Google Reader closed its virtual doors on July 2nd, becoming one of the largest Google services to get the axe. In the weeks leading up to its closure, several alternative RSS solutions emerged, hoping to win over the millions of people looking for a new Reader. But with literally dozens of entrants, it’s now much more difficult to find the right solution for your needs.
We’ve tested all of the top solutions currently available and have selected the four best services for you. These are fully featured solutions, meaning you can manage them both from the Web and from Android or iOS apps. Here are our top four Google Reader alternatives.
Feedly's one of the best options who need one reader on all their devices. Feedly has finally rolled out its web-based reader in addition to standard Android and iOS apps. It's well designed, but it's a bit more like a newspaper than the constant-flow-of-feeds-to-my-faaaaace Google Reader. But it's free, and Feedly has been out there saying a transition from Google Reader will be "seamless."
Digg's Reader hasn't come out quite yet, but so far it's looking mighty fine, the grand hope of post-Google readers possibly. Interface-wise, it's as clean and simple as you'd hope for, but it also comes with a few, tiny bonus features like a built-in Instapaper button, and full-on Digg thumbs-up, thumbs-down integration. It's still anyone's game, but those subtle social hooks could make Digg a winner.
Weird to see AOL popping back on the scene, but AOL Reader is stripped down, simple, and fast. All things you want from your Google Reader replacement. There's nothing too new here, but it's not busted either, and i'll come with a full suite of apps for iOS and Android. It's definitely worth a look.
NewsBlur's got a solid, Google Reader-esque web app you can try out on the spot if you hop over to their site. And, if you're a mobile user, it also has an Android app as well as iOS versions for the iPhone and iPad. Free accounts max out at 64 feeds, which won't be enough for a real power user, but a real, unlimited subscription is only $1 a month.
This basically is Google Reader; the interface is practically identically. And you can login right with your Google account import feeds that way, though The Old Reader claims it's flooded at the moment, and won't let you. The downside here is that there are no apps (yet) and social integration is only available by connecting through Facebook. But it's great as a bare-bones replacement for web-use.
NetVibes is a web reader with some powerful customization options. Like any good RSS reader, you can resort to a pure feed approach, but NetVibes also has a dashboard setting that allows you to create and organize "widgets" for specific feeds and folders and move them around. The downside is that there aren't any mobile apps, so you'll be tied to your computer.
Pulse (Android) is a flashy, stylish reader that supports the use of multiple columns to organize. And it looks as stunning on your Nexus as it does in your browser.
While a mobile app an never fully fill the hole Google Reader leaves in your desktop browser, Flipboard (Android, iOS) is another great, magazine-like mobile option for folks whose feeds are image-heavy. It's so pretty you might just forgive it for not living on your laptop.
Zite (Android, iOS) boasts a clean newspapery look with an option for straight-up feed view. Perfect for people who keep their RSS on a second screen.
It's by no means a perfect replacement, but it might be able to fill part of the hole depending on your use-case. Twitter doesn't have an "unread" state, so it's only good for here-and-now developements, but many outlets user their Twitters a glorified RSS feeds anyway, and there's no shortage of mobiles apps, for now anyway. If you're a light RSS user, and a heavy Twitter user, you might be able to work something out. Maybe.
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