When you ’ re starving for online news, where do you go for a tailored fix? There ’ s the buddy who continuously uploads the funniest tales on Facebook before everyone else, or the coworker who shares clever write-ups on Twitter the 2nd they ’ re published online. You could even make use of an application that types through on-line information stories to discover precisely what you ’ ll wish to review.

One of the coolest apps out there is Zite, which constructs stories into a customized digital journal and simplifies the procedure of consuming a great deal of details in a short time. Given that its launching almost two years ago, I ’ ve opened Zite ’ s complimentary application on my iPad almost every morning. (It also runs on Android and Windows Phone 7.) It shows loads of intriguing material on all kinds of topics, and it understands exactly what I like to check out due to the fact that it has tracked my reading practices because the very first write-up I keep reading Zite.

Beginning Tuesday, a new edition of Zite is readily available for download, updating the existing application on Apple ’ s iOS 6. (An update for various other gadgets is coming next year.) I ’ ve been using this brand-new version for the past couple of weeks with a focus on the iPad application. While I such as some of its new features, such as a box for existing headline news, it tries to do too much without enough focus.

The brand-new Zite places a great deal of emphasis on visuals, requiring people to swipe to new screens to see even more stories. Instead of seeing 5 write-ups (with headlines, photos and a few sentences per story) in neat squares on the first page of Zite, you ’ ll now see just three write-ups. One tale consists of an extra-large image that swallows up a lot of room and isn ’ t always clearly distinguished from the rest of the web page. Other web pages are revealed in a layout meant to mirror a glossy magazine, but could come off looking haphazard and too active.

If these images offered some type of informative aesthetic, I could be more accepting of them. However in lots of cases, the photos don ’ t reveal their actual subject. A write-up about TELEVISION personality Alton Brown revealed just his pant leg and hand, while a story about a brand-new tech company showed a big black square with a small sliver of somebody ’ s face. Some headlines appeared cut off in mid-sentence.

Zite ’ s CEO, Mark Johnson, states the app ’ s algorithm sometimes highlights the inappropriate part of a picture, and font style and software problems caused the headline issues. He states the business plans to deal with both of these issues in an update to the brand-new version, which is expected next month.

So exactly what does this new Zite app do that the old one didn ’ t? Individuals could now inform Zite if they like posts without opening them by dragging the write-up up (for thumbs up) or down (for thumbs down). They could see posts that are most prominent with other Zite individuals and can review a stream of Headline News, 2 attributes I questioned while making use of the initial Zite.

A screenshot from the Zite application

A “ Featured on Zite ” part promotes sponsored pages, like Avant-Garde Design sponsored by Lexus, and various other information sources, like the L.a Times.

Readers could now leap from one basic post to a Zite page filled with write-ups on a particular topic mentioned in the article by selecting a subject tag. And an Explore page makes it easy to locate more write-ups by connecting Twitter, Facebook, Pocket or Google Reader, or having a look at personnel choices and popular classifications.

Rather of 2,500 categories, Zite now provides 40,000. And the application ’ s green-and-white application icon has been changed with a cartoony owl, which the CEO states represents cleverness, curiosity and approachability.

The original Zite used clever computer animation each time you opened it, swinging images around like they were on a string and nicely displaying them alongside their associated articles. Now, the app simply opens and articles are shown running across each various other, like colliding puzzle pieces.

Zite still buries bylines until you open a write-up, which is annoying for people like me who may review a tale due to the fact that of the reporter.

Numerous of the brand-new Zite features give the company more feedback about what individuals do or don ’ t like. However the original application was developed around the property that you could do nothing to it and it would steadily improve as you utilized it. Its algorithm always monitored your every move, featuring which posts you opened, exactly how long you spent reading a write-up, if you scrolled down or not and if you provided it a thumbs up or thumbs down. This brand-new variation places ranking in a more prominent spot and makes Zite ’ s analyzing job simpler.

In addition to relocating a post up or down to suggest whether it ’ s favored, individuals could select a heart to see more tales on a certain subject. However this doesn ’ t include the topic to a user ’ s Quicklist, which is a selection of categories and news sources that somebody decides on when first establishing the application.

By letting people dive deeper into particular topics, Zite urges more discovery, however this blend of subject tags, Quicklist and suching as a topic might be perplexing.

Finding brand-new classifications and tales is much easier with this new version of Zite, but navigating around the app ’ s total layout is not. Its original design encouraged quick reading of a great deal of information curated simply for you, while this brand-new format forces you to do a great deal of swiping, like with a glossy magazine, until you discover what you want to check out.

Compose to Katherine Boehret at katie.boehret@wsj.com.

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