Flipboard is a social reading application. What does that mean, you ask?  Flipboard creates a personalized journal out of all of your social media feeds including Facebook status updates, Tweets, Google+ updates, Instagram photos and YouTube videos.

You can also fill your Flipboard with all of your favorite reading material from newspaper publications to online blogs. New York Times paid subscribers can also view full newspaper publications via Flipboard. In addition to these you can also access LinkedIn, Google Reader, tumblr, flickr, Soundcloud, 500px, Sina Weibo and Renren.

Flipboard’s large Cover Stories panel features recent articles and smaller panels for each source you have subscribed to. All images are accessible from the Cover Stories panel as well and can be found as thumbnails in the panel.

There are only two major differences between the handheld version and the tablet/iPad version of the app. The handheld version only displays one publication or article on the screen at a time whereas the tablet displays multiple articles.  It’s a sensible design element, considering the difference in screen size between tablets and smartphones. Also, the handheld version uses the vertical swipe for navigation instead of the horizontal swipe that the tablet/ iPad version features.

Overall I give this application a 5 out of 5. It’s an exceptional way to sort your digital media that I would recommend to any individual wanting to stay connected and informed.  Flipboard is available for iPad, iPhone, Android, Kindle Fire, and NOOK.