Reeder.app has finally arrived at the Mac App Store. It took 17 drafts of a 1.0 release before Reeder.app came out of beta but as of today you can purchase the RSS reader app for $9.99.
Although the app was only released today, June 9th, Reeder has already clocked up 49 ratings in the Mac App Store and they are all 5 star ratings.
Very impressive.
Reader.app requires you to login using your Google Reader account and it delivers your news using a intuitive design-centric, and stylistic approach.
Reeder.app is the most stunning RSS reader you are ever likely to use on OS X. It’s a stark contrast to the web interface that you are subject to if you use Google Reader in the browser. If you’re a Google Reader user and you think their web interface is pretty and does its job, then you will either think Reeder.app is ugly (in that case you need a reality check) or you will be blown away by its visual and functional beauty.
Reeder uses a three column view that lists your subscriptions in the left column, followed by the latest posts from a source in the center column, and finally the news item in the largest pane. You can quickly and easily jump between posts and news sources and even search across all of your subscriptions for news.
You can also directly subscribe to and unsubscribe from RSS feeds within the app and even create folders for bundling topical sites together. Reeder.app makes it so that you never have to visit the Google Reader website ever again (a small victory!).
Borrowing a popular phrase, I can tell you that Reeder “just works”. One of the things that just works is the integration with the likes of Twitter, Delicious, Instapaper, and ReadItLater. You can choose to add 13 social quick links to your toolbar and quickly share news on social networks.
By default, Reeder.app is set to refresh (sync) your news manually but you can change this within the apps’ preferences under syncing. From within preferences you can also setup trackpad and mouse gestures to easily navigate between articles. You can also setup a near endless amount of shortcuts on your keyboard.
Some of the other features include:
- Syncs with your Google Reader account
- Full readability.com integration
- Customizable interface
- Gestures
- Customizable shortcuts
Verdict
There is only a few apps that can grab my attention the way Reeder has. It’s a simple, lightweight, gorgeous RSS reader that makes the Google Reader interface look like something a 5 year old created. If you’re looking for a seriously amazing RSS reader, then Reeder.app is where your search starts and ends.
Rating: 5/5
If you have used Reeder.app beta, you will need to drag the beta version to your trash before purchasing the full version from the Mac App Store.
Buy Reeder.app from the Mac App Store for $9.99.
Pros
- Beautiful.
- It just works.
- Customizable interface.
- Different sized reading panes.
- Twitter and other social sites integrated very well.
Cons
- No Facebook integration that lets you share news on your Facebook wall.
