Why You Can Trust CNET Tumblr for Android review: The must-have for Tumblr users on Android
The recently updated app features an interface that's significantly more attractive and simple than previous versions.
With the newly updated Tumblr for Android, using the megapopular blogging platform cum social network while on the go is a snap. The app lets you create and publish posts, read through posts by bloggers you follow, and manage your account settings, all through a beautiful interface with crisp images and dead simple navigation. And if you're not already a Tumblr user, you can even create an account right from the app.
Tumblr for Android
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Just like when you sign on to Tumblr on the Web, the Android app opens you up directly to your Dashboard, where you see your main feed, with all the newest posts from the blogs you follow. Things are arranged reverse-chronologically, so you can scroll down to see older posts. As you get closer the bottom of the screen, the app will even automatically reload, so you can scroll virtually forever. To refresh the listing of posts, you can pull down from the top
The interface on the Dashboard looks and feels very much like it does on the full Web version of Tumblr, except for a few items. For one, all images are static, which is a huge disappointment, since animated GIFs are such a big part of the Tumblr community. As it is now, the app forces you to click through on these GIFs to see their animations in action, and this can get annoying if you're used to quickly sifting through your feed. Also, the dashboard doesn't include Spotlighted Tumblr users like it does on the Web, which leaves you with fewer channels for discovering new content.
At the bottom of each post, you'll see buttons to reblog or Like, as well as hyperlinked tags, all of which make it easy to quickly interact with a post or to follow up on specific topics as you scroll through your feed.
The navigation bar at the top of the app is about as simple as it gets, with three navigation tabs. The first tab brings you to your feed and the second tab shows you tags and a search module. Under the third tab, you'll find notifications, and Tumblr profile details, as well as links to settings and a menu for searching through Tumblr blogs by category.
With the latest update to the app, the Create post functions have been built into an unobtrusive round button that sits at the bottom of the screen. This little button, when tapped, rolls out six more buttons for Video, Chat, Link, Quote, Photo, and Text posts.
The post editors, while convenient and simple, are noticeably more bare bones than their counterparts on the Web. For instance the text post editor lacks formatting buttons for making text bold, creating bullet lists, and adding other style elements, and the photo post editor only lets you add one photo while the full Web version lets you add up to ten. Also, there is no button for creating audio posts like there is on the Web. One thing the editors do include, though, is the ability to save drafts and schedule for later publishing, which is convenient.
If you own a Tumblr blog, then frankly, this mobile app is a must. It makes it incredibly easy to post any type of media to your site (except audio), and it provides a nice interface for keeping up with the Tumblr blogs you follow. That said, I still hope to see landscape support and a tablet-optimized version in the future.