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EricJD

macrumors regular
Original poster
Aug 15, 2007
169
0
I'm looking for a good RSS app. Free would be nice, but I don't mind spending a few bucks for more functionality. The main feature I need is to be able to sync a number of feeds so I can read them when I don't have an internet connection (iPod Touch). Is Web Feeds good?
 

leeus

macrumors member
May 4, 2005
33
4
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

I find manifesto the best, have been through a few. Byline is a close second.
 

alones

macrumors newbie
Feb 11, 2009
24
0
Seoul, Korea
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5H11 Safari/525.20)

I find manifesto the best, have been through a few. Byline is a close second.

Does Manifesto download images for users to see them offline?
As you know, Byline has too many bugs. Is Manifesto stable and less buggy than Byline?
 

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
Excuse me. Byline has ZERO bugs. I almost exclusively use my iPhone as a feed reader and Byline is exactly what you're asking for. I just sync over wifi in the morning and read in Airplane Mode during the day.
 

alones

macrumors newbie
Feb 11, 2009
24
0
Seoul, Korea
Excuse me. Byline has ZERO bugs. I almost exclusively use my iPhone as a feed reader and Byline is exactly what you're asking for. I just sync over wifi in the morning and read in Airplane Mode during the day.

Hum.. When "Show" is more 100, it seems that sync does not work rightly.
Moreover, even if I read some articles, sometimes they are marked as unread when I re-launch Byline.

And.. there are some annoying things.
The position of a cell which I read in the list is not memorized.
I hope there is an option to turn off the function of downloading images.

I think the stable sync functionality is the best important point to consider!
 

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
Hum.. When "Show" is more 100, it seems that sync does not work rightly.
Moreover, even if I read some articles, sometimes they are marked as unread when I re-launch Byline.

And.. there are some annoying things.
The position of a cell which I read in the list is not memorized.
I hope there is an option to turn off the function of downloading images.

I think the stable sync functionality is the best important point to consider!

I can't imagine using an RSS Reader that doesn't sync both ways with Google Reader. It would be worthless.
 

tonez

macrumors newbie
Jan 24, 2009
12
0
FEEDS is pretty nice. That's what I use. I'm not a die-hard rss user, but it seems to be a pretty well rounded app for the power users.
 

nachtxeule

macrumors member
Oct 21, 2008
46
0
byline is the best reader, syncs with google reader.

works widescreen, works with stars, loads fast, loads pictures, loads app browser, loads safari if the app browser blows ass.

2nd best is newsstand.
 

Ashyukun

macrumors 6502
Jul 19, 2008
265
1
We looked at RSS readers a few shows back, and put together a spreadsheet comparing their features, though some of our thoughts on them have changed a bit since then- I still primarily use Newsstand while Kevin has warmed up a lot more to Byline. The prices have also changed on some of them since the spreadsheet was put together...
 

nutsnbolts

macrumors 6502
Aug 11, 2008
312
0
I say the top 3 right now is the following:

Byline
Feeds
Newsstand

The difference between the three is simple the following.

1. If you use Google reader, newsstand is out of the question, in terms of sync'ng with it. Yes, you can import your feeds into Newstand but it's more of a standalone RSS reader.

2. Newstand is by far the best looking app, and functionality wise, very robust, however, once again it's a standalone application.

3. If you're a Google Reader user, then Byline and Feeds are your best bet. Between the two, there are subtle differences which at some point in the future will probably match each other in functionalities. They both sync with Google Reader, both application can "STAR" an item, one can allows you to add/sync NOTES, both allows you to email the Feed, etc.

The bottom line is that both are relatively competitive and depending on the user, will choose one over the other and be happy with it. As stated before, there will be some point where both application will incorporate a functionality that one has over the other and will probably be a toss up based on the look and feel and not Functionalities. (that's just how these application in the appstore evolves).

Lastly, if you really want to compare apples to apples, Byline is a bit ahead of Feeds in that from a functionality perspective have tackled most "sync" capabilities than Feeds and combined with "Offline mode" that Byline has, makes it relatively top notch. However, that is not without consequences. Feeds, on the other