Facebook would launch Paper, a news reader app for mobile devices in coming weeks, according to a report from Re/code. The company launched a redesigned messenger app recently for both Android and iOS with a flatter design. Google launched Google Currents back in 2011 to compete with Flipboard, but it didn’t do well. Later the app got transformed into Google Play Newsstand that also includes magazine subscriptions.
Facebook’s Paper app is likely to be a standalone mobile application or a Web-based app for mobile devices, which would offer news stories from publications like the New York Times or the Washington Post. It would also offer status updates from Facebook users in paper-like format, according to the report.
The project is known as Project Reader, headed by Chris Cox, Facebook’s VP of product, the report adds. Facebook could launch the Paper app before the end of January, according to Re/code’s sources. It is expected to be available for both Android and iOS devices at the launch.