Keeping on top of the new can be time-consuming process, and it's all too easy to fall into the trap of relying on the likes of Facebook and Twitter. While these can offer up reliable news, they also act as something of a bubble, and the viral nature of some content can dramatically skew what you see. So what's the solution?

One option is to simply visit the website or use the app of your favourite newspaper or news site, but this means only getting one point of view. A better option is to shop around for new, getting stories from a variety of sources for greater balance. And this is precisely what Microsoft News enables you to do.

The app serves up carefully curated news stories from thousands of reliable sources from around the world. Among the sources the app call upon are the Washington Post, USA TODAY, CBS News, CNN, The New York Times, FOX News, NBC News, The Daily Beast, The Huffington Post, BBC News, The Federalist and The Week, meaning pretty much the full political spectrum is covered. But there's also plenty of content relating to sport, lifestyle and entertainment.

As well as providing new broken down by country or region across a range of topics, Microsoft News also offers breaking news alerts on both desktop and mobile platforms. You can install the app on multiple device and your preferences and content will sync between them.

As well as providing notifications about breaking news stories, the app can also alert you to the top stories of the day, and deliver a daily brief of handpicked stories to your device. There's support for a range of languages making it suitable for people all over the globe, and Microsoft has taken care to think of anyone who likes to catch up on news at night – the all-important dark mode is present to help protect your eyes.