Like many other Reader users, I was stunned by Google’s recent announcement that it will pull the plug on Reader this summer. As one other Reader user put it, “[Google Reader] is how I use the Internet.” We Reader users are now scrambling to find an alternative RSS aggregator. I am looking for a new aggregator based on several criteria: the aggregator has to be free, it has to sync between multiple devices, and articles should be able to be configured to manually mark articles as “read” (as opposed to automatically marking articles as “read” when viewed.) There are several candidates, including Netvibes, Flipboard, NewsBlur, and The Old Reader, but after investigating the major players, the best candidate for my use seems to be Feedly. Feedly is a popular Google Reader alternative. Lifehacker recently asked its readers to submit their favorite Google Reader alternatives, and Feedly won almost 65% of the vote.
Feedly runs as an extension in browsers such as Firefox and Chrome, and also as an iOS or Android app. Currently, Feedly is really just a front end shell for Google Reader; the user logs into Google through Feedly and grants the app minimal permissions. Feedly then accesses the user’s subscriptions through Reader and presents the content in its own interface. Feedly is working on its own backend, and users have been assured that everything will be ready before Reader shuts down.
There are a few things I like about Feedly. First, Feedly offers the option to manually mark articles as “read” rather than articles automatically being marked as “read” when viewed. Because I often keep articles marked “unread” until I can read (or re-read) them later, this is critical for me. Second, Feedly offers several layout options. The default layout is a “magazine” view, but it is easy to change the layout to a list view or a full article view. Many alternative RSS aggregators seem to only offer a magazine view, but I much prefer a full article view. Third, it is possible to navigate Feedly through hotkeys. It would have been great if Feedly had duplicated Google Reader’s hotkeys—that would seem to have been easy to do since Feedly is a front end for Reader—but it should not take long to master a new set of hotkeys.
While there is much to like about Feedly, there also are a couple of shortcomings. First, Feedly doesn’t seem to offer a search option for articles that have been read. I frequently search my Google Reader archive for articles that I have read in the past. Feedly will search the Internet for RSS feeds about a topic, but if there is a way to search my personal archives, I have not found it. Also, while I have found the Feedly web and iOS apps to be fairly user friendly, the Android app is not quite as good.
Different people use web apps in different ways, and I am sure that one of the other Google Reader alternatives may suit the needs of some better than Feedly, but Feedly seems to be the best Reader replacement for my needs. Given the choice between Google Reader and Feedly, I would still choose Reader, but Feedly will be an acceptable alternative for me when Google turns out the lights on Reader in July.
Feedly
