What you need to know

• Popular RSS reader Unread has a big new version 2.7 update out.
• The new version is better at handling linked lists, giving users the option of what content they'll see when opening a post.

Popular RSS reader Unread has a big new version 2.7 update out, and developer Golden Hill Software has been focusing on how the app handles, and displays, linked lists.

Linked list posts are the ones you find on sites like John Gruber's Daring Fireball, a link to another site with a quote and commentary. Those linked lists and the way they link out to the original content can cause RSS apps some confusion — and users sometimes don't know whether they're reading the linked post, or the content it's linking out to. Unread 2.7 fixes that.

Each subscription now has three different webpage text setting values that can be applied to traditional articles and to linked list articles:

• Feed Text
• Webpage Text
• Both (Feed Text and Webpage Text)

When showing both, Unread will show the article content from the feed and the content from the linked article. When showing just feed text or webpage text for a linked list article, the swipe left menu will include a Feed & Webpage Text option.

Any post that has comments, like Hacker News for example, will also have a link that takes users to those comments should they want to read them.

There are other improvements here, too. Context menus for subscriptions and folders now have an option to mark all items as read, and other improvements throughout the app are based on fixing bugs and improving layouts. The new linked list improvements are the big story here, though.

Unread has long been one of the best iPhone RSS readers, and it's just as good on iPad, too. You can download Unread from the App Store now. It's free with in-app purchases unlocking additional features.

What you need to know

• Unread 2.4 is now available in the App Store.
• This update improves the Recent Article widget, adds the option to use Unread's context menus in place of iOS 14's, and more.

Unread, already one of the more popular RSS readers around, has a new update out for iPhone and iPad. Version 2.4, the new update builds on previous releases that added things like widgets – a staple of any good app running in a post-iOS 14 world.

Speaking of widgets, Unread 2.4 now lets users limit the articles shown by the Recent Articles widget to a specific folder of RSS feed. That could be huge for anyone who wants a widget that shows nothing more than the iMore feed. Because, really, what else matters?

Alongside an improved widget, Unread 2.4 also now lets users sent articles via Messages right from within Unread. It's a new action and can be enabled in-app without the need to visit the Share Sheet.

Next up, we have two changes that will alter the way Unread looks, although it's possible you won't notice them outright. I'll let developer John Brayton explain.

• Context menus can now either be system context menus or Unread's custom menus. Unread's custom menus are faster to operate and have larger touch targets.
• The update incorporates significant layout and margin improvements.

All of this is available as a free update for existing Unread users. Everyone else can download Unread from the App Store now.

What you need to know

• Stream is a cool new RSS reader designed for those who value simplicity.
• There is no read state. No services.
• Think of it as Twitter but with news feeds.

There are tons of great RSS readers already available for iPhone but they all have one thing in common – they manage to make reading news a chore at times. Unread counts, badges, unread states. Stream doesn't have any of that, and it's better for it. It's RSS like it used to be back in the day.

Stream is different from other RSS readers because it puts all of your feeds into a "river of news" just like RSS was intended to be. Articles appear in a scrollable list, similar to a Twitter timeline, waiting to be read. If you don't read them, the move down the stream. Eventually, they're gone. And that's just fine.

That sounds like just the ticket, especially for those of us who find keeping up on the constant firehose of news impossible to keep up with. Stream gives you permission to not keep up with the news and it's surprisingly liberating.

What's better, Stream is available for free and you can download it from the App Store now. Get it, try it. See what RSS used to be like before Feedly and co got involved.

Who knows. You might like it!

What you need to know

• Popular RSS app NetNewsWire is now available on iPhone and iPad.
• It features direct-feed downloading, support for multiple accounts and background refreshing.
• There are also keyboard shortcuts, a three-pane view on the iPad and of course, dark mode.

Popular RSS app NetNewsWire is now available on iPhone and iPad.

As reported by 9to5Mac:

The new app is built on the same principles as its Mac counterpart, allowing you to keep track of articles from all of your favorite blogs and websites, bringing the news to you. It also cuts out the middleman of Facebook and Twitter algorithms that skew the content you see on a daily basis.

The full list of iOS features includes:

• Direct feed-downloading
• Syncing via Feedbin and Feedly
• Multiple accounts
• Dark Mode
• Reader view
• Share sheet
• Starred articles
• All Unread and Today smart feeds
• Folders
• Importing and exporting OPML feed lists
• Background refreshing
• Searching
• Hiding read articles
• Timeline customization
• Keyboard shortcuts
• Context menus
• Support for multiple windows
• Three-pane view on iPad

The app's description further states:

NetNewsWire is now available free on the App store for iPhone and iPad!

Keeping up with current events is inherently stressful. To put it very mildly, the world is and has always been a lot, and making sure you're aware of what's going on around you is kind of a big job. If you find that you struggle to stay in the know regarding the issues you care about due to the sheer volume of information out there, you may want to consider switching up your method with a service like Cappuccino.

Cappuccino is an app for iOS, macOS, and watchOS that essentially acts as an mailbox for the news that's most important to you. With Cappuccino, you no longer have to seek out the news you'd check on a daily basis on a jumble of different sites. Instead, articles from sources you trust or related to topics you're interested in are sent directly to your inbox within the app, making checking the news as easy as checking your email (or maybe even easier than that, given Cappuccino's hyper-organized, minimal interface). You can even choose to receive push notifications when new stories come through.

Cappuccino also offers a plethora of organizational features, such as the ability to filter by recent stories, unread stories, and starred stories you've bookmarked for later. If you're looking for new sources to broaden your perspective, you can utilize the app's expanding Discovery section to find new sites to read. And, if you're browsing using Safari and happen upon a site you're really interested in, you can add it to Cappuccino directly from your browser so you can start receiving updates ASAP.

If you're willing to spend a few bucks for an even better experience, you can also sign up for Cappuccino's premium option, which costs $9.99 per year for both iOS and Mac. With Cappuccino Premium, you'll get the ability to change up the app's theme, and can toggle on a dark mode that's a bit gentler on the eyes. You'll also be able to further customize your notifications so you only receive them from specific sources. Perhaps the most fun premium feature, however, is the ability to set the app to send you a condensed press release of all your chosen news — kind of like a little newsletter customized just for you — at a specific time daily.

So, feel that a news app like Cappuccino may be beneficial for you? Try it for yourself by downloading it below.

• Cappuccino for iOS - Free with IAP - Download now
• Cappuccino for Mac - Free with IAP - Download now

Thoughts?

What do you think of Cappuccino? Share your experience in the comments!

