Microsoft wants to make your commute more productive with the NewsCast newsreading app

The app is in a testing stage, and appears to have been accidentally released to the public

The new app could put a newsreader in your pocket (DANIEL SORABJI/AFP/Getty Images)

Microsoft is quietly testing an app that could help more people keep up with the news easily - simply by having it read to them.

The NewCast app, released for testing under the Bing banner, is designed to give users a "more productive commute".

It's a fairly simple idea - text-to-speech technology is built into every iPhone.

But by getting stories from a number of different publications and websites, putting them all in one place, and reading them to you automatically, NewCast may fill a hole that the radio and existing media organisations are leaving empty.

As reported by Neowin, each article runs around 30 seconds in length, alternates between voices for each one, and allows the user to customise what news they want to hear.

It's in it's early stages, and customising the feed in any meaningful way isn't a feature yet.

The app is only for iOS and is just for internal testing, so it seems like it went out to the public accidentally - so try it while you have the chance.