Mashable! links social media and Web 2.0 pros to the latest news, trends, events, and more

Platform: Android

RATING: 5 out of 5

PRICE: FREE

TASTY:
Stay up-to-date and in-the-know about all things Web 2.0 and social media (Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, My Space, etc.) via Mashable’s official reader app.

BUMMER:
Sharing articles via the built-in sharing function is hit or miss, sometimes appearing in my Twitter or Facebook feeds, and sometimes not. Given the app’s focus on the same sites where their articles can be shared to/posted, this is an important feature to fix an upcoming update.

COOL:
Mashable’s coverage of Web 2.0 trends, as well as hands-on advice for making use of these networks for personal and professional use, is not to be missed.

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Read all of my Apple iPad and Google Android application reviews at Appolicious and Yahoo! Tech.

I’m a Mashaholic. As a marketing manager for a global online research and library solutions company, our Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube channels are critical to communicating and interacting with researchers and librarians everywhere.

Billing itself as “the social media guide,” the Mashable! blog is my one-stop resource for staying up-to-date and in-the-know about all things Web 2.0 and social media. The Mashable! app keeps me connected to this critical resource via a simple, clean interface that delivers the latest tips, trends, and must-attend event information to help my company and I make the most of our online channels.

Quickly switch between the site’s multiple channels of news – All, social media, social good, mobile, Web video, entertainment, business, startups, tech, development and design, and Android – to view lists of recent posts. Selecting each article brings it up for reading, with the standard gestures used to scroll up and down, with embedded hyperlinks to related articles and company information built right in.

The search feature makes it super-easy to access the full archive of articles from the site, and built-in sharing features allow for cross-posting content directly to your personal Twitter or Facebook feeds. In my tests, articles sometimes appeared in my feeds, sometimes not. It’s not clear if this is the app’s fault, or (in most cases) Facebook’s, given its recent penchant for hit or miss posting through these kinds of applications.

The icing on this news reader application? Click Read Later at the top to send the article directly to Instapaper so you can read it anytime, anywhere, online or off.