Reeder, a popular RSS reading app for iPhone, has moved on up to version 3 with its latest update, bringing along a number of notable improvements. Included in the latest release is support for Split View in iOS 9, 3D Touch for previewing articles, an updated UI, and much more. Here's the full breakdown:

• Instapaper as a sync service
• Safari View Controller for in-app browsing
• iOS 9 split view support
• 3D Touch support for article previewing in the article list
• Support for iPad Pro
• List font size options
• Font options for the article viewer
• Updated UI
• Unread and starred counts for smart folders
• Hide smart folders in unread/starred view if there are no unread/starred items
• New "Archive" folder in "All items" view mode which only shows read items (no unread or starred)

Overall, version 3.0 definitely seems like it's a big improvement for fans of the app. If you'd like to check out the latest update, or try Reeder for the first time, you can hit up the App Store link below to get started.

• $4.99 - Download Now

Popular RSS app Reeder has finally released the long awaited Reeder 2 update for the Mac. Since the first version of Reeder was dependent upon Google Reader, which has long been discontinued, the service had to be reworked to incorporate other RSS services. The iOS version was updated a while back but the Mac app provided a different kind of challenge, according to Reeder's developer, Silvio Rizzi. A year later and Reeder 2 has finally landed. So was it worth the excruciatingly long wait?

Anyone who has ever used Reeder on the Mac in the past or is currently using Reeder 2 for iOS will still feel right at home on Reeder 2 for Mac. The changes are subtle enough to make long time Reeder users comfortable but they're enough to also let them appreciate the new version. The overall design has been tweaked to be smoother, flatter, and even more sleek than it was before. The tones are similar to that of Reeder 2 for iOS, so if you like them on mobile, you'll love the Mac version. There are also a few themes you can choose from to suit your tastes. I personally prefer the darker themes with white text.

Reeder 2 for Mac now supports Feedbin, Feedly, Feed Wrangler, Fever and Readability. You can also use local or standalone feeds with no account if you prefer. However, standalone feeds won't offer sync. If you have multiple RSS accounts, you can add them all and quickly toggle between them in the far left navigation pane. When you don't need to see your accounts, just use a swipe gesture to hide it. The main interface and navigation of Reeder remains largely unchanged from its predecessor. Cascading panes allow you to drill down into your feeds. The first hierarchy will contain your feeds or folders — whichever you choose in settings. You can then click into individual feeds and finally view articles. The article view supports mobile and full blown web views.

Sharing content remains largely unchanged from the previous version of Reeder for Mac. You can copy URLs and enjoy the same one-click sharing settings Reeder has always offered in a convenient drop-down menu located right above the article view.

Reeder 2 offers a lot of customizable keyboard shortcuts and gestures that can help make how you consume news a little more personalized. For instance, you can add a quick keyboard shortcut for copying a link or moving to the next feed. You can also change swipe gestures to suit your needs. For example, I prefer swiping up on article view to send the article to Pocket, and with Reeder 2 I can easily do that.

The good

• Same great design and experience Reeder 2 for iOS offers
• Support for all the popular RSS services
• Full screen mode support
• Completely customizable fonts and colors for article view

The bad

• Sometimes the swipe up and down gesture in article view seems to require a lot more effort than it needs to, hopefully that'll be tweaked in a future version

The bottom line

I've been using Reeder on iOS and Mac for as long as I can remember. For the past year or so I've had to turn to other Mac RSS apps to fill the gap Reeder left when Google Reader shut down. After using Reeder 2 for only a few days, I feel as if that gap has been filled again. I missed the simplicity and elegance that Reeder brings to the table. Is it the most feature packed RSS app available? Probably not. But the experience it brings with it more than makes up for it.

• $9.99 - Download Now

If you've tried out Reeder 2 for Mac, was it worth the extremely long wait in your opinion? Or did you expect more this time around? Let me know in the comments!

Popular news-reading client Reeder 2 got a healthy update for iPhone and iPad today. The most notable addition is background refresh, so the latest stories will always be there waiting for you without having to pull them in once the app launches. Reeder will also kick into gear when external apps refer to an RSS feed, which is a nice touch for those that are regularly adding new sites to their collection. A smattering of other tweaks are also in Reeder 2.2, like a loading progress indicator for the in-app browser. disabling favicons from showing on the subscriptions list, and a few navigational improvements.

As always, Reeder brings all of your favorite sites into one spot to catch up. RSS feeds can be added from all over, including their built-in search engine and catalog. Multiple accounts can be tied in, including Readability and Feedly, and articles can be shared out through a wide range of popular services like Pocket, Buffer, Facebook, and Twitter. Various themes keep legibility high, not to mention suit your personal style.

How do you catch the news on your iPhone or iPad? Are traditional RSS clients like Reeder the best way to catch up, or does something with a bit more flash, like Flipboard, suit your tastes?

• Download now - $4.99

Reconnaissance for iPhone is an RSS app that specifically caters to the Feed Wrangler RSS service. With the ability to edit subscriptions, send articles to a read it later service in one swipe, and background updates, there's a lot to love about Reconnaissance.

The first thing I noticed upon launching Reconnaissance is the beautiful greyscale design. For any other kind of app, I would probably prefer color, but for an RSS app where text should be the main focus, it works. The default articler view in Reconnaissance is not only unique but fluid. Just swipe left and right to see more articles. Swipe up or down to mark articles as read or send it to your read it later service of choice. Reconnaissance currently supports Safari Reading List, Instapaper, Pocket, and Pinboard.

Reconnaissance has both a light and a dark theme which means easy reading at night. I just wish there was an option that allowed you to let them change automatically like other RSS apps do. Jumping into settings isn't a huge deal but can become an annoyance if you read a lot at night.

When it comes to Feed Wrangler features, Reconnaissance supports Smart Streams, Favorites, and more. If you've already got streams set up with Feed Wrangler, Reconnaissance just imports them the first time you log in.

There is also a search field inside Reconnaissance that lets you easily search for any term you'd like. Reconaissance then filters out only the stories that contain that topic. What feed they came from is also noted.

The good

• Greyscale interface is unique, but works amazingly well as to not distract the reader from the actual text of an article
• Support for Smart Streams
• One swipe action for sending an article to read it later services
• Search allows you to filter articles on a topic quickly and easily
• Support for dynamic type
• Dark theme

The bad

• No automatic theme change option for night and day
• A list view for articles would be nice for times you'd like to scroll faster

The bottom line

If you use Feed Wrangler, Reconnaissance is the best option currently available. The interface is simplistic, yet fluid and feature packed. Feed Wrangler users choose to use the service due to the unique features it provides, such as Smart Streams. Reconnaissance caters to those unique details and it really shows where user experience is concerned.

• $2.99 - Download Now

Gist for iPhone is a news reader app that filters recent stories from Google News in a variety of different categories. That's not what makes it unique though. Gist can summarize articles for you automatically so you can catch up on news fast and get on with your day.

When you launch Gist, there are already news articles waiting for you. Tap the menu icon to pull out the category selector. Tapping into any article brings up a brief summary of the article. All summaries generally consist of a few bullet points. If you want to view the whole article, just tap into it.

