 pm |

    Joel,

    Obviously these guys never heard of regression testing because everytime they touch something on this app the whole thing goes south. The app is usually down more than it is up. Latest round puts my phone into “reboot” mode every time I try to check the weather.

    O yeah and they have no place for you to bitch at them, so the thing goes unfixed and therefore useless for months at a time.

    OMR

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