JustReader – beautiful & feature rich RSS Reader… better than Google Reader

by Paul Wilks Apr 18, 2012 12:35 PM – 7 Comments

Install

JustReader is a beautifully ICS-themed Google Reader client. With arguably Google placing its energies away from their own dedicated RSS aggregator and focusing more on their news app; Google Currents, apps like JustReader give Reader users a more polished and up-to-date client. It appears great alongside Ice Cream Sandwich and definitely compliments an ICS themed device. Looks aside, it additionally has plenty of features under the hood to interest advanced users.

Price: Free, $2.99 for ad free version

Tested on: HTC One X
Content Rating: Low Maturity

AndroidTapp.com Android App Review:

Pros & Cons:

Pros

Looks great!
Performs well; is responsive and fast!
Cool widget!
Detailed syncing options!
Extensive settings and viewing options!
Supports multiple accounts!

Cons

Orange basis to the themes might not suit everyone.
Better than Google Reader, but is a paid for app. You might have to determine if it’s worth paying for based on your own RSS reader requirements.

Features:

JustReader is a fully-featured and slick Google Reader client that features a gorgeous Ice Cream Sandwich theme. Next to JustReader, Google Reader looks decidedly basic. Sure it still works but you might argue that Google Currents is where Google’s attention is right now. However, if you’ve always preferred the simplicity of a reader app, and find that Google Reader just doesn’t cut the mustard any more, apps like JustReader are superb.

I think on the surface, very basic users might not appreciate the differences between Google Reader and JustReader aside from looks. However, under the hood there are significant benefits from choosing JustReader. One such area is syncing. With Google Reader you can sync articles for offline reading, but with JustReader these options are far more advanced; including choice over whether audio and video are downloaded, you can decide how many you want downloaded and whether to download just the unread articles or all.

Also featuring tablet support, it’s something that will work and sync across all your Android devices:

Watch on Mobile

There are also advanced interface options that let you do a variety of things such as change the theme, view in full screen and change the font. There is a tablet layout mode and you can fix rotation. You can also configure the app so that you can use the volume buttons to scroll articles… and and far as settings, this only scratches the surface! Another great thing is that you can backup all these settings and restore if need be.

I think the crunch will come down to how much you personally use an RSS reader. If you are just a casual user, aside from interface there’s probably not much within JustReader to make you want to pay for it. However, if you take your news feeds seriously, JustReader is a significant enhancement on Google Reader and many other similar apps. Of course it has an ad-supported version so with a little testing you’ll know whether it’s right for you.

Watch on Mobile

: JustReader – Article view

: JustReader – Article with video

: JustReader – Opened view

: JustReader – Podcast list

: JustReader – Mark all as read

: JustReader – Listen via

: JustReader – Feed page

: JustReader – Lelyak theme

: JustReader – Dark Theme

: JustReader – Plugins

: JustReader – Interface preferences

: JustReader – Preferences

Usefulness:

A superb and feature rich RSS reader that is perfect for people who consume lots of content through such apps. Because it lets you access text articles, audio and video (and download all for offline use) it’s ideal for keeping up to date with blogs and news on the go. It includes a variety of customisations and options not included in the likes of Google Reader, so it’s certainly an enhancement.

Ease of Use:

JustReader is blissfully straightforward. There are quite a lot of options to tweak if you wish, but it works really well straight from the installation.

Frequently Used:

I think for heavy users of RSS readers such as JustReader, this is something you would use on a daily basis, if not several times a day. It compiles all your followed items as you would expect so it’s more that suitable for less frequent usage.

Interface:

The interface is very Ice Cream Sandwich. I’m not sure I’m a fan of the orange themes, but it still looks really slick and it’s easy to navigate.

AndroidTapp.com Rating

(4.7 out of 5)

Should you Download JustReader? If you’re a heavy user of RSS reader apps, this is definitely one of the best and certainly a huge improvement on Google Reader itself. In which case it’s definitely worth checking out. If you value RSS feeds but are not as wrapped up in keeping tabs on your account all the time, the ad-free paid for version might not seem worth it in the long run. Of course, the proof lies in testing the app out for yourself first and I would strong recommend downloading the free version first to see if it’s just the app you need.

Tags: Android App, Android Apps, Android Tablet Apps, AndroidTapp.com App Review, Audio, Blogs, download, Google Reader, JustReader, News, RSS, RSS Reader, video

Categorised in: News & Weather

7 Comments

By Larzzzz on April 18, 2012 at 1:21 pm:

Sadly, for all the awsome there is the one annoying thing with this app I have experienced using it over the years… It does *not* handle animated gif files well at all. For folks that use JustReader that have RSS feeds from places that use these often will be quite irritated. (HTC Vivid, stock, unrooted, ICS)

Reply
- By Paul Wilks on April 18, 2012 at 4:47 pm:
  
  I have to admit the feeds I get personally do not feature many gif files. Are there any readers you would recommend that do support them?
  
  Reply
By mrmoto on April 18, 2012 at 3:13 pm:

Just downloaded and installed because this review promises a variety of customisations and options. The first thing I tried to change was the apps font sizes so I could read it more easily. Not available – oh well.

Uninstalled.

Reply
- By Paul Wilks on April 18, 2012 at 4:41 pm:
  
  Hi mrmoto. If you go to ‘Preferences’, ‘Common’ then ‘Fonts’… you can alter the font sizes of: feeds, post numbers, post titles and post texts.
  
  Reply
  - By mrmoto on April 18, 2012 at 7:00 pm:
    
    Thanks for the response Paul. I was trying to use the menu – and ‘Preferences’ does not appear in the menu oddly enough. After I read your post, I re-installed and finally found the ‘Preferences’ icon – it’s the bottom far right icon on the bottom of some screens that looks like 2 horizontal eq sliders- in case anyone else is looking for it. I’ll give it a bit more of a chance. Thanks again.
    
    Reply
By Larzzzz on April 18, 2012 at 6:04 pm:

NewsRob has been the one I have come across that supports gif files always. Just reader does too, officially, but not consistently, or reliably.

Reply
By Gderidet on April 19, 2012 at 3:36 am:

I use newsreaders a lot. I tried them all. From Current to Zite. For me the best, with no contest, is Feedly. Currents is becoming better and better.

Reply