One thing I've noticed with summaries in Gist is that if an article has a lot of photos or pull quotes, summaries take some time to generate. By some time, I mean about 15 seconds or so, nothing to write home about. It's just a longer wait time than articles that are mainly text.

If you want to view a summary of an article that isn't in Gist, just copy the URL from the source and tap on the custom button. Paste in the URL and Gist will automatically generate a summary. You can toggle to the second custom tab and create custom summaries as well. This is a great option for PDFs or other kinds of documents that maybe don't have a URL. Create a short title and then copy the body text. Gist does the rest.

Gist is probably one of the best looking news apps I've seen in a while as well. If there was an option to import custom feeds, the chances of it becoming my go-to RSS app would be high. Until then, it still earns a spot on my iPhone for when I want to catch up on news quickly.

If you've tried out Gist, let us know what you think of it too!

• $1.99 - Download Now

If you use the popular RSS app Reeder in order to catch up on news feeds, you may have realized that syncing large amounts of items can sometimes take a while. Most of this is due to Reeder caching images for offline viewing. Disabling this option makes Reeder lightning fast.

If you're not concerned with caching images locally for offline use, follow along and we'll show you how to disable it.

1. Launch the Reeder app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the Settings icon in the upper left hand corner.
3. Under Accounts, tap on the account you'd like to disable image caching for.
4. Scroll down a ways and you'll see a section entitled Image Caching. Here you can turn off caching for unread items and/or favorites.

I've got image caching turned off for both favorites and unread items. That basically means that when I launch Reeder, it doesn't cache images within articles for offline reading. If you're okay with not having images render inside articles when you have no service, disabling this feature can greatly speed up the rate at which Reeder brings down your news articles.

Give it a try and let us know how much faster it is for you.

If you're a huge Reeder fan, you're in luck as it's just been updated with support for several new RSS services since Google Reader is now no longer accessible except to export your feeds.

Once you've exported your feeds to Feedly or another RSS service of your choice, you're ready to set up a new RSS service inside Reeder. Here's how:

Note, you'll have to export your feeds from Google Reader and into one of the newer RSS services before configuring it with Reeder. If you haven't done this already, make sure you check out our guide on how to export your Google Reader feeds first.

• How to export and transfer your Google Reader feeds to another RSS service

Once you've got that done, go ahead and continue on to get them set up within Reeder.

1. Launch Reeder from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Tap on the Settings icon in the upper left hand corner.
3. Now tap on Add Account... under the Accounts section.
4. You'll have the choice to use either Feedly, Feedbin, Feed Wrangler, or Fever. Tap on the one you're now using.
5. Now you'll be asked to sign in and verify that you'd like to give Reeder permission to access your feeds. Go ahead and accept.
6. Once your feeds are set up in Reeder from the new service you can go back and tweak settings such as how many articles to sync, image caching, etc.. just as you did before with Google Reader.

That's all there is to it. Reeder will now use your new RSS service of choice in order to sync your RSS feeds. Let us know what you're using and how you like it in the comments.

In rounding up the possible go-to RSS services after Google Reader closes its doors, it seems one slipped our attention; Newsblur. On the face of it, Newsblur looks to offer a similarly solid product to some other RSS services, and comes with the option of a paid, premium account to access the full range of features. The recommendation for Newsblur actually came from iMore community member Ben Pike, who particularly likes the "training" aspect of Newsblur:

So, I went and took a look at Newsblur and came away pleasantly surprised. As with many other RSS providers, Newsblur will import all your feeds from Google Reader on your behalf, preserving all the folders you've set up along the way. A free account will let you sign up to a limited number of feeds, so if you're a heavy user the $24 a year subscription for a premium account is something you'll need to look at.

The training aspect of Newsblur is an interesting tool to help you sort the wheat from the chaff. By identifying key tags as thumbs up and thumbs down, Newsblur will aim to hide things you're less interested in, while highlighting the thumbs up content; the stuff you've told it you want to read, basically.

The web app is decent enough, with plenty of options for customizing your experience, and of course all the premium, power tools are there at your disposal. Reading wise, Newsblur gives you real-time RSS updates, and the ability to read the content as it was meant to be, in its original form. Beyond getting everything set up, I doubt i'll use it again on my Mac, because there's a much better option; ReadKit.

ReadKit is available in the Mac App Store for $4.99, and besides Newsblur will also pull in your content from Pocket, Readability, Instapaper, Feedbin, Feed Wrangler and more besides. It's very clean, has an essence of Reeder about the Interface, and is a very pleasurable way to read on your Mac.

• $4.99 - Download Now

Over on the iPhone and iPad, Newsblur has an official app, which mimics to a large extent the overall design of the web app. Instantly recognizable, it looks great on both the iPhone and the iPad, but the larger screen of the iPad is definitely a winner.

• Free - Download Now

So, better late than never, Newsblur is another great way to carry on your RSS needs after July 1. If, like Ben Pike you're a Newsblur fan, drop into the comments and tell us why!

• More information and sign up for Newsblur

Google Reader will soon be gone, and anyone who uses it daily — like everyone here at Mobile Nations — will have to make a decision on how to carry on their RSS love affair. Fortunately, it's no longer the disaster we all feared on first hearing the news, and we're actually left with an ample selection of replacements. Here's everything you need to know.

Export your feeds from Google Reader, like, now!

The absolute first thing you should do if you haven't already, is export all of your Reader information through Google Takeout. After shutdown, it will be gone, so unless you want to start again from scratch, do it. Do it now. And if you're not sure how, we've got you covered with a full walkthrough.

• How to export and transfer your Google Reader feeds to another RSS service on iPhone and iPad

If you're quick, and do it before July 1, several alternative solutions will allow you to import your RSS feeds directly from Google Reader into their apps. This includes popular titles like Flipboard and Feedly, and should take some of the pain away of transferring your feeds.

Alternative providers - Feedly

In looking for an alternative provider, thankfully there's several different paths you can take. Some free, some not so free, but all more than capable.

Feedly quickly emerged as an early favorite, in no small part down to their work to clone the Google Reader API, transfer people across seamlessly, and provide their own API to other third-party apps to hook into. Feedly does have an app for iOS, but not for the Mac, but they have just launched "Feedly Cloud" and a new web interface along with it. Hit them up before July 1 and let them do all the work for you.

If the Feedly app doesn't do it for you, then take a look at Newsify for iOS, which has already been updated to switch over to the Feedly API.

• Free - Download Now - Feedly for iOS
• Feedly Cloud web reader
• Free - Download Now - Newsify for iOS

Alternative providers - AOL and Digg

New to the RSS game, AOL and Digg are both looking to take over where Google downed tools. Digg announced their product pretty early on, and it's finally, almost, with us for use. Early reports are mixed, but there's clearly some promise. At the time of writing, the Digg app hasn't yet been updated, and we haven't had chance to take a look at the web client, either. But, if you're interested, stick your name in the hat for access; Digg is reportedly allowing people in gradually to ensure the service remains stable.

