Top 5 Android RSS readers

From: http://www.talkandroid.com/

...

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.

Free Audio Books - Download an audio book in mp3 or iPod format today!

Anne of Green Gables Lucy Maud Montgomery

Enchanted Castle, The E. (Edith) Nesbit

Romeo and Juliet William Shakespeare

Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, The Sir Arthur Conan Doyle

Free Audio Books - Download an audio book in mp3 or iPod format today!

LG Display Reveals News-Worthy, Flexible E-Paper

• Source: Korea IT Times  •

LG Display revealed its new flexible e-paper display.

LG Display Co., Ltd., a leading innovator of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) technology, announced it has developed the 19-inch flexible e-paper – the world’s largest.
The 19-inch wide (250×400mm) flexible e-paper is almost as big as a page of A3-sized newspaper. Approximately eight times larger than e-books of 6-inch class, the product is optimized for an e-newspaper and able to convey the feeling of reading an actual newspaper. Additionally, as the product measures 0.3 millimeters thin, the e-paper weighs just 130 grams despite its 19-inch size.
LG Display arranged TFT on metal foil rather than glass substrate, allowing the e-paper display to recover its original shape after being bent. The use of a metal foil substrate makes the e-paper both flexible and durable while maintaining excellent display qualities. In particular, LG Display applied ‘GIP (Gate-in-Panel)’ technology which integrates the gate driver IC onto the panel. This improves flexibility by removing driver-ICs which are attached to the side of panel and hinder the bending of the display.


E-paper is being hailed as a promising new form of public display for offering various advantages compared to conventional LCD or PDP displays. E-paper faces fewer spatial constraints because of its ultra-thin and lightweight form, and reduced maintenance costs due to significantly lower power consumption. Furthermore, e-paper’s flexibility and bendiness enable a wider choice of applications like advertising signs as it can be easily wrapped around pillars and other locations.
CTO and Executive Vice President of LG Display, Dr. In Jae Chung said, “Our development of the world’s largest flexile display has opened up a new market in the next-generation display sector of e-paper. As the e-paper market is growing at a rapid pace, LG Display will continue to deliver new value to customers and the market through industry-leading technologies and differentiated products.”
Meanwhile LG Display plans to launch mass production of an 11.5-inch flexible e-paper display in the first half of 2010. According to market researcher DisplaySearch, the e-book market will grow from approximately USD370 million in 2009 to USD1.73 billion in 2011 and to USD1.73 billion in 2015.

Samsung unveils e-reader, partnering with Google

From: http://www.physorg.com/

Enlarge

An attendee examines the new E6 e-book reader by Samsung during a press event at the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show at the Venetian in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 6-inch device will be available this year for $399. A 10-inch version, the E101, will sell for $699.

South Korean electronics giant Samsung jumped into the increasingly crowded electronic book reader market Wednesday, unveiling its first devices and a partnership with Google Books.



Samsung took the wraps off two wireless e-readers at the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, the "E6" with a six-inch (15.2-centimeter) screen and the "E101" with a 10-inch (25.4-centimeter) display.
Samsung touted its new black-and-white display e-readers for their ability to allow users to write directly on the screen, making annotations with an electromagnetic resonance stylus pen.
"It's not just a reading device," said Doug Albregts, vice president of Samsung's information technology division. "It's more like paper with a handwriting feature in that it allows you to write directly on the display."
Users of the Samsung devices can "write and share wirelessly and truly collaborate," Albregts said.
Google global director of communications Gabriel Stricker made a video appearance at the Samsung event to announce that the Web giant, which is compiling a vast online library of books, would be a partner with Samsung.
"We want people to find these books anywhere, anytime," Stricker said, calling Samsung a "great match for us at Google."
"We're so excited to make our million-plus public domain books available," he said.
Samsung said the E6 will cost 399 dollars while the E101 will cost 699 dollars and will be available in early 2010.
The new Samsung devices will go up against Amazon's popular Kindle and a host of other new devices already on the market, including the Sony Reader, the "Nook" from Barnes & Noble and the Cool-er from Britain's Interead.
Samsung is one of a number of a companies unveiling e-readers at CES but the category has been overshadowed lately by reports that consumer electronics star Apple may shortly unveil a tablet computer that may double as an e-book reader.
(c) 2010 AFP

New Asus Color E-Reader Folds Like a Book

• By Priya Ganapati

Computer maker Asus, known for its line of Eee PC netbooks, is working on an e-book reader that will have two touchscreens and when laid open will resemble a hardcover book.

Asus showed a prototype of the device at the CeBIT trade show in March. But now additional details have trickled out.

An Asus representative confirmed to Wired.com the company will probably show the device at the Consumer Electronics Show in January.

Asus’ e-reader will likely have color touchscreens, a speaker, a webcam and a microphone, along with the capability to make inexpensive Skype calls. Despite all those features, Britain’s Sunday Times reports, somewhat unbelievably, that it may be priced lower than its competitors from Sony and Kindle.

The e-reader market is one of the hottest consumer product categories this year. Just the last few months have seen a slew of new product announcements. After introducing Kindle 2, the updated version of its e-reader, Amazon launched a broadsheet reading device called the Kindle DX. Last month Sony introduced a $400 wireless e-reader with a 7-inch screen and cut the price on its older models to offer the cheapest e-book reader in the market. Meanwhile, two other companies — iRex and Plastic Logic — plan to offer new large-screen readers later this year or early next year.

But all e-readers, available and planned, are black and white. Asus’ product will likely be the first to offer a color screen. The move, coupled with unexpected features such as speakers and mic, is the only way the company can stand out in a crowded market.

With dual screens, the new Eee e-reader could give readers a user experience similar to paper books. The device could also offer readers the option of using the second screen to browse a web page. The best part about the device, though, would be the price tag, says the Times report. The cheapest version of the Asus Eee reader could lost about £100, equivalent to $165.

While Asus has a well-deserved reputation for making extremely inexpensive computers, that price may be too low for even it to match, given the promised feature set.

For Asus, getting this mix of features and price right is essential if it has to make a dent in the e-reader market at this stage.