New releases from Yahoo, including its Flipboard clone Livestand

By Molly McHugh Published November 3, 2011

Yahoo’s been in something of a downward spiral in the wake of rumors that it’s up for sale and the recent firing of former CEO Carol Bartz. Since then, the company has done little more than deny rumors its up for grabs or interested in an AOL merger, and insisted that a plan is in place to resurrect Yahoo to its former glory.

Now we’re getting a glimpse at the products behind Yahoo’s hoped-for revival. The most notable launch is Livestand, an HTML 5-based Flipboard competitor that collects Yahoo’s curated content in a zine-like style for the Web. Content from the likes of ABC News, Scientific American, Mashable, Forbes, Power, and Parenting will be included.

Recommended Videos

According to the company, an Android version of the currently iOS-only app will be available in 2012. Yahoo isn’t the first Web property to take on Fliboard: In fact, Google is rumored to introduce its Flipboard challenger soon.

But can it compete with Flipboard? The app has a stranglehold on mobile reader services, and were Livestand a clone of the software, we could understand some natural success. But there are a few, key differences that could hinder this. First, Yahoo does all the work for you with Livestand: Your options exist within Yahoo’s content aggregators. Flipboard’s setup is truly based around personalization. In essence, Flipboard remains the best choice for active, hungry, mobile readers. Livestand might be a good attempt, but it reeks of third-party partnerships and ad schemes.

Still, Yahoo is reestablishing itself as a media company, and Livestand is a product that signals a step in the right direction. Also launched today were new features for Yahoo News that allow users to discover and interact with content and other readers more easily. Yahoo Weather also recieved a small makeover in the form of a new Android app that will pull corresponding photos from Flickr.

The other iOS feature introduced today is the iPad version of IntoNow, which reads the TV content you’re watching and pulls news stories based on their relevance to the programming.

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Before coming to Digital Trends, Molly worked as a freelance writer, occasional photographer, and general technical lackey…

Mobile

Thinking Garmin for your next smartwatch? This Forerunner is on sale

Person tapping on Garmin Forerunner 265 screen.

If you're wanting to get fit and track your stats, a smartwatch is the way to go. However, they can be expensive, and their stereotypically short battery lives can make them a little annoying. This deal on Garmin's Forerunner 265 GPS smartwatch, however, changes the game. It has days of battery life (not hours) and right now you can get yours for $50 off. That makes the watch $400, not $450 like usual. Tap on your favorite retailer below to get one of the best smartwatch deals of the day, or read on to learn about the watch, the differences between the large version and the smaller 265S version, and advice on which watch you should finally choose.

Why you should buy the Garmin Forerunner 265
The Garmin Forerunner 265 line is a health and fitness tracking watch that doesn't get the attention that many Apple watches do, but is nevertheless a great Apple Watch alternative. It has a gorgeous AMOLED display that makes for clear, vibrant visuals. And its "Garmin coach" brings training plans to you, giving you customized and personalized exercises based on your condition. For example, it may suggest a lighter run from time to time to give your body time to recover more from previous exertions.

Computing

Apple CEO should do a Steve Jobs on Siri delay, analyst says

Invoking Siri on iPhone.

Apple CEO Tim Cook should go public to explain the delay in integrating advanced Siri capabilities across its ecosystem, rather than Apple releasing the news quietly via a tech site last week, according to prominent Apple analyst Ming-Chi Kuo.

The tech giant showcased an AI-powered Siri at its WWDC event in 2024, as part of its Apple Intelligence initiative. While the virtual assistant does now have some AI smarts, the more advanced features -- including personalized responses, task completion across multiple apps, and on-screen awareness --have been delayed until next year at the earliest.

Mobile

Android 16’s latest beta adds an iPhone-like Battery Health tool

Android 16 battery health dashboard.

Google has started the rollout of Android 16’s third beta build. It’s not a massive aesthetic makeover, but there are a few features that users will appreciate. Among them is the addition of a health check system for the phone’s battery.
The new feature, called Battery Health, can be accessed by opening the Battery dashboard in the Settings app. There isn’t a heap of functional stuff here, aside from an information deck that essentially tells you about the electrochemical status of your phone’s battery.

Why this is important?
A typical lithium-ion battery fitted inside smartphones undergoes repeated charge-discharge cycles, almost on a daily basis. Over time, chemical degradation happens, which affects how long the battery can retain charge. Technically speaking, rechargeable batteries are consumables and they have a limited lifespan.
A lot of factors are involved here, such as impedance and battery voltage, both of which are affected by the chemical age of a battery. Based on the battery’s health, smartphones perform certain optimizations to manage the device workload, prevent shutdowns, and manage scenarios such as lags.