As Flipboard prepares to storm China, Google is getting into the visual aggregation game back at home.
The Mountain View-based search company unveiled -- quite possibly before it was ready -- a new aggregation app called Google Currents Thursday.
The app allows mobile users to browse news content from 150 partner sites -- from All Things D to Dwell to The Daily Beast -- in a visual format.
Publishers are even allowed to get into the act by logging into a Google-powered back end system and controlling the visual presentation of its content.
Some of the content is free while some requires a subscription but one thing is clear: Google is channeling Flipboard.
While the app is available on both iOS and Android platforms its seems built for the iPad's screen.
The app is buggy -- as PaidContent is quick to point out -- but there is potential.
By all indications, Google was still working on the app before tech blog All Things D blew the lid off of the cover.
The app is filled with several features with the social user in mind. You can directly +1 any story to Google+ with the touch of a button in the app.
Users can also bookmark their favorite articles or read whats trending. Publications are neatly categorized by subject.
The app is available for download now and publishers can control their content by creating an account on google.com/producer.
