Thursday, June 20, 2013

Replacing Google Reader

I've tried several options to replace Google Reader, and none of them are quite as simple as Google Reader itself. However, I've used two iPad apps with fair success.

First, I connected my Flipboard app to Google Reader. It was fairly easy to do by accessing the red add ribbon, choosing Accounts, then tapping on Google Reader in the Accounts option. I signed in with my GR login, Flipboard picked it up, and away we went.

Likes:
All of my feeds are together.
I can browse all, or browse individual feeds.

Dislikes:
I can't figure out how to mark feeds as "read".
You need to "flip" pages instead of being able to scroll a list of titles and blurbs.

Second, I installed the Feedly app on my iPad. I was able to log in with my Google Reader ID, and Feedly pulled in my feeds. It was pretty easy.

Likes:
All of my feeds are together.
I can browse all or individual feeds.
It's easy to pull up a list of folders (from the original Google Reader setup) and choose one to read.
I can view either lists of posts or pages with squares representing posts.
It is searchable.
Lots of options for display.
I can mark feeds as read.

Dislikes:
I haven't found a way to access this from a web browser.

So for now, my favorite new RSS reader is Feedly. It has improved in look and performance since I first installed it last month, and is great for anyone using an iPad or similar device.

My third option, that bypasses using feed readers althogether, is subscribing to the emails from Pinhawk.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I believe Feedly only works with Chrome if you're looking for a way to view your feeds on the web. I don't like the Chrome version as much as the iPad/iPhone versions, but it's the best Reader replacement that I've found.