News aggregator Zite is expanding its reach via an iPhone application that lets users customize news content by scouring the Web for relevant articles.

The Zite app is also able to further target content based on how much consumers use it. The app is available for free download in Apple's App Store.

?Personalized news is an addictive experience and once Zite launched on the iPad, our users began to ask us for Zite on all of their devices,? said Mark Johnson, CEO of Zite, San Francisco.

?The iPhone is the first step in Zite's plan to add additional platforms over the next year,? he said.

Optimized news
The Zite iPhone app works in a similar way to the company?s iPad app.

However, unlike the Zite iPad app, the iPhone app is locked in horizontal mode to help smartphone users read content quickly.

To learn users? preferences, consumers can rate articles with either a thumbs down or thumbs up icon.

Readers can also share articles via Twitter, Facebook, email or SMS.

Users who share on SMS are taken to mobile-optimized pages from text messages.

To switch categories, users can flip through a scroll bar at the top of the screen.

"Zite retained all of the major functionality from the iPad but streamlined the interface to work on a smaller device,? Mr. Johnson said.

Hot news
The news aggregation space has been heating up lately with companies looking to expand their mobile services.

For example, Flipboard recently launched for iPhone devices (see story).

With increasing competition, news aggregator apps are having to find new ways to target themselves to consumers.

By creating smartphone apps, news aggregator apps are realizing that consumers are digesting more mobile news content.

For example, a recent study from Pew Research and The Economist Group found that 53 percent of tablet users depend on their devices for daily news.

Consumers are also accessing more mobile content cross-platform, including smartphones, which have opened up to marketers wanting to target news content to mobile users.

Additionally, Zite was acquired by CNN earlier this year to tailor content for CNN readers, showing the importance that mobile plays in news organizations.

?People like a quick bite of news when they are on the go while waiting for a bus, picking up their kids from school or standing in line,? Mr. Johnson said.

?Since Zite is personalized, even spending a few minutes on the app will allow users to find news that matters to them instead of just reading generic headlines."