• Free - Download Now - Digg for iOS
• Sign up for more information on Digg Reader

AOL came from literally nowhere, and just a couple of days after an announcement the doors were opened. Initially, AOL Reader is in beta, though access seems to be pretty wide, and is in web only form. Our early impressions are that it's a pretty good, if unremarkable product. Import your Google Reader subscriptions to AOL Reader by way of an OPML file and you're good to go. iOS apps are inbound, though AOL hasn't yet said when.

• First look at the new AOL Reader beta
• Request access to AOL Reader beta

Alternative providers - Pulse

Pulse is a news aggregating app that's been around for as long as we can remember. It's perhaps not the first port of call for RSS power users; Pulse offers a more visual, magazine style interface that's very pleasing on the eye. It has plenty of features, including support for Pocket, Evernote and other read later services, and importantly Pulse will import all your Google Reader feeds for you into a new or existing Pulse account.

There's no native Mac client for Pulse, but there is a pretty nice looking web app to keep you up to date while you're at the computer. It also syncs reading progress across to your mobile Pulse apps too, which is exactly what we'd hope for.

• Pulse web app
• Download Now - Pulse for iOS

Alternative providers - Flipboard

Flipboard needs little introduction, but it's not perhaps the first app you'd think of moving your RSS feeds to. But, you can, and it'll probably be nicer on the eye than most other solutions out there. If that's what you're looking for, we've got you covered with a walkthrough on how to import your Google Reader feeds into Flipboard.

• Import your Google Reader feeds into Flipboard

Alternative providers - The paid subscription clients

Feed Wrangler bills their offering as a "modern, sustainable RSS reader." It comes with free apps for iOS, and will import from Google Reader. But, it costs $19 a year. The app is fast, clean and simple, and a great reading experience, but with so many other free options out there now, it's unclear how many folks will be willing to pay.

• Download Now - Feed Wrangler for iOS

Feedbin sits in a similar seat to Feed Wrangler, only slightly more expensive again. A Feedbin subscription is $2 per month, so only slightly more than Feed Wrangler, but still more. Feedbin's advantage comes more with the third-party apps which hook into it, including the extremely popular Reeder. The iPhone version of Reeder has already been updated to add Feedbin support, and the Mac and iPad versions can currently be had for free until they have been updated to receive the "same sharing and syncing support." So, if you love Reeder, a Feedbin subscription could be a good way to go.

• More information - Feedbin
• Download Now - Reeder for iPhone ($2.99)
• Download Now - Reeder for iPad (Free)
• Download Now - Reeder for Mac (Free)

Reeder also supports Fever, another paid subscription service costing $30 a year. Fever isn't a service we're that familiar with, but its "hot list" works as such:

• More information - Fever

What are you going to be using?

There's a lot of RSS apps out there for Mac and iOS that make use of some or all of these different providers, or use something different entirely. If you have a favorite RSS app or service, be sure to drop it into the comments below and let us know why you like it. It might just be the perfect solution for another member of the iMore community!

Google Reader will come to an end on July 1, one week from now. We're not that short on options to continue receiving our RSS fix, but one that quietly emerged in recent days is AOL Reader. Currently in beta form, and web only, access to the new service is now available. You're told to log in and request an invite, but it seems as though verifying your email address is about all you need to do to get in and take a look. So, we did.

AOL Reader is currently only available on the web, though an iOS application is promised for the future. You can import your current subscriptions from Google Reader, though you'll need to export the data first via Google Takeout (something we'd highly recommend doing anyway before July 1.) Google exports a series of files, but the one you'll need is the one titled as "subscriptions.xml." Should you have any issues importing this to AOL Reader, try changing the extension from .xml to .opml, and you should be good to go.

While functional, Google Reader's web interface always felt somewhat basic, and a little chaotic. AOL Reader takes a similar form factor, but with a much prettier design. It's actually a surprisingly pleasing way to read your RSS feeds. There's a selection of viewing options, including list, card, pane and full views, a dark and light theme to customize the appearance to your own personal tastes and a choice of different font sizes. AOL Reader is much, much easier on the eye than Google Reader.

An interesting touch, perhaps to be appreciated more by the power users, is a bunch of keyboard shortcuts. Pretty much full navigation of AOL Reader can take place without touching the mouse, and to help us get started there's a handy guide as to which keys do what.

We're still only scratching the surface, but AOL Reader is a surprisingly good product. Having come from quite literally nowhere, what we have is a nice looking, perfectly functional, free RSS client. It may be late to the party, especially since the Feedly train continues to roll, but if you're undecided on where to go after Google shuts down Reader, AOL is worth a look. And of course, we still haven't seen the accompanying iOS apps yet. But this is a good start. Go ahead and give it a try, and let us know what you think!

Feed Wrangler for both iPhone and iPad is the new guy on the block when it comes to RSS reader apps but that doesn't mean it lacks in quality. Complete with smart streams, Google Reader import options, and read it later integration for both Pocket and Instapaper, it may be a better option for those who don't like the more dynamic interfaces of apps like Feedly or Flipboard.

While Feed Wrangler is a free download, you'll need to subscribe to the service in order to actually use the app. This service will run you $18.99 a year which might be off putting to many users. What you're paying for, however, is sync and server-side smarts, which is what made Google Reader so fast, and now makes Feed Wrangler really fast as well. Since "free" services like Google Reader have a way of disappearing, they can ultimately be more costly in terms of time, stress. Apps that charge a fair and sustainable price could be a better alternative to some users. And at $18.99 a year, it's pennies a day.

If you decide RSS is a service worth paying for, the first thing Feed Wrangler asks you to do is import your feeds from Google Reader or add them manually. This is easy enough within the app settings, or via the website. Just be aware it may take a few minutes for your feeds to filter in.

Feed Wrangler also has deep read-later integration with both Pocket and Instapaper. In a nice touch, if I had no need feeds, Feed Wrangler gave me an instant link to my read-later service of choice. One thing I always seem to do is forget that I've saved articles for later and then I have a ton to catch up on when I do remember. This may help to me jump in and play catch up more often when there aren't any new stories available to browse.

Many Google Reader users may have categories set up but sadly, those won't import. The good news is that Feed Wrangler actually has what a lot of people may consider a better way to sift through news feeds. Smart streams allow you to enter keywords and create a stream that will filter in news that only contains those terms. For example, if you wanted to create an Apple stream, you can input keywords such as iOS, iPhone, iPad, and anything else you're interested in. Feed Wrangler will then follow that criteria and, under that stream, only feed in stories that contains those terms.

Features like search work exactly like you'd expect. Results are displayed quickly and in most cases, accurately.

