Android First-look: Google Reader

Filed under: Google, iPhone, Mobile, Android

Android First-look: Google Reader

by Christina Warren Oct 22nd 2008

I'll admit, I'm not a huge Google Reader fan. I much prefer the interface of NetNewsWire on my desktop and have been very impressed with Newsgator Go for the BlackBerry (it blows Google Reader away and has all my feeds). That said, Google Reader on the iPhone is actually pretty spectacular.

This is important, because the iPhone and Android use very, very similar browsers. Both are based in WebKit and they render pages almost identically. This is great news for Android, because newsreaders and smartphones really are a match made in heaven. Instead of the typical mobile Reader page, Google has created an optimized WebKit page that really, really shines.

Google Reader is so good, in fact, you probably wouldn't expect it to be a web app. You can easily view all new items in your account, view new items or all items from a certain category or view items from an individual feed. If a feed is truncated, clicking on a link immediately launches a new browser window to that article. Sharing and marking feeds with stars is easy and intuitive as well.

The real joy in using Google Reader is in how easy reading articles and feeds actually is. Instead of having to squint like I do if I view Google Reader on my BlackBerry (a problem I don't have with Newsgator Go), everything is clear and easy to navigate.

Check out the gallery to see some shots of Google Reader in action. I also threw in some images from my iPod Touch 2.0, to show off the similarities between the interfaces.

Suddenly Google's big play to make iPhone optimized sites is making a lot more sense!

Gallery: Google Reader Android

Tags: android, firstlook, google reader, GoogleReader, iphone, rss, webkit

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

john said 1:58PM on 10-24-2008

I beg to differ. I'm a big fan of google reader and am quite disappointed with it on Android because I am unable to save bookmarks for specific folders which I could even do with my old school wap nokia.

Jash Sayani said 4:04PM on 10-24-2008

Nothing great. Same as the iPhone Google Reader....

Christina Warren said 4:06PM on 10-24-2008

But at least the iPhone implementation got it right (at least in my opinion). Until Newsgator or others put out other newsreaders, this is the best of the breed right now.

Shannon Wagner said 7:41AM on 12-12-2008

Does anyone have any experience using Google Reader in offline mode on Android?

If I buy an Android, one of the primary locations I will use it is in the NYC subway - I am trying to find out whether I will be able to read my feeds while underground.

Any advice is much appreciated!

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