In a nutshell…

A mobile magazine reader that takes content from the best publications, spitting it out prettily on your handset. It’s cool for killing time, letting you soak up top-notch articles on the move.

Judgement time!

Mobizines has an obsession with text messages. To install it you need to tap in your phone number online and you’ll get a download link sent by text to your phone. Carry on the install and it’ll want to send a text back to itself containing your ‘settings’, even though you won’t have set any up yet.

Even forwarding interesting articles to friends is done by text – strangely there’s no option to use email, even though all its other downloading is done using the data connection.

Once it’s installed, and you’ve ignored its warnings of ‘an hour’ to download the catalogue of magazines on offer, Mobizines makes an impact with flashy graphics and slick animation. It’s easy to use, but if you still find it fiddly there’s a web interface so you can organise subscriptions online if you prefer. Unfortunately the app is less than stable – kicking up errors if you’re too quick scrolling between sections.

Treat it gently though and it’s a useful time-killer. There’re content streams from loads of top-notch magazines, TV stations and websites, although there’s little content here you couldn’t find using your phone’s web browser.

Delving into a ‘magazine’ it’s pretty obvious they’re just re-formatted RSS feeds from websites, and there’s even an option to subscribe to an ‘RSS Mobizine’ where you can fill in a feed of your own choosing.

It’s still a useful app though, even as an RSS reader, and very few are this eye-pleasing. It’s not as revolutionary as it makes out, however, and you’ll be forced to gawp at extra advertising that’s easily avoided with a standard RSS app.