The good

• Simple interface that doesn't distract from actually reading
• Syncs quickly and articles load almost instantly
• Smart Streams are brilliant and a much better way to filter news than just regular categories
• Share options including email, message, Twitter, Facebook, and App.net

The bad

• No unread badge count
• Convincing people to pay for RSS could be a tough sell (until Google Reader goes away).
• Google Reader sync had some issues

The bottom line

Feed Wrangler is incredibly fast and for users that want a simple interface that allows them to just read content with no distractions, it may be a perfect fit. The $18.99/year subscription fee will undoubtedly be a turnoff to potential users. However, with Google Reader going away this summer, it's very possible we're going to see RSS subscriptions become a much more common option. Great sync and great server-side services aren't easy, and "you get what you pay for" is a cliché for a reason.

Either way, it will definitely be interesting to see where the RSS market goes over the next several months.If you decide to give Feed Wrangler a try, let me know what you think about the app and the service.

• Free (requires in-app subscription purchase) - Download Now

Reeder, one of the best RSS apps for iPhone, iPad, and Mac, has posted a short update on their future. The reason they felt it necessary, of course, is the shuttering of Google Reader, which many RSS apps, including Reeder, used as a backend. Here's the important part, from Reeder's website:

Silvio Rizzi, the talented developer behind the popular app, also talks about adding other sync services and options to the iPhone version of Reeder in 2.1, moving those over to the iPad and Mac versions, and, interestingly, making the iPad and Mac versions free until those features arrive in 2.0.

It's a short but very sweet update on what is for many people a crummy situation. Check it out.

Source: Reeder

There are lots of RSS apps available in the App Store for both iPhone and iPad. Feedly may be one of many, but it's one of the most popular for a reason. Everything from how you maneuver through feeds to it's bright and bold interface is done extremely well. Swiping actions and being able to quickly mark things as read are added bonuses. Then again, looks aren't always everything.

Upon taking a closer look, looks aren't the only thing Feedly has going for it.

When you first launch Feedly, you can start adding feeds manually or you can sign into your existing Google Reader account. Before you get too concerned, Feedly will switch over to their own Normany service when Google Reader is discontinued. You'll just need to make sure you import your feeds to Feedly or some other client before that happens. If you've already got your stuff on Feedly, it'll be a seamless transition that you won't even notice.

Feedly ties in with many services including Pocket, Instapaper, and bit.ly. You can pop into settings once and enter your info and Feedly will remember it for future use. You can also save items to read later within app too so if you're just skimming articles and want to remember to read something later, tapping the bookmark icon will save it in the read later section of the navigation menu. As far as marking articles as read, you can do this by using swipe gestures. A long swipe will mark everything on that page as read while a short swipe will mark just that one article as read. If you accidentally mark something a swipe in the opposite direction will mark the article or whole page as unread again. Feedly uses a feature called stacks which allows you to quick swipe through pages but if you prefer scrolling through lists of articles better, you can switch it in the settings menu.

There are several view options in Feedly including tile view, list view, and more. You can toggle and personalize them inside each feed as you see fit. The only thing I'd really like to see is an app wide setting to change the view. If it's there, I missed it and I looked quite hard. The good thing is at least Feedly remembers the views you set so it stays that way. So if you like list view, you'll only need to tell each feed to display that way one time.

As far as searching for feeds and finding new content, the search bar stays static in the upper right hand corner through pretty much every screen. From here you can pull in tons of topics and read feeds inside those topics. One of the neatest features about Feedly is the today and latest sections. If you don't feel like drilling down into specific feeds or categories, these sections allow you to browse quickly so you keep up with news that's recent and popular. You'll notice a Feedly rating symbolized by a heart next to articles in your feed. This number is aggregating the amount of Facebook likes or shares and Google +1's that story is getting. Feedly says their own special formula is added in as well. The higher the rating, the more popular the story is across the web.

The good

• Great interface with good color choices that make reading easy
• Browser extensions aplenty which make staying connected between all kinds of devices easy
• In-app browser is fast, like really fast
• Once Google Reader shuts the lights off, your feeds are still safe
• Lots of ways to share articles across almost every social network app you'd need, including Buffer support

The bad

• There's no overall setting for default feed view and switching them all to the view you prefer if you have a lot of feeds is cumbersome
• No badge count for unread feeds, this may not even matter to some users though

The bottom line

The most important part of a great RSS app is the ability to read things easily and Feedly definitely provides that. The interface isn't boring but it isn't too busy either. The different view options cater to almost any audience and how they prefer to read. The ability to change themes and fonts is also a great feature of a good RSS app since not everyone likes to the same kinds of fonts. Feedly has taken this into consideration when choosing their fonts and it's obvious.

Whether you're looking to find something to replace Google Reader or just want a beautiful RSS app for iPhone or iPad, Feedly will cater to both purposes and is sure to impress. And considering it's free, you've really got nothing to lose.

• Free - Download Now

Google surprised all of us yesterday with the news that Google Reader is getting canned this summer. That means if you use Google Reader for your RSS news feeds, you'll need to export your feeds to a new service before the service shuts down.

Luckily, if you've got an iPhone or iPad, the task should be pretty easy. Here's a few options for transferring your RSS feeds to a new service.

• How to export your RSS feeds from Google Reader
• How to import your RSS feeds from Google Reader
• How to import your Google Reader feeds to Flipboard for iPhone and iPad
• Other RSS app suggestions

How to export your RSS feeds from Google Reader

1. First you'll need to log in to your Google account through the Google Takeout Page - Link
2. Click on the Create Archive option towards the bottom.

3. Google will begin to archive a copy of your settings in your Google account. This may take some time.

4. Once it's done, click on the Download button.

5. Unzip the file and navigate to emailname-takeout > Reader > subscriptions.xml.

6. Save the subscriptions.xml file to an easy to access place like your desktop.
7. Move on to the import portion.

How to import your RSS feeds from Google Reader

All RSS apps are a bit different on the desktop but the general is that somewhere in settings or in a menu, you should have an import button.

1. Launch the desktop RSS client you've chosen to use.
2. Find the Import option.
3. Navigate to the place where you saved your subscriptions.xml file that we saved in the how to export section.
4. Choose it and the client should automatically import all of your feeds.

How to import your Google Reader feeds to Flipboard for iPhone and iPad

Flipboard is one of the most popular RSS apps for both iPhone and iPad. It not only has a beautiful interface, but has Google Reader support built right in. This means once you import your Google Reader feeds, you're done. Best of all Flipboard is free.

• Free - Download Now

1. Launch the Flipboard app from the Home screen of your iPhone or iPad.
2. Create a free Flipboard account if you don't have one already.
3. Tap the Search icon.
4. You'll now see a screen that lets you search for feeds and topics or link accounts. Tap on the Google Reader option.
5. Now sign into your Google Reader account and authorize Flipboard.
6. Flipboard will import all your Google Reader RSS feeds automatically. That's all you have to do. Going forward, you can just add new feeds to your Flipboard account instead of Google Reader.

Other RSS app suggestions

There are lots of RSS feed apps available in the App Store. Whether you just want to make a clean break and import your feeds over again or want to find a desktop client with a mobile client attached, here are some iOS and Mac RSS apps that aren't dependent upon Google Reader.

