rss - Adam Yamada

Greader is The Old Reader Android app & Mobile Browser experience is Sweet

UPDATE: Apparently The Old Reader has a ton of apps available for mobile devices. You can check The Old Reader app list for all compatible apps you can use. I guess I was too stupid to notice! 🙂

Yesterday I wrote an article titled “4 Reasons I Switched from Feedly to The Old Reader.” Even though I think most people agree with my reasons, I will admit reason number #4 “There is No Android App” was not accurate. The Old Reader Android app does exist as you can use the Greader Android app on a mobile device.

I actually spent some time playing around with the Greader Android app paired with my RSS feeds from The Old Reader this morning and it works flawlessly. Greader is quite fast at pulling in and updating the feeds from The Old Reader. What's weird is that it seems faster than using The Old Reader on a desktop browser. Not sure how that works but kudos to the Greader development team for making a fast RSS experience. In addition the Greader app is intuitive and simple to use.

It makes sense that Greader switched over it's services to pull feeds from The Old Reader after Google Reader shutdown. It was the unofficial Google Reader app until Google decided to shutter their RSS reader. So now you can use the Greader Android app with The Old Reader and Feedly if you want.

Something I should also mention is that the The Old Reader is mobile browser enabled and responsive (meaning it works on touchscreens and tablets.) The Old Reader works quite well on a mobile browser. I tried out the The Old Reader's mobile site and was pleasantly surprised by the experience.

Personally would I prefer using the Greader Android app but I'd recommend trying out The Old Reader mobile site and seeing which you personally prefer to use. It's hard to know unless you try it yourself.

Anyway if you know if there is another The Old Reader Android app or way to use it on on a smartphone please leave a comment below. In addition if you prefer another RSS service to The Old Reader and want to share I would be happy for you to share your experiences. Seems a lot of people are still looking for suitable replacements to Google Reader.

4 Reasons I switched from Feedly to The Old Reader

If you have been following my blog you might remember that I switched to Feedly because Google Reader shutdown. Well, now I've switched over to using The Old Reader as my new RSS reader for keeping updated with all my favorite blogs.

1. Google Login

I didn't like how Feedly asks for my Google login information. Why does Feedly still need to use Google account login info when Google Reader shutdown? I know some people might love using Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc. accounts to connect all of their various services. I am just not one of those people.

While this does make things less of a hassle I personally don't like 1 company having all my login credentials. The Old Reader allows you to use their service with just a good old fashioned email. However, if you want to use your Facebook or Google account you can.

2. The Old Reader makes it simple to Leave

>If I ever want to leave The Old Reader and use another RSS reader or service I can easily export an OPML file and upload it somewhere else. I appreciate the freedom that The Old Reader provides since a lot of other RSS services, like Feedly, don't make it easy to export your RSS feeds if you are unhappy with the service.

Even if you have complaints about The Old Reader at least be happy that they make it easy for you to leave if you want.

UPDATE: You can easily leave Feedly if you want. Check the comments below.

3. It's Simple and Easy-to-Use

The Old Reader is simple, easy-to-use, and fairly intuitive. Like a lot of things there is a small learning curve but once you get the hang of The Old Reader I don't think many people will have issues using it. Check The Old Reader 101 and you should be good.

Feedly is pretty easy-to-use too but there were some things about it I just wasn't happy with. I prefer the layout of The Old Reader.

4. There is no Android app

UPDATE: You can use Greader with as The Old Reader Android app and the mobile site experience with The Old Reader is pretty good. Additionally check The Old Reader apps list for other apps you can use with it.

Ok, for most this is not a positive but a negative. The Old Reader doesn't have an Android app, which is a bit annoying, but I don't mind actually. I am trying to shift a lot of my news reading focus to my laptop and not use my smartphone so much. I think a lot of people have a bit of an addiction to their smartphone. As awesome as having a smartphone is I don't need to be checking people's blogs on their every second of everyday.

There is an iOS app for The Old Reader though. So if you are an iOS user you can gloat to Android users.

Conclusion

Most people probably think I am crazy for switching from Feedly to The Old Reader. I can't actually really argue that The Old Reader is better than Feedly. I do realize Feedly is much faster and more refined but keep in mind that The Old Reader developers work on it their spare time. They do a pretty good job in my opinion for a side project. There have been some technical issues with the RSS service recently where it went down but the developers seem to have resolved those problems. You can follow The Old Reader Blog and @TheOldReader on Twitter.

The Old Reader works for my needs right now and I could end up switching down the road. I've tried different RSS services since Google Reader shutdown but haven't been happy with them. BlogLovin seems ok but there are some things I don't like about it too. I wish the Keep Google Reader campaign could have been successful.

