Best Online Feed Readers - Alternatives To Google Reader
Google is closing its RSS reader in July, but that doesn't mean you have to lose your favourite feeds. Here are the best free alternatives to Google reader.
FEEDLY
Feedly is a very flexible feed reader, with a browser add-on for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, and mobile versions for iOS and Android devices. Its slick, modern interface is much more appealing than Netvibes and Pulse, and we love the way you can browse the magazine-style layout, change the theme colour and list feeds as if they were emails in an inbox to save space. When you're out and about, the mobile version takes feeds and turns them into attractive, easy-to-digest 'cards', and Feedly content is synchronised automatically across multiple devices. There's also a snazzy one-click feature for users who want to import their Google Reader feeds. You can even make Feedly look a bit like Google Reader to make the transition from the latter as smooth as possible. It's easy to add new feeds by URL, title or topic, and once you've found a good story you can share it via Facebook, Twitter. Google+ and more. You can also export feeds to Evernote, tag them with keywords and save them to read later. This choice of sharing options is one of the things that sets Feedly apart from Netvibes and Pulse. Feeds are summarised on the right of the page, so you can quickly switch between them, and we like that Feedly suggests new content based on what you're currently looking at.
NETVIBES
Netvibes's interface is extremely versatile, although it doesn't look as sophisticated as Feedly's. By default, it'll open in 'widgets' view, which lets you add little panels that display local weather, Facebook and Flickr feeds, a calculator, a notepad and a task list. This makes it feel like an all-in-one web portal. There's also a 'reader' view that will make you feel at home if you're a former Google Reader user. This view presents a simple, most-recent-first collection of news feeds that can be displayed as a list, with a thumbnail, or as a picture mosaic. It's simple enough to add Google Reader feeds to Netvibes, although first you'll have to go through the Google Takeout process to produce an XML file and then import it. Stories can be shared via Facebook, Twitter and email with just a couple of clicks, and you can find local content quickly and easily. It's also easy to add specific feeds by typing in a URL, so you get exactly what you want. Alternatively, add feeds via the widget interface and they'll turn up in the reader's list.
PULSE
You can quickly sign into Pulse via Facebook or by setting up a new account, and then choose your preferred content categories such as Sport, Politics, Technology and many more. Importing feeds from an existing Google Reader account is slightly more long-winded than Feedly, but it works well enough and everything came across fine. The web interface is reminiscent of Windows 8 (which could be a plus or a minus, depending on your point of view) as is the mobile version, which runs on iOS and Android. It's easy to rejig the layout using the three tiles in the top-right corner, and to customise the appearance of individual news stories by selecting a light or dark theme, and a different font size and style. Pulse doesn't have as many sharing options as Feedly, but the stories you like can be saved for later or shared via Facebook, Twitter or email. Adding new sources is easy if they're included in the Pulse list: otherwise it's more hit-and-miss. If in doubt, we found typing the feed URL into the search box often did the trick.
Feedly is a very flexible feed reader, with a browser add-on for Chrome, Firefox and Safari, and mobile versions for iOS and Android devices. Its slick, modern interface is much more appealing than Netvibes and Pulse, and we love the way you can browse the magazine-style layout, change the theme colour and list feeds as if they were emails in an inbox to save space. When you're out and about, the mobile version takes feeds and turns them into attractive, easy-to-digest 'cards', and Feedly content is synchronised automatically across multiple devices. There's also a snazzy one-click feature for users who want to import their Google Reader feeds. You can even make Feedly look a bit like Google Reader to make the transition from the latter as smooth as possible. It's easy to add new feeds by URL, title or topic, and once you've found a good story you can share it via Facebook, Twitter. Google+ and more. You can also export feeds to Evernote, tag them with keywords and save them to read later. This choice of sharing options is one of the things that sets Feedly apart from Netvibes and Pulse. Feeds are summarised on the right of the page, so you can quickly switch between them, and we like that Feedly suggests new content based on what you're currently looking at.
NETVIBES
Netvibes's interface is extremely versatile, although it doesn't look as sophisticated as Feedly's. By default, it'll open in 'widgets' view, which lets you add little panels that display local weather, Facebook and Flickr feeds, a calculator, a notepad and a task list. This makes it feel like an all-in-one web portal. There's also a 'reader' view that will make you feel at home if you're a former Google Reader user. This view presents a simple, most-recent-first collection of news feeds that can be displayed as a list, with a thumbnail, or as a picture mosaic. It's simple enough to add Google Reader feeds to Netvibes, although first you'll have to go through the Google Takeout process to produce an XML file and then import it. Stories can be shared via Facebook, Twitter and email with just a couple of clicks, and you can find local content quickly and easily. It's also easy to add specific feeds by typing in a URL, so you get exactly what you want. Alternatively, add feeds via the widget interface and they'll turn up in the reader's list.
PULSE
You can quickly sign into Pulse via Facebook or by setting up a new account, and then choose your preferred content categories such as Sport, Politics, Technology and many more. Importing feeds from an existing Google Reader account is slightly more long-winded than Feedly, but it works well enough and everything came across fine. The web interface is reminiscent of Windows 8 (which could be a plus or a minus, depending on your point of view) as is the mobile version, which runs on iOS and Android. It's easy to rejig the layout using the three tiles in the top-right corner, and to customise the appearance of individual news stories by selecting a light or dark theme, and a different font size and style. Pulse doesn't have as many sharing options as Feedly, but the stories you like can be saved for later or shared via Facebook, Twitter or email. Adding new sources is easy if they're included in the Pulse list: otherwise it's more hit-and-miss. If in doubt, we found typing the feed URL into the search box often did the trick.
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