JReader (Google Reader | RSS) a beautiful RSS reader, easily syncs with Google Reader
by Toni McQuilken
Sep 28, 2012 9:36 AM –
Install
JReader (Google Reader | RSS) is a beautifully displayed RSS Reader app optimized for Android phones and tablets which easily syncs with your Google Reader account. It even supports multiple accounts, offers control over sync intervals, plus has a really handy filter feature. Will it make you replace your need for the official Google Reader app? Let’s find out in our review!
Price: Free
Tested on: Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Easy Google Reader integration!
- You can have multiple accounts!
- Clean interface!
Cons
- Some of the buttons aren’t well marked so you have no idea what they do.
- I had some force close issues.
- GIF images don’t animate.
- You can’t swipe between items.
Features:
I am an avid Google Reader user, and I’ve tried just about every RSS reader app out there, from the official to every third-party possible. JReader is a very solid entry into this category, with some strong positives, as well as a few things that I’d consider negatives. For the purposes of this review, I’m going to be comparing it directly with the official Google app, and not to any other third-party offerings.
First, the positives. It is dead easy to link your accounts, and to have multiple accounts, which I really liked. In the official app, you have your main account, and while you can switch, it’s not easy. With JReader, it’s as easy as going into account management, linking up your various accounts, and then selecting the one you want to sync at the moment. I found the sync to be very quick, pulling in several hundred items in about a minute, including my starred items. I liked the look of the interface too. It was very clean and easy to read, which is always a major issue in RSS readers. I hate when they try to clutter things up too much. Lastly, you can favorite and share news and recommended items via social networks.
On the down side, there were a few things that, compared with the official app, felt a bit lacking. First, is that while the interface is clean, there are a few buttons at the top for tablets (they’re on the bottom for phones) that let you do things like create filters and toggle between them, show your feed lists, etc. Unfortunately, the app doesn’t tell you what they do, you just have to click on them to figure it out. Complicating things, the buttons are very similar, so even once you’ve figured out what they do, remembering which is which is a pain. More than once, I clicked on the wrong one. I also had the app force close on me a few times when it tried to load the filters list, but I was always able to start right back up.
Another, and perhaps bigger, issue that I had was two-fold. First, I subscribe to a few feeds that do nothing except give me animated GIFs. Say what you like about them, they amuse me, so I like to see them in between the more serious articles I read at night. In JReader, I just got a static image and no movement, which was a bit disappointing. Second, you have to click on each item to open it individually. I’ve gotten used to the official app letting me scroll through with a button, or swipe to get to the next item, which is a lot faster than tapping each one. I get about 300 items a day in my feed, but I go through them quickly since I’m skimming headlines for things that stand out. Having to click to open each one felt like it was slowing me down to a huge degree. I also didn’t like that the read and unread items didn’t have any visual distinction. I like being able to see at a glance what I’ve read and what I’ve marked as unread to share with someone else later.
Overall, I thought JReader was a very solid app. It’s a clean, news-oriented reader, and the filters, which I mentioned above, allow you to organize your feeds by more than just the folders the Reader offers, which is a powerful feature. Depending on your information consumption habits and needs, it could be exactly what you’re looking for… a clean and mostly easy to use app to consume your news & articles Google Reader RSS feeds.
Watch on Mobile
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JReader Google Reader and RSS Article
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JReader Google Reader and RSS All Feeds
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JReader Google Reader and RSS All Labels
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JReader Google Reader and RSS Favorite Articles
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JReader Google Reader and RSS Post to Facebook
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JReader Google Reader and RSS Search Articles
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JReader Google Reader and RSS Filter Manager
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JReader Feed List
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JReader List View
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JReader Item Details
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JReader Accounts Tab
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JReader Filter Creation
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JReader No Accounts
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JReader Settings
Usefulness:
Like all news and/or RSS readers, JReader is a very useful app to have if you like to consume information from a variety of places all at once. It has some perks like filters that make it even more useful than the official Google Reader app.
Ease of Use:
Because of the issues I listed above, I’d actually rate the ease of use below that of the official app. It’s not as easy to just pick up and start using – you need to play with it to really get in and discover all the features and how they can work for you.
Frequently Used:
If you’re like me, you check your feeds a few times a day, and you spend quality time in the app as you go through them. So it will be a well-used app.
Interface:
I give it high marks for a clean design and having added features without making them seem overwhelming. I take some of those marks away for buttons that weren’t necessarily explained and that occasionally caused the app to force close.