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AOL Reader beta officially available for your RSS-perusing needs (hands-on)
Wondering how AOL's RSS client will rank as a Google Reader replacement? Today's the day we find out, as the doors to the AOL Reader beta have officially swung open. Feedly's been absorbing Google's castaways for weeks now, and Digg's only two days away from launching its own freemium RSS client -- but we couldn't resist getting an early taste of what our parent company (Disclaimer alert!) is cooking. Join us after the break for all the details about this latest entrant in the field of feed readers.
AOL Reader launches into private beta, thanks Google for the opportunity
Google: "Eh, we're kind of over this Reader thing. Let's go launch some balloons." AOL: "Why, thanks guys -- don't mind if we do!" The above mentioned quotes are still unofficial, mind you, but it appears that AOL (disclaimer: that's Engadget's parent company) is joining Feedly and Digg in an effort to capture the audiences who will soon be forced to flee from Google's Reader product. AOL Reader launched today in beta form, promising to collect "all your favorite websites, in one place." It appears that the design language follows that introduced in the entity's Alto mail product, and if you've forgotten your AOL password, fret not -- those who request (and receive) an invite will be able to sign in via Facebook, Google or Twitter. Oh, and judging by the shot above, it's designed to work universally across screen sizes and devices, including your tablets, phones, desktops, laptops and space-age computational creations. Of note, it appears that the sign-up forms aren't entirely active just yet, as we're hearing that the bona fide launch won't occur until next week. Update: We've confirmed that invites will be accepted starting on Monday, June 24th.
Feedly promises raft of new features, integration with Reeder and other apps
Now that Feedly has taken in more than 500,000 Google Reader refugees, it's unveiled a community-driven feature roadmap that'll guide it for the rest of the year. Sitting atop the list is speed, which the team says will be boosted by fresh hardware and the help of new hires. Windows 8 and Windows Phone support, access to Feedly via the web without a plugin, searching within a user's feeds and refined group sharing are coming down the pipeline as well. Naturally, a raft of bug fixes round out the planned updates. The outfit also revealed that Reeder, Press, Nextgen Reader, Newsify and gReader will sport Feedly integration before Mountain View's service retires on July 1st. Word of Google Reader's demise may have caused anguish, but it looks like suitable alternatives are beginning to flourish.
New Google+ API gives Flipboard a cuddle, Currents looks away angrily
If you're just taking down the decorations from your latest Google+ party, hang fire, it looks like there's more good news for the ever-burgeoning social starlet. It's just been announced that Google has developed an API that will make users' photos, posts and videos available on popular social reader Flipboard. Until now, the search giant's social network had been notable by its absence, but soon you'll be able to flick your way through your circles, just like your other streams. There's no indication as to when, but the new API shows Google isn't shy about spreading the love, even if it means treading on its own toes.
First Look: Byline 3.0 for iPhone
The folks over at Phantom Fish software have released version 3 of their popular Byline feed reader app for the iPhone. The update brings with it several new features, including integration with Instapaper, gesture-based navigation, and improved performance. Byline works by fetching a list of feeds from your Google Reader subscriptions, and caching a copy of the articles on your iPhone for easy reading or viewing while offline. Now I'll admit, while Google Reader does simplify feed management by keeping all of your subscriptions and updates in one place, it's not my cup of tea. Personally, I prefer to manage feeds directly from my reader app, rather than having to go somewhere else to do it. That aside, Byline 3 keeps the process simple by asking for your Google login, and then quickly going straight to your list of feeds without requiring any additional steps or setup. Each item is displayed right in the app, allowing quick navigation between stories and feeds. Want to view the link in Mobile Safari or send it to Instapaper? That can be done by tapping the forward menu icon on any item. Starring an item or adding notes is also simple and intuitive. Since I'm a big fan of flexibility when it comes to iPhone apps, I was pleased to see the number of options offered in the settings panel. Viewing thresholds for several of the feed lists are easily configurable, so you can choose to limit or hide things like starred items or notes if you don't use those features. Other options include manual sync, portrait orientation locking and a few options to fine-tune the caching of stories. Overall, the app is well done and easy to use. Ironically, the only complaint I really have had with it is sync speed, which is one of the things that were said to be improved in the new version. It's not unreasonably slow, but still slower than I'd have liked. In all fairness, though, I'm pretty sure my less-than-stellar internet connection was a contributing factor. A few posts on the developer's twitter feed suggest that a few minor bugs are already known, and will be fixed in an upcoming update. Byline 3 is US$3.99 in the App Store, and is available now. Head on over and check it out! %Gallery-92705%
TUAW Tip: Setting Google Reader as your default RSS handler
April 2011: Post updated to remove links to older Google Reader Notifier and link to official Google Notifier tool. I'll admit it, I goofed. The screenshot for my post on using MisFox to set your Internet helper applications shows "Google Reader.app" in the pop-up of choices for the default RSS feed reader; this got several people quite excited. "Ooo! Can we set Google Reader as default? Can we can we huh?" they eagerly asked (I'm paraphrasing). Two teensy problems with my screenshot, though: first, the app listed as Google Reader is now known as Google Notifier; second, MisFox won't actually allow you to set Reader Notifier as your RSS helper app. Argh! Fortunately, the answer is simpler than I thought. Go ahead and download the excellent and free GRN; launch it and put in your Google credentials, and you'll immediately get the Growl notifications and pulldown menu goodness -- however, if you don't want them, go to the Reader Notifier preferences and check "minimal function mode." Now, in your browser of choice (works for me in Safari 2, Safari 3 beta, and Firefox 2) go to Preferences, go to the RSS/Feeds section, pick the Reader Notifier application (in FF, you'll have to click "Choose Application" and select it)... and there's no step 4. From that point on, clicking the feed link in the browser's URL field will automatically open the feed in Google Reader rather than in your local feedreader. For the record, of the helper-app preference panes I tested, MisFox and MoreInternet could not set Reader Notifier as the RSS default, but RCDefaultApp did it with no problem at all (not to mention it has plenty of other functionality). Enjoy, and my apologies to everyone who got hot under the collar from the original screenshot.