• Reeder for Mac - $4.99 - Download Now
• Reeder for iPhone - $2.99 - Download Now
• Reeder for iPad - $4.99 - Download Now
• NewsRack for Mac - $7.99 - Download Now
• NewsRack for iOS - $4.99 - Download Now
• Feed Wranger for iOS - Free (required subscription) - Download Now

These are just a few of our recommendations but there are, of course, tons more in both the iOS App Store and Mac App Store. Let us know your suggestions in the comments!

OS X Mountain Lion not only ships without X11, but actually removes X11 from your computer when you upgrade. If you're not familiar with X11, it's a networked graphical user interface that geeks and systems administrators alike use all the time, every day to connect to and run various UNIX applications. It might not sound like a mainstream feature, and it isn't, but it's something that let me and people like me do our jobs using the Mac. It let me connect to work via ssh and use X11 forwarding to view terminal applications, use tsclient, vnc etc... It let me be an Apple customer. And now it's gone.

My roots in UNIX and Linux, and I've always enjoyed using and tweaking them to my hearts content, from Gentoo, to FreeBSD to Ubuntu. A couple of years ago, I got tired of the tweaking and just wanted a beautiful Unix experience out of the box, where I could use Terminals, ssh connections, and X11 to keep getting work done, but have all the bells and whistles of a commercial operating system as well. I went with Mac OS X due to it’s BSD lineage and because it looked nice too. I could stay in Terminal all day, and enjoy the experience.

And now I'm wondering if I made a mistake.

There were always compromises and annoyances. The Terminal was always limited, copy and pasting text in it was non standard, there was no default repository for ports or applications. And no matter how many cores or how much RAM I threw at it, it would beachball when copying and pasting from one terminal to another using the default app on Mac OS X. I installed extra terms and macports and other third party applications to reduce the annoyance, but it seems I was fighting a losing battle.

Over the years, Apple began to neglect, or worse, remove more and more of the traditional UNIX portions of OS X.

Which brings me back to Mountain Lion and Apple coming into my machine and ripping out the X11, and giving me this when I search their knowledge base for answers:

Apple also removed the perfectly functional RSS features from Mail and Safari in Mountain Lion. You can't even open an RSS file and preview it in Safari anymore. In previous years Apple stopped installing some features by default, including the Adobe Flash player, but removing features is a disturbing trend.

Imagine if Apple removes Terminal itself in the next version of OS X, or decides iMessage is the future and gets rid of Mail.app?

I'm installing XQuartz and I hope Apple provides support for it going forward. Without its UNIX underpinnings, the Mac becomes less useful for IT workers like me.

Apple is known for their user experience but this was a very bad one. Maybe they figure a UNIX geek like me is perfectly capable of searching their knowledge base and finding alternatives, and I certainly can and did.

But there's no knowledge base article to explain away the feeling of violation that comes with a vendor reaching into your personal computer, even during an OS upgrade, and removing something you depend on every day.

iOS 6 is Apple's next major OS update, and now I'm left to wonder, what if any functionality will that remove from my iPhone or iPad? Will RSS still work in mobile Safari? Will something else I rely on be gone?

And that's not the kind of thing Apple users, even the geeks, should have to worry about.

Reeder, the popular RSS reader app for iPhone, has been updated to version 3.0 and brings with it an updated user interface and some new options and features that make an already great RSS app even better than before.

The first thing you'll notice is that the app icon has completely changed. It's a lot more sharper, especially on a retina display, and stands out a lot more than before. After launching the app you'll notice the entire interface has also gotten a makeover. If you've used Reeder before you won't have to worry about learning your way around the app as the layout is pretty much the same.

Your main feed page will show all the subscription services you currently use. Tapping the "+" sign in the upper right hand corner will allow you to add another service. You can choose from adding a Google Reader account, a Readability account, and new to version 3.0 is Fever feeds. Just tap on any of the three services and type in your credentials. Reeder will automatically start bringing down your subscriptions and feeds.

After adding all your accounts you can tap into any one of them or view them altogether through the All Items option at the top. The main navigation and layout remains the same and you can navigate through favorites, unread, and all articles by using the tabs along the bottom. You can also choose what you want swiping an article title left and right will do. You can choose to star articles, mark them unread/read, or send them to a service of your choice.

The biggest feature of Reeder 3.0 for iPhone is the ability to now natively add and remove subscriptions from Google Reader. Once in your Google Reader list just tap the "+" sign in the upper right to add a feed. Tap in the URL to the feed you'd like to add, categorize it, and click done. It'll now sync just like your other feeds. If you want to unsubcribe to a feed through Google Reader just go into that feed's articles list, tap the logo in the upper right and tap unsubscribe.

The Settings section hasn't changed much but adds a few new options for new services such as Fever. You can configure all your sharing services and social services quickly and easily through Settings as well. Tap into App Settings to further configure how you want Reeder to behave and treat articles such as how long you want to keep read items, whether or not you'd like Reeder to cache images, or how many days back you'd like it to sync. Nothing too much has changed here.

The good

• Beautiful new interface that makes Reeder even cleaner than before
• Native subscribing and unsubscribing via Google Reader is an awesome edition and one many have been waiting for
• Updated app icon is even better than the current
• Fever support is an addition many will appreciate
• The overall responsiveness of the app seems more snappy

The bad

• iPad version hasn't been updated yet, hopefully that will be next
• Facebook integration has been pulled (this will be coming back in a later update)

The bottom line

The updated version of Reeder has made an already great app even better. Native Google Reader integration for subscribing and unsubscribing is not only a great addition but the developer managed to keep it clean, simple, and easy to figure out.

Reeder was already one of the best RSS reader apps for iPhone available in the App Store. The new version of Reeder may earn it the title of the best RSS app for iPhone. Hopefully the iPad version will get the same update in the near future.

$2.99 - Download Now

Blogshelf II is the successor to Bloglshelf, a uniques RSS and blog reader for the iPad. Imagine iBooks filled with blogs -- that's Blogshelf. It's a gorgeous and relaxing way to stay caught up with your favorite websites.

The main screen is a bookshelf, similar to iBooks, filled with all the blogs and websites you are following. To rearrange their placement on the shelf, simply hold your finger down on a blog to enter the edit mode.

At the upper right hand corner of each screen of Blogshelf, there is a question mark that when tapped, fades the screen and adds white pulsating circles to important areas of the page. Tapping one will give you instructions and information about that region. I really like this implementation of help.

When viewing a blog, you'll see a clean list of its post, each displayed with a thumbnail of the first image of the story. Tapping the website's name will let you edit its settings, including cashing behavior, how often to update, the ability to disable thumbnails, and more.

When reading an article, the page is very clean with option to change the font type and size. You can scroll through the article by swiping up and down, and switch between articles why swiping left and right. I really like reading articles on Blogshelf, but I don't like how it handles photos. Here's an example of an article I wrote on iMore, yesterday.

