Miss Google Reader? Facebook developing replacement news app
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The logo for Google Reader, an RSS-feed reader that the search giant recently cancelled -- sending countless users scrambling for a replacement. (Google)
Facebook is aiming to become a newspaper for mobile devices.
The social network has been quietly working on a service, internally called Reader, that displays content from Facebook users and publishers in a new visual format tailored for mobile devices, people with knowledge of the matter said.
The project, which the company has been developing for more than a year, is designed to showcase news content in particular. Recent versions of Reader resemble Flipboard, a smartphone and tablet app that aggregates stories from multiple sources and lets users swipe to flip through articles, said the people with knowledge of the project.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While it's unclear when Facebook will be ready to unveil the product, if it ever is, the Reader project is a sign the company is trying to get users to spend more time with it on mobile devices—and to see more ads.
A Facebook spokesman declined to comment on the company's plans for future news applications.
Such mobile-focused endeavors are critical as Facebook tries to jump-start its sagging stock price, which remains 35 percent below its initial-public-offering price.
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