Filed under: Fun, Internet, Podcasting, Blogging, Windows Mobile, Shareware
Egress - Little-known but powerful Pocket PC RSS Reader
I have tried a ton of Pocket PC RSS readers, and the one that I keep coming back to is called Egress, by Garish Kernels. I don't know, but get the impression that Garish Kernels is a one man show, given the very slow updates to the software, and the somewhat lackluster response times to support requests. I'm also somewhat annoyed that a persistent bug still exists in it (at least when using it on my Dell Axim X50v) where if I leave the program running, it will prevent my Pocket PC from going into sleep mode, and eventually run my battery out. With all of that negativity, how can I possibly recommend Egress? Simple. It's by far the best thought-out user interface for reading RSS feeds on the go that I've seen so far. It renders quickly and well on both high-resolution and regular-resolution Pocket PCs, which not all Pocket PC RSS readers can claim, and it also caches images contained in posts so that reading offline delivers the same experience as online - very few Pocket PC RSS readers boast this feature. It also contains rudimentary synchronization with both Bloglines and NewsGator, although in practice I've found it not worth the trouble to bother with this feature. Also, there are quite a few display settings under options to allow you to make Egress pleasing to the eye; don't judge it based on this screenshot.
By far the biggest advantage I've found using Egress over other RSS readers is that Egress is optimized to allow you to go from story to story, and feed to feed using only the direction pad. This means you can put the stylus away and read continuously without any tapping. It's truly amazing how almost none of the other RSS readers I've tried have this feature.
NewsGator recently debuted their new Pocket PC reader, called NewsGator Mobile (BETA). Although I had high hopes for a Pocket PC reader that would fully synchronize with an online or desktop RSS experience, I was very disappointed with this release. It renders slowly, looks terrible on a full-VGA Pocket PC, requires screen taps for navigation, and does not cache images. In fact, Egress is the Pocket PC RSS reader that NewsGator should have purchased to build their branded version on. It's a shame that they didn't.
Currently Egress offers a 30 day trial, and a license with lifetime upgrades costs $12.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
hydrashok said 11:01AM on 7-14-2006
Nice tip, Jason.
I just installed Egress on my XDA IIi, and I really liked it. Guess I will buy it in a coupla days if I keep liking it :)
Keep 'em PPC posts coming!
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Mike said 5:06PM on 7-14-2006
The feature is made for any phone, not just pocket PC devices, but Bloglines has a pretty useful mobile interface. Syncing with the desktop is no issue since that's what I use on the computer and the pocket PC.
I'm gonna have to try this one out though. And I second that-- keep the PPC/Windows Mobile posts coming!
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Jason Clarke said 5:26PM on 7-14-2006
Hi Mike, I totally agree that Bloglines has the best mobile interface if you have internet connectivity. It seriously kicks ass, actually, compared with every other one I've tried. Egress is a solution for when you want to take your feeds on the go, and won't have connectivity.
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Robert Barbieri said 3:43AM on 7-18-2006
I much perfer pRSSreader over egress or any other Pocket RSS reader out there. It renders decently (its running on a 320x240 display remember), caches images from the feeds, and it does enclosures too! Its even got a today plugin that will show you the latest headlines as well. And it will update on interval or whenever there is a internet connection. Supports OPML so you can copy your feeds to an from your desktop. And here is the best part: ITS ABSOLUTLY FREAKIN' FREE!!!
Get it here and be enlightend:
http://pda.jasnapaka.com/prssr/
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