Although both of the photos shown were originally the same size, Blogshelf is showing them sized differently. At least when you tap them, thought, they become nice and big, like this.

One of the really neat features of Blogshelf is the that it's very easy to discover new blogs and websites by tapping Subscribe from the main blogshelf screen. Just like in iBooks, the bookshelf will flip around to reveal a subscription "store".

From here you can browse through featured blogs and top blogs by category. You can also search for a specific website and connect with Google Reader and Blogger to subscribe to blogs you've subscribed to on those services. (Tip: if you browse to the Apple category in the Top Blogs tab, you'll find iMore!)

Unfortunately, I must now tell you about another issues with photos. When looking closer at a blog that you may want to subscribe to, tapping on an article will bring up a popup that lets you scroll through the post. Often times, the photos will appear distorted, like this.

Although the picture issues are a little annoying, I trust that the developers can quickly fix these bugs.

The good

• Great way to discover websites
• Pretty
• Support for Google Reeder and Blogger

The bad

• Has issues with photos

The bottom line

There are lots of different RSS readers in the App Store, but I really like Blogshelf's approach -- it's relaxing. My absolute favorite feature of Blogshelf, however, is blog discovery. The blog "store" is really awesome and I've discovered some great websites because of it.

Free - Download now

Instapaper, Pocket (formerly known as Read It Later), and Readability are all great ways to "read later", or time-shift the Web articles and other content you don't have time to read now. (Think of them as TiVo for the web.) Some are highly focused on text, others also prioritize photos and videos. Some are highly focused on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad only, others offer more cross-platform and Android support. Each one tries to solve the same problem -- letting you enjoy the content you want to enjoy, when you want to enjoy it -- but goes about it in a different way. So which one does it best, and for whom?

Note: Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability all have support for both iPhone and iPad but we're focusing exclusively on the iPhone versions for this shootout.

Reading is a personal experience for most of us, and one that should always be be enjoyable. More than likely, you'll want to kick back and relax while catching up on the day's stories. While content is king, the experience you get while interacting with that content can be just as important for most.

Instapaper approaches saving articles in a fairly straight-forward way -- the table view and the file system. You can create folders on your iPhone to categorize and archive articles. Tap into the section you'd like to view and tap on an article you'd like to read. Your top tab, labeled Read Later, is where you'll find all the articles you've saved to the service. Articles are displayed in an a stripped down format, devoid of ads and other cruft, and that makes them really easy to read.

Instapaper also integrates a feature called tilt scrolling that, as the name implies, will scroll the page up and down as you tilt your iPhone. Tab into font settings to switch from light and dark mode, change the font type (with some beautiful new typefaces to choose from), increase or decrease font size, change line spacing, and to widen or narrow margins. Overall, Instapaper does a good job of formatting articles nicely. I have run into a few issues with how it formats images or headers on websites which can be bothersome at times.

Readability approaches things a bit differently when it comes to menus and organization. The main home screen will aggregate a list of your saved content. Tapping on the reading list button will allow you to navigate to items you've marked as favorites or view archived articles.

Readability also allows you to switch between light and dark modes and change the font to customize the experience. Their font choices are beautiful but not always optimal for long form reading. Where Readability really shines, however, is how it makes sure the focus is on having a seamless reading experience. When you tap into an article all the menus and navigation options disappear, leaving you with nothing but the content you want in front of you. Tap anywhere on the screen to bring up the menus. Swipe to the right to bring up your main reading list again.

Pocket has newly designed interface to go with its new name. Just like Readability and Instapaper, you can change the margins, fonts, switch from dark to light mode, and customize the experience. But that's pretty much where the similarities end.

Pocket treats photos and videos as first-class citizens alongside articles. You can sort by articles that contain images, video, or just plain text articles. You can also bulk edit from the main screen. Simply tap the edit button and either trash articles, mark them as read, or tag them with categories.

When inside an article, Pocket allows you to quickly switch from a scaled down version and the full blown web version of a saved clip. And toggling between them is super fast. It's also great at rendering inline images, and is really smart about what content should and shouldn't be presented.

While all three have easy to use interfaces, their designs are very different. Instapaper is almost old-school in its presentation, but incredibly focused in its choices. Readability looks very good but the edge goes to Pocket which has the best mix of presentation of functionality. The ability to easily edit and sort articles is great and the interface is both powerful and accessible.

If you have multiple devices, whether it's an iPhone and iPad, or iPhone and Kindle Fire, or some other combination, being able to access the content you saved on the platforms you use is important. Here's what Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability support:

• iPhone
• iPad
• Kindle Fire

• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• Kindle Fire

• iPhone
• iPad
• Android
• Kindle Fire

Instapaper doesn't provide official support for Android and none of them seem to officially support BlackBerry or Windows Phone. So for now, it's a tie between Pocket and Readability as far as native mobile app support goes.

In order for a "read later" service to be of service, it has to be readily available from the apps you use all day. Because Instapaper, Pocket, and Readability have all been around for a while, in one form or another, you can find support for all three services in many of the most popular Twitter, RSS, and similar apps.

Tie.

Instapaper, Readability, and Pocket all provide web browser plug-ins to easily save content to read later, and all offer a web-based way to access this content when and where you want to access it. Just like the mobile apps, however, the experience will be different across each client.

Instapaper's website sticks to the standard table view of articles. Clicking one takes you to the full article. You can also choose to view a text version or to archive it. It gets the job done and does it well but just like the app, it isn't very exciting to look at.

Readability's website also provides an experience that's a closely tied to their iPhone app, and that makes it really usable. It doesn't hide navigation the way the website does, but due to the bigger canvas they have to work with, that's not a problem. You can find your main navigation off the to left and each article will have sharing options and edit options directly underneath it. Easy to use and easy to maintain.

Pocket's website also tries to be as close to the mobile experience as possible. At least when it comes to layout and format. You can, of course, view full blown articles but the layout feels very simliar. You actually don't even feel like you're on a website for the most part. It feels like you're browsing right from your phone but with the bigger screen real-estate of your computer monitor. Same functionality, same basic layout, just full blown articles.

Since the websites all mirror the apps to a greater or lesser degree, just like with the app, Pocket has the edge here.

If cost is a factor to you, you'll be happy to know that both Pocket and Readability are available for free. (At least up front, at least for now.)

Instapaper costs $4.99 but it's a universal app so you'll only need to purchase once. There's also an optional subscription service that offers additional functionality.

Readability also has a -- now optional, still controversial -- subscription service.

Some users will no doubt prefer the presumed security that comes from paying for an app or service, most just want free stuff, no questions asked.

Tie between Readability and Pocket.

While Instapaper vs Pocket vs Readability all have great native apps, fantastic web sites, and excellent services, they all come to the table with very different focuses and approaches.

