Shelf Control: Thanks To Feedly, My First Week Without Google Reader Went Nicely
July 8, 2013
A week ago, Google Reader bade its final farewell. At the same time, even as I was still grieving the demise of one of a handful of online services that I use every day, I said hello to the free, quick, and easy Feedly as my alternative of choice.
And today, I'm using this week's edition of Shelf Control to share what Feedly-compatible RSS aggregator apps I've been using since dear Google Reader departed for its spot in the infamous Google Graveyard.
Up until Google Reader's termination, I used Reeder and Reeder alone. On my iPhone, I used Reeder for iPhone. On my iPad, I used Reeder for iPad. And on my Mac, I used Reeder for Mac. Now, though, I've been using Reeder only on my iPhone … but only because Feedly hasn't been integrated into Reeder for iPad and Reeder for Mac.
A day after Google Reader's termination, Reeder for iPhone was finally updated with support for Feedly as well as Feed Wrangler, in addition to its existing support for Feedbin, Fever, Readability, and local RSS. Unfortunately, the app's iPad and Mac editions are still awaiting their major updates and thus remain exclusive to the now defunct Google Reader. As a result, they have been pulled from the App Store until they become otherwise.
Until Reeder for iPad and Reeder for Mac get updated with Feedly support, I'm content with using the iPad edition of Newsify on my beloved tablet and the desktop version of Feedly wrapped as a native Mac app (more on this later) on my notebook.
Since its launch in the App Store in April last year, I've found Newsify to be the most Reeder-like app among Reeder's ilk on iOS. So, given that it had been updated with Feedly support weeks ahead of Google Reader's shutdown, choosing it as my feed reader app for iPad came naturally for me, absent a Feedly-compatible iPad version of Reeder. And did I mention that Newsify is a free download, and a universal one at that?
As for the desktop version of Feedly aka Feedly Cloud, I have it wrapped to function like a native Mac app just so I can access it directly from the OS X Dock, instead of from a tab among the many browser tabs I usually have open. I was able to turn the Feedly Web app into a Feedly faux Mac app using Fluid. If you'd like to do the same, just follow the instructions in this post from Feedly's official blog.
So, that's how I've come to adapt in a post-Google Reader world, thanks mainly to Feedly and a couple of its partner apps, Reeder and Newsify.
How about you? How did your first post-Google Reader week go? Have you also decided on using Feedly or have you been using a different Google Reader alternative? Either way, what iOS and Mac apps have you been using for your RSS aggregation needs?
As always, if you have suggestions for Shelf Control, please feel free to email me at aldrin@appadvice.com or simply leave a comment below.
