Filed under: Blogging, Commercial, Social Software, iPhone
Reeder for iPhone lets you read your Google Reader feeds in style
For the last few weeks I've been looking for a suitable RSS reader application for my iPhone. I've found myself frustrated with long-time favourite NetNewsWire (which currently lacks any of the Google Reader sharing options) and the Google Reader web UI. Much like every Twitter client out there, I've bought my fair share of RSS readers for the iPhone and after much testing I have finally found a new favourite: Reeder.Reeder [iTunes Link] has all the relevant sharing options I've craved in one place - and best of all is stylish as hell. There's plenty of applications with custom user interfaces on the iPhone - some more successful than others - but Reeder balances the familiar with custom elements, and as a result the interface looks great when browsing (and reading) content.
If I had any complaints about Reeder, it's that the application lacks the ability to view your friends' shared items within the application, but given the sheer style and speed of the application it's a small oversight. If you're looking to pick up a copy of Reeder, the developer has dropped the price to $0.99 until version 1.1 ships - and available now on the App Store.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Santz24 said 10:41AM on 11-10-2009
Does anybody know of any app for blackberry that does this same function?
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RichGillott said 12:48PM on 11-10-2009
I too am looking for a good blackberry app for Google Reader. The standard Google Reader mobile interface is pretty poor.
infoghost said 10:47AM on 11-10-2009
I've tried all of the RSS apps on the appstore, and my favorite is Newsstand. My only complaint with it is it's a bit slow updating feeds, but once it's done, it's got the best interface (can star/mark articles read without opening them, which I like, and the font is perfect). Reeder is my 2nd favorite, but I don't care for how it cuts of the article titles, font could be a bit smaller, and no instapaper support, but that is coming. I am keeping my eye on it for sure, but for UI and options, Newsstand is my favorite. (I don't use the newspaper function myself, just the standard interface.)
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Landon said 10:46AM on 11-10-2009
Bought this because you recommended it! Hope it's as good as you say.
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Max said 11:09AM on 11-10-2009
Not bad, but NNW is just as fast and offers Twitter, Email and Instapaper integration. This one doesn't offer anything other than what Google Reader offers. It's fast and has a nice, understated interface.
However, the sharing options in NNW will keep me using that one for now.
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mr. Obsession said 11:21AM on 11-10-2009
As someone who's tried a dozen RSS readers for the iPhone, I'm constantly surprised when Byline isn't mentioned - it's exponentially better than anything else in the App Store.
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sknob said 12:02PM on 11-10-2009
I like this app a lot, except that it won't let me (or I haven't figured out how to) read articles from oldest to newest.
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Richard said 1:54PM on 11-10-2009
I bought Reeder just now. It's ok. I'm liking the style of it, but there is a major feature missing. How do you mark an item as unread? Why is it that feed reader apps don't include this basic functionality?
I do like how it loads the favicons and let's you sort by feeds when viewing -- two features missing from Byline.
I'm addicted to Google Reader. I pretty much live in there. For the iPhone I've found that Byline has handled everything I'm looking for. Yes, there are some features missing from there as well, but I'm hoping his next release will fix some of that.
I still need to play around with Reeder some more.
This is a knock on Reeder, but all iPhone apps --- put a manual out describing what every button does! I did see the help section at Reeder's website, but it's lacking. One thing I am afraid of doing in a feed reader app is marking all as read, especially when I can't undo that. So, I'm less inclined to just go clicking on buttons in hopes of figuring out what it's supposed to do.
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Richard said 1:57PM on 11-10-2009
Sorry, I meant that last sentence to read "This is *not* a knock on Reeder..." My bad.
lakah said 2:54PM on 11-10-2009
I'm a long time user of Feeds and have been very happy with it.
I just might have to give this a try though.
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sodapop said 3:26PM on 11-10-2009
LOL - whats up with the MA rating? If we pick the feeds there should be no content issues. Stupid.
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AW said 8:54PM on 11-10-2009
I have tried nearly all of them and although Reeder looks great, there isn't one out there that allows font resizing for full article reads similar to NY Times app.
The workaround is to send it off to Instapaper or Read It Later, but that's an extra step and in the case of Instapaper, it can't load up links unless you mark it for download again. For the BlackBerry, I find FreeRange the best. Strips out everything except text WITH font resize and active links.
All these RSS readers are very similar to each other except for the UI and I am waiting for one that actually differentiates itself from the pack.
I have tried:
1. NuagePaper
2. Fluent News
3. Reeder
4. Newsstand
5. MobileRSS
6. News Hour
7. Broadersheet
8. Reader
9. Byline
10. RSS Reader
11. NetNewsWire
12. Stanza (via Feeds option)
13. Daily Tracker (via RSS option)
14. Newsie
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infoghost said 8:39AM on 11-12-2009
Check out Bulletin - they just updated and are a major contender now, imho. Hopefully word will get out and they will get some exposure. No, I don't work for them, I have just, like the above poster, tried every single RSS app and I am getting tired of throwing my money away looking for the perfect one.
http://www.conceptcache.com/bulletin.php
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Christopher said 12:47PM on 11-14-2009
I want to love Reeder but there are some issues with it that keep me going back to Byline.
First, even with the 1.1 release, I find it buggy; it crashes a lot - mostly during the Notes syncing. Even though I've disabled Notes syncing, it still wants to for some reason. Still, it crashes when navigating the app so its not just a sync issue.
The unread counts aren't always accurate; they almost never are in sync with Google Reader. Sometimes, after I've marked all things as read (Click the checkmark on the lower left side once you've selected a feed or folder) it never reduces the unread count to zero. If I go back into the folder, no items show up but the unread count is still there.
The app also freezes my phone often enough (and the music playback) that it makes navigating around slow. I find the freezing inconsistent - its not just when I have a folder full of unread items, its the small folders, too.
That said, there is SO much to like about this app.
The navigation is brilliant! Not only can I select a folder and see all the unread items, I can sort by most recent and by feed. When you have 50 blogs in a folder, it can be helpful to sort it like that. Also, when you click on the arrow of a folder, it takes you to a list of blogs that make up that folder with the unread articles. So when you do have 50 folders of 500 unread items, you can easily navigate to that specific feed any only look at its items. You don't have to sort by feed and then find it in order. I also like how you can filter out the starred items by feed. Not even Google Reader does that and when you have over 5100 starred items, it makes navigating through them a lot easier. I haven't come across an iPhone or Desktop app that aggregates all the information the way Reeder does - even better than the actual web interface. I love it so much, I'm willing to ditch my web and Gruml entirely just to use this UI.
The integration with Delicious is important for me; Byline doesn't have that. I'd actually have less starred items if Google had integrated the Send To feature sooner. The email and Instapaper is cool, too, but I haven't needed them.
If Reeder could work out the bugs I'm running against, I'd recommend it day and night. And while I consider myself a power user of Google Reader, Byline handles the feeds without issue - and even handles offline a little better (or it could be another Reeder bug).
Maybe I'm the only one experiencing the freezing, crashing, & inaccurate unread counts?
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