Power iOS-only users might love Instapaper's thoughtful functionality and no-frills design, while cross-platform users might find it too austere and limited.

New users might take a liking to Readbility's good looks and high level of integration, while power users might find it a bit limited. (Their business model, which we won't get into here, is also a turn-off to some.)

Cross-platform and multimedia users might enjoy Pockets wider device support, slick interface, and first-class handling of photos and videos. Dedicated iOS-centric, article-centric users might not like the broader focus.

So which is the best?

Pocket.

The re-design brought with it much greater attention to detail and it really shows. Pocket provides the best design and user experience for the broadest base of users, both on the app and on the website.

If you're already all-in on Instapaper and video isn't a priority for you, there's no reason to switch to anything else. If you want more than articles, or you're new to the whole idea of "read later" and time-shifting content, give Pocket a go. It's free, so there's no risk to try it out, and you may be surprised how quickly you start saving things you happen upon on the web.

If you've been "reading later" for a while and have a personal preference, let us know why in our iPhone apps forum.

The Early Edition for iPad is the digital newspaper and RSS reader that launched alongside the iPad. Over the course of 12 months, Glasshouse Apps has redesigned it from the ground up and just released The Early Edition 2 - and we're gifting away 5 copies!

I wasn't a fan of the original Early Edition, but I am loving The Early Edition 2! The UI is gorgeous and the app runs nice and smooth on my iPad 2. Because of my love for eye candy, one of my favorite features is the manilla envelope that pops up when sharing an article to a social network and the "Shared Copy" stamp that appears just before it pops up.

• Dynamic Page Layout - Now sporting a gorgeous column-based page layout, The Early Edition 2 uses an algorithm to intelligently position stories based on their content. This means every page is now both beautiful and dynamic.
• Turning Pages - Page turns can now follow your finger which looks stunning. Or you can simply swipe horizontally or tap the edge of the page.
• Less Clutter, More Content - Our intuitive multitouch interface strips back visual clutter so you can focus on the news. The main newspaper view is now completely free of buttons in both orientations which means you can simply enjoy browsing and reading your paper.
• Go Offline - All images are now cached on the device so if you go out of network coverage, you still get the full reading experience. Also, you can choose to either load images in real-time while you navigate the paper or set it to preload all images. Preloading images is especially useful for Wifi iPads or use when a 3G network is unavailable such as flights.
• Images, In all their Glory - Double-tapping any image in the main paper view takes you to a swipeable gallery mode, perfect for photography, design or comic feeds. Swipe horizontally to view all the images in a single story or vertically to view images from the next or previous story.
• Search - The entire paper is now searchable. And if there are particular search terms you use frequently, you can save them for one-tap searching anytime in the future.
• Clippings - Sometimes there just isn't time to keep up with the flow of news pouring in. Now you can star stories as you browse, and they get sent straight to your Clippings shoebox for later reading.
• Featured Feeds - This is our curated list of suggestions for topics and news sources. From here you can preview and subscribe to interesting feeds that you may not have discovered yet.
• Gestures - We've implemented a lot of gestures to make navigating The Early Edition 2 both quick and amazingly fun to use.
• Power - The engine powering The Early Edition 2 has been completely re-written, making it faster and more memory efficient.

We like The Early Edition 2 so much, that TiPb is gifting it to 5 lucky readers! For a chance to win, just leave a comment below promising that you'll add TiPb to your RSS feed! Must have a valid US iTunes account to win. Apple's rule, not ours!

The Early Edition 2 for iPad is available for $4.99. This is not on update to the original app, so even if you previously purchased the original Early Edition, you must make a separate purchase for The Early Edition 2. The Early Edition 2 requires iOS 5.

[App Store link]

Have an app you'd love to see featured on TiPb? Email us at iosapps@tipb.com, tell us about your app (include an iTunes link), and we'll take a look.

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Have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and curious which are the best, most must-have RSS feed reading apps you need to check out? We've already covered readers in general, from eBooks to comics, but this time we really wanted to focus on RSS news. So if you want to keep your syndication really simple, and yourself up to date with the latest new, read on for TiPb's top 5 most recommended RSS feed readings apps for iOS.

NetNewsWire is the granddaddy of iOS RSS readers and is still a favorite for many. It syncs with Google Reader, and while in version past that was a laborious process, improvements to both the app and iOS have made it much smoother these days. It's now been given a whole new codebase and has been picked up by a new team of dedicated developers so its quite possible grandaddy might just become the new, fresh kid on the block as well.

Rather than a universal binary for both iPhone and iPad, NetNewsWire has separate apps for both. There is, however, a free version for iPhone with ads that you can try before you buy. If you want a great way to organize and chew through your Google Reader-synced RSS feeds, give NetNewsWire a look.

• Free - iPhone App Store link
• $4.99 - iPhone App Store link
• $9.99 - iPad App Store link

The Early Edition was one of the first RSS readers available for iPad when it launched and it's still iPad-exclusive to this day. Beautifully rendered in a newspaper-style motif, it won't sync with Google Reader but will import your feeds to get you started. You can flip pages in the same way you can in iBooks, and there's a familiar Action button to share your favorites.

Just like iPad itself, The Early Edition isn't meant to be an on-the-go, breaking news reader. It's meant for when you want to relax. When you have your feet up and a glass of wine or a latte close at hand. It's for when you have time to just enjoy your feeds.

• $4.99 - iPad App Store link

Reeder manages to sync with Google Reader but without the slowdown many other apps seem to experience. Indeed, for a sync-enabled app, it's smoking fast. It presents everything in a clean, clear interface that doesn't seek to ground you in tradition or wow you with modern effects.

If you just want to power through news on the go, get in, get informed, and get back out, Reeder is a great way to do just that. It's not a universal binary, however, which means you'll have to buy it separately for iPhone and for iPad.

• $4.99 - iPad App Store link
• $2.99 - iPhone App Store link

Flipboard is a fun, fancy way to not only keep up with your Google Reader RSS feeds, but also Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. And that's both a blessing and a curse. If all you want is your news, just the facts and fast, then Flipboard may be eye-candy-coated social overkill. However, if you prefer your news filtered through your social networks, if you value sharing as much as gathering, the Flipboard can be a blast.

Because of all of the above, it feels better suited for quickly glancing through tons of content than for deep diving and focusing on news reading, but it's also free so you have nothing to lose by trying it. Except your time...

• Free - iPad App Store link

When Pulse debuted it seemed like the RSS feed reader someone in the Star Trek universe would use. Geometric, colorful, and elegant its a mosaic view of your news and a great way to browse all the laster stories. Pulse doesn't sync with Google Reader but rather lets you import your feeds so you start off with the sites you want, where you want them.

While Pulse isn't a universal binary for iPhone and iPad, it is free so there's no pain or price involved in trying it out on all your iOS devices.

• Free - iPhone App Store link
• Free - iPad App Store link

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best RSS feed reader apps to get you going. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPad App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!