Google Currents, Google’s Long Anticipated Flipboard Alternative, Finally Arrives

If you are used to consuming content on your iPad then you probably know about an app called Flipboard. Since the day it was launched, the app has been garnering rave reviews from all quarters of tech media mainly because the way it handles and showcases content. It uses the magazine style mode to show content from blogs and websites and users have been really liking it so far because it surely looks beautiful on a tablet like iPad.

It was no secret that Google had been working on a Flipboard competitor, and yesterday it finally unveiled the product – Google Currents. It is basically an app for Android and iOS devices which promises a new, Flipboard-like way to read content on tablet computers and smartphones.

Since this is a Google product, you can safely assume that it is packed with features that are meant to give all such similar services out there a run for their money. For instance, it already comes with 150 publishing partners, basically sites and blogs that will offer full-length content on it for free. The list includes top online publications like AllThingsD, Forbes, Huffington Post, Fast Company etc.

There’s also a way for every publisher out there to create a Google Currents channel of their site, and Google offers a very cool self-editor that makes it a breeze to create a Google Currents version of your site. That means you can have people read your site through Google Currents on their tablets and smartphones in no time. Oh, and Google will also allow advertising and share advertising revenue with publishers which is a biggie!

The apps are officially available only in the US for now but there are workarounds to use them elsewhere. Time will tell if long time Flipboard users ditch it in favor of Google Currents.. too early to say now. What do you think? Did you get you hands on Google Currents yet?