I did hear about a good Google Reader alternative recently called InoReader. I haven't had time to check it out but people to like it on Twitter and there is a mobile enabled site for InoReader. Just so we are clear I do not recommend it but I am just mentioning it here.

What do you think of me switching from Feedly to The Old Reader? Am I crazy or did I make a smart move? Do you have a Google Reader alternative that you really like and want to share? Let people know below.

Switched to Feedly

Since Google Reader is going to be shutting down on July 1st I've officially switched to Feedly. While nobody is happy about Google Reader shutting down it is pretty inevitable at this point and it doesn't seem like Google is changing their mind even with petitions to keep the RSS service open.

Switching to Feedly was pretty painless as you just your own Google account to login and Feedly will pull your RSS feeds in. Using Feedly for awhile I think it is a good RSS alternative to Google Reader. Feedly is fast, the design is nice, and you can change the layout to your personal preference. Feedly also features a nice app which works on both iOS and Android mobile phones.

Feedly used to run on Google Reader's backend but now Feedly has built their own API (application programming interface). This was launched on June 19th and the API was nicknamed Normandy. The Normandy initiative was built so that Feedly could run in a cloud environment while supporting several different apps that used to run on Google Reader.

While I don't think Feedly is a bad I don't like it nearly as much as Google Reader and still prefer it. One RSS alternative you could consider is The Old Reader which has got more of a Google Reader feel. I like The Old Reader for it's simplicity ease-of-use. However, it is not nearly as fast and snappy as Feedly. Also importing your Google Reader RSS feeds is not quite as straightforward. You will have to go to Google Takeout, download the XML file, and then upload it to the Old Reader. This was easy for me to do but might be hard for those that are not tech-savy. Of course if you use RSS feeds I assume you probably are tech-savy.

Since the developers behind The Old Reader work on it in their spare time it is understandable the product is not quite as refined as Feedly. I will probably play around with it more and see how I like it. Since I've switched to Feedly I've been using that mostly. Not sure I will be using the Old Reader because of the faults mentioned above. It still does have a loyal following and user base and I recommend you at least give it a shot.

Anyway I've switched to Feedly and think it is a good alternative for Google Reader refugees. (First world problems?) Still it will take getting used to and I'd prefer it if Google wasn't shutting down it's RSS offering.

Keep Google Reader and Open Source the Code

If you are a user of Google Reader, Google's RSS (really simple syndication) feed software, then you probably are upset it will be shutting down on July 1st, 2013. While there are plenty of options for RSS feeds outside of Google Reader, and many of these RSS feed providers have been advertising and gaining new users over the past couple weeks, I imagine you would prefer Google Reader would stick around so you can use it.

That is exactly why Christoph McCann started the website and online petition Keep Google Reader. His idea is that if Google doesn't want to maintain the product themselves, why not open source the code? Sounds like a great plan to me so I left this comment;

Please at least open source Google Reader! Some people don't want to share their feeds, they just want to read blogs and news!

Part of the reason Google is shutting down Google Reader is that it doesn't make sense with their overall market strategy of making the internet more open. Essentially this means they want everyone on Google+ sharing content and not on platform where you probably weren't doing this. Of course this is Google's fault since they wanted everyone sharing content on Google+ and nowhere else. The redesign of the User Interface also affected Google Reader's fate. Here is what Brian Shih, a former Google Reader Product Manager, said about it on Quora;

But after switching the sharing features over to G+ (the so called “share-pocalypse”) along with the redesigned UI, my guess is that usage just started to fall – particularly around sharing. I know that my sharing basically stopped completely once the redesign happened [3]. Though Google did ultimately fix a lot of the UI issues, the sharing (and therefore content going into G+) would never recover.

The Keep Google Reader petition has 43,000 signatures already and keeps growing everyday. If you want Google to open source the code then please sign the petition and share it with friends too.

There is also a Change.org campaign started by Dan Lewis to “Keep Google Reader Running.” That has 152,000+ signatures currently and blew well past the goal of 47,000 signatures. The numbers for this petition will likely keep growing too.

What is surprising to me is that I know a lot of people that use Google Reader and are not really that tech inclined. It's just an easy-to-use RSS feed option since it hooks into you Google and Gmail account. It's odd to me Google wants to shutdown a useful product that millions of people use. Even if it wasn't making Google money, do they really need to worry about that? I mean Google works on some crazy projects and I doubt they will every recoup R&D efforts on some of these endeavors.

Google's strategy going forward seems to be forcing people into their social network, Google+. While I think Google Authorship is a great feature, and really the only reason to use Google+ for most people, they shouldn't trump social sharing with shutting down a product people like and want to use.

Anyway, if you want Google Reader to stick around then please sign the petitions. I know I do!

Catch me on Twitter @AdamYamada … if you can!