Flipboard For Mac: Web App Allows Users To Read Personalized Magazines Via Their Desktop

Flipboard, the mobile app that lets users create personalized magazines based on their interests from around the web, has just gotten a little less mobile. On Tuesday, the application will launch for computers as a web app, giving people the ability to use Flipboard from across all electronic devices.

According to founder Mike McCue, the new app allows anyone to view, share and "flip" through Flipboard magazines online in a version that is very similar to the company's early beginnings.

"Being able to take all that and bring it to the desktop and go back to our earliest roots is kind of cool, he said as he showed off the new Web app to CNET.

Apparently when the device was debuted, it was shown on a mock tablet since the iPad hadn't been released yet. However, the company was originally conceived with desktops in mind. However, the founders weren't able to get the app to look and work like a magazine one could browse through as easily on the desktop, they then decided to start at tablets and work backwards. Finally, the idea has made its way to computers.

The new web app has a lot of the same features as the mobile app including a cover photo, pages that move with a "flip" animation, the ability to share a whole magazine or an individual article with other users and the ability to toss photos and articles into your own magazines.

The biggest challenge for Flipboard was to find a way to make navigation as easy as it was when users could just swipe around with their finger. Now the company has to factor in the possible ways people navigate a computer desktop including a track pad, mouse, wheel or hotkeys.

Desktop access, according to WIRED, has been one of FlipBoard's most requested features. The app's capabilities will open it up to a wider audience, simultaneously giving fans of the application a wider reach for their own magazine creations.