Pulse (Application)

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Pulse
Developer(s) Alphonso Labs
Initial release May 2010 (May 2010)
Platform Web Browsers, iOS, Android
Type News aggregator
Website www.pulse.me

Pulse is an app for Android,[1] iOS and HTML5 browsers, originally released in 2010. The application displays news from multiple RSS feeds in a single page using a tile based interface.

History

Pulse icon

Pulse was originally released in May 2010 for the Apple iPad. The app was created by Ankit Gupta and Akshay Kothari (two Stanford University graduate students) as part of a course at the Institute of Design. The company they formed, Alphonso Labs, was one of the first to use Stanford's business incubator SSE Labs.[2] Pulse received positive reviews for its easy to use interface.[3]

On 8 June 2010, the app was temporarily removed from the App Store hours after it was mentioned by Apple founder Steve Jobs at WWDC 2010, because The New York Times complained to Apple about the app pulling content from their feed, even though that feed was in use by other apps in the App Store. The app was approved once again and restored to the App Store later the same day after removing the The New York Times feed.[3][4]

On 2 July that year a version of the app was released for iPhone and iPod touch named Pulse News Mini.[5] It featured the same slick interface and features as the iPad version on a smaller scale. Later that month the app was also released for Android smartphones.[6]

On 1 October Pulse version 2.0 was released, this update included the ability to add up to 60 news feeds and introduced pages that could be configured to show different types of news.[7]

On 15 November Pulse was made a free app for iOS and Android.[8]

In 2011 Pulse was selected as one of 50 apps in Apple’s App Store Hall of Fame and named one of TIME’s top 50 iPhone apps of the year. This raised the profile of the app helping it to gain even more popularity.[9][10]

On 9 August 2012 a Pulse web app was announced. The app featured a radically different design using different sized tiles put together to form a 'mosaic' like interface. Written in HTML5 the app works with all modern web browsers, however a special partnership formed between Alphonso Labs and Microsoft brings unique features such as gestures to users of Internet Explorer 10.[11]

On 8 November 2012 Pulse 3.0 was released for iOS and Android. It included a redesigned sidebar similar to the one found on the web app for switching between pages. Also included in the update was a new icon and the ability to add an unlimited number of news feeds.[12]

Pulse was listed among Techlands 50 Best Android Applications for 2013.[13]

On 11 April 2013 it was announced[14] as previously rumoured[15] that LinkedIn had purchased Pulse from Alphonso Labs for $90 million.[16]

In the beginning of November 2013 version 4.0 was launched, fully integrating the Pulse app and LinkedIn. Along with the integration was a massive UI overhaul that was met largely by negative reviews by long time users. Many users are still waiting for the app to return to their original design considering how much they completely mutilated the new UI. The update also changed the name of the app from "Pulse" to "LinkedIn Pulse". The former purchase of Pulse by LinkedIn went largely unnoticed by the users of the app before the update, but due to the way the app now is more integrated with LinkedIn some users are moving away from name association alone. [17]

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Pulse Is Now Alive And Kicking On Android"
  2. ↑ "Stanford Students Build Their Own Y Combinator". Tech Crunch. 10 June 2010. Retrieved 11 September 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 "Pulse: Why I almost didn't return my iPad". CNN. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  4. ↑ "New York Times kills off the Pulse iPad news app". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2010.
  5. ↑ "Pulse For iPhone Lands"
  6. ↑ "Pulse Is Now Alive And Kicking On Android"
  7. ↑ "Pulse News Reader for iPad 2.0: More sources, better organization"
  8. ↑ "Pulse News Reader for iOS now free"
  9. ↑ "50 Best iPhone Apps 2011"
  10. ↑ "About Pulse"
  11. ↑ "Pulse Launches a Beautiful Web App"
  12. ↑ "Pulse 3.0 update for iOS and Android brings new design, better search and more."
  13. ↑ Jared Newman. "50 Best Android Apps for 2013". Techland. Retrieved 30 June 2013. 
  14. ↑ "Welcome Pulse to the LinkedIn family"
  15. ↑ "LinkedIn reportedly set to buy Pulse news reader"
  16. ↑ "Pulsejoins the LinkedIn family"
  17. ↑ "Linkedin integrates Pulse and upsets almost everyone"

External links

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