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Friday, February 18, 2011

Top 5 Android RSS readers

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We all know news is a daily part of most everyone’s lives. We also know where you get it from is important, too. That’s why I’ve gathered the best Android RSS readers I could find and put them up against each other. Which one takes the cake? Let’s find out!

gReader

 
gReader is an RSS feed client that allows you to view your feeds by site, or view all at the same time. What I like about gReader is its simplicity. The UI is very straight forward and fun to look at. The app syncs with your Google Reader account, and does so in a very fast manner. With that being said, there are a few extra features, like the ability to search for articles. gReader will most likely appeal to people who want their news, and want it fast, with no interruptions. That being said, there is the occansional gripe with gReader. The fact that you can search for articles from a site, but can’t search for a site to add to your news list was a turn off.
Rate & download: gReader

FeedR

 
FeedR allows you to view you feeds by category. Even better, you can color code your categories so that you can find the news that you want to read fast. You have the option to sync with your Google Reader account, but you can also use the app without it. Some extra features are the ability to easily share the news that you read, ability to set the app on your homescreen as a widget and the ability to create a shortcut to an RSS feed on your homescreen. However, FeedR lacks things, like the option to view all of your feeds at the same time and there is that dull UI. The newest version requires Android 2.0 +
Rate & download: FeedR

FastReader

 
FastReader is an RSS feed client that gets you your news in a time efficient manner. The app has 2 tabs, one that shows you each feed, and another that lets you view all of the feeds at once. The UI on the app is too bland for me, and it lacks some features, like search, and is more geared toward people who want to get their news, and don’t care about how the interface looks. You can share stories via email, Facebook, and Digg. However, when you click on a story, the interface gets a bit better. You can zoom in and out, and easily switch to another article. Besides that, FastReader is your ordinary RSS feed client.

FeedSquares

 
Now this is something different. FeedSquares is not your ordinary RSS reader. In fact, there are no apps like it. Instead of giving you a boring list of your feeds, FeedSquares gives you colorful boxes that represent each feed. If you only have one or two feeds that you get news from, then this app is not for you. But if you have a bunch of news from a bunch of places, then look no further. The UI is amazing, and is just fun to use. However, there are always drawbacks. For example, FeedSquares is not as fast as the other RSS feed clients, not even close, and besides a cool interface, no other features are to be found.

NewsRob

 
The last RSS feed client that we have is NewsRob. NewsRob is a very sleek app that gets you your news from your Google Reader account. The UI is very nice to look at, but as with FastReader, no extra features are to be found. You can sync to you Google Reader account, and do the expected, like mark as read. You can also view all of your feeds at once, which is a nice feature that is non-existent in other apps. As far as getting your news, it does it at the normal speed. Nothing special, but not bad either.
Rate & download: NewsRob

Comparison


So there you have it. gReader is definitely one of the best RSS feed clients out there, with a sleek UI and the extra features that most apps don’t have. Second place goes to FeedR. FeedR is also a top-notch client and while the UI is not very impressive, packs a few features than gReader. But keep in mind that FeedR is $1.99, so you will have to make the descision if the extra features are worth the price. Coming in at third is FeedSquares. FeedSquares was a fun app to use, but it wasn’t really that practical. It was slow on startup, and slow on syncing. If you prefer glam over guts, then FeedSquares is for you. Landing at fourth place is NewsRob. NewsRob was a boring app to use, and didn’t really have any features to its name. I honestly can’t reccomend NewsRob to anyone that wants an RSS feed client that is a good, quality app. Finally, coming in dead last, is FastReader. While FastReader was a bit faster then the other apps, it doesn’t have any features, does not have a widget, and the UI makes me want to claw my eyes out. I believe that FastReader is not even close to the competition, so if you want a good RSS feed client, at least look at the top four.
Well, there you have it! gReader takes the cake when it comes to getting your news, but FeedR is not far behind. As for FastReader, better luck next time.

What do you use for an RSS feed client? Agree or disagree with our results? Let us know in the comments.

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