Google Reader To Retire: Explore Alternatives
As a part of the ongoing consolidation drive, Google has announced to shut down Google Reader with effect from July 1, 2013.
If you’d like to download a copy of all your Reader data before then, you can do so through Google Takeout. You’ll receive your subscription data in an XML file, and the following information will be downloaded as JSON files:
- List of people that you follow
- List of people that follow you
- Items you have starred
- Items you have liked
- Items you have shared
- Items shared by people you follow
- Notes you have created
- Items with comments
Click Here to start downloading your Reader data from Takeout.
Now, that Google Reader is slowly making its way out, it is time to search for best alternatives. Here are few of them that beg for your traffic and your feed-reading clicks:
Feedly
Feedly appears to be the frontrunner to replace Google Reader. It blends some of the niceties of Flipboard (like a “magazine view”) with useful Reader features like keyboard shortcuts and tags. But its biggest advantage may be that it’s the only RSS application that also has excellent and free companion mobile apps.
- Feedly lets you divide up your feeds into folders
- It helps separate your news feeds from your photography feeds
- It gives you the option to change the colour of theme
- You can share item even outside social networks, like articles to evernote , Instapaper and Pocket
Apart from being free, cross-platform, and available on multiple devices, it also makes importing your Google Reader subscriptions so ridiculously easy that it’s worth a try.
Feedly is also planning its own syncing engine to replace its dependence on Google Reader before it shuts down.
Newsblur
Though, Newsblur is still far from being the best in this segment, but it is lightning fast at pulling in updates.
- Quite unlike of Google reader, your feeds get refreshed every minute
- It lets nest folders inside folders
- It is equipped with some useful UX tricks
- Its “intelligence classifiers” lets you train the app to prioritize certain kinds of stories for you
- Newsblur has iOS and Android apps that sync “Saved Stories
NetNewsWire
NetNewsWire is only for Mac fans. It is a bit slower than a web client, as it is powered by your computer instead of servers in the cloud. Its not being as slick as Reeder is another disadvantage with it. Then, what should keep you interested in NetNewsWire?
- Because, it doesn’t require a Google Reader account to get up and running
- It is easy to use
- It doesn’t tie in to common services like Pocket, Facebook, and Evernote
- Black Pixel, which has acquired NetNewsWire outlined its plans for the future, which include new apps for Mac and iOS
The Old Reader
The Old Reader is modeled after Google reader and incorporates many of its features. It is a good alternative foe those who want a service as close to Google reader as you can get.
Source:
RSS isn’t dead: the best Google Reader alternatives
Most Popular Google Reader Alternative: Feedly