Review: Reeder for iPhone & iPod Touch
With the explosion of Internet-capable devices like the iPod Touch and iPhone, the race is on to translate the tools we know and love on the desktop, into something that is workable and makes sense on a tiny touch screen. Most desktop applications designed around presenting a lot of information, are a hard fit on the smaller screens, so there are some experiences that just aren’t as good as they are on a full computer with its large monitor, keyboard and mouse. By and large, RSS readers have fallen into that “Not As Good” category when it comes to their mobile versions.
Which is a shame, because tools like Google Reader are truly amazing if you want to keep tabs on more than a handful of sites on a daily basis. And while Google does offer a mobile view of the web-based UI, it is just too clunky and doesn’t feel like a native app at all.
Thankfully, there is at least one solid Google Reader application for the iOS: Reeder
Reeder is a feature-packed app that brings everything you love about Google Reader on the desktop, and puts it into a format that feels great on a handheld device.
Getting Started
Getting started in Reeder is as simple as entering your Google Reader login information. Then, depending on how many feeds you have, the app will start to sync all of your content. The nice thing is you can start reading feeds as soon as they’re synced, while other feeds download in the background. Reading content in Reeder is very similar to the desktop experience. Just select a feed to see all of your unread content from that particular feed. It even handles the custom folders you might create to categorize your content.
Feed List & Mobile Site View of TheAppNews.com
Tweaking & Customizing
While Reeder appears to be straight-forward on the surface (it sports a very minimalist, spartan UI & color scheme), it’s probably one of the most robust and option-rich apps I’ve ever used on the iPhone. The app settings are tucked away at the bottom of your iPhone Settings app (similar to other apps like Skype, Nike + iPod, iBooks, Facebook etc.). From here, you can set what secondary services you want to utilize (Google Reader Notes, Del.ico.us, Instapaper, Twitter, Read it Later and more) to enrich your feed reading experience, modify your syncing behavior (how often, how long to keep content etc) as well as options for downloading feed images (icons, in-line content) and finally simple UI and navigation features like contrast level, font size, landscape view and what the default view of a feed should be.
Landscape View
Sharing Content
Like any good modern app, Reeder does its best to hook into popular social media services like Twitter, Del.ico.us Instapapper and more via a simple “Share” feature. With just a few taps, you can send the article you’re reading to your favorite service to either share with friends, or flag for reading later for your own purposes.
Sharing an Article from Reeder
It’s All About Consumption
The focus of Reeder is to consume RSS content, and it does that exceedingly well. The one thing Reeder doesn’t do is allow you to add feeds to your Google Reader account or organize your existing feeds by creating folders or moving feeds between folders. While this may sound like a big deal, it’s not. The size of an iPhone/Touch screen just isn’t big enough to make feed management easy, so Reeder sticks with its strengths and builds the best mobile experience it can.
If I had to compare Reeder to anything on the desktop, it would be the Helvetireader userscript for IE/Firefox/Chrome that reskins the regular Google Reader UI. Both focus on a very readable, friendly looking view of your Reader account while still leveraging the power of the platform.
Final Verdict: Is it worth $2.99?
One of the most difficult things about iPhone apps is trying to figure out if they’re worth paying for. The value proposition in this space is still vague, especially with so many excellent free apps available on the store. Despite the lack of feed management (which isn’t actually that big of a deal), if you’re a Google Reader addict and want a solid app for your iPhone/iPod Touch to read your feeds while away from the PC, then the cost is well worth it. At just under $3, you’ll get your money’s worth out of the app within a few days. I’ve been using the app constantly all weekend, and it’s already on my short-list of apps that deserve space on the home screen of my iPhone (along with the official Twitter app, The Weather Channel, Maps etc.).
If you live by Google Reader, do yourself a favor and get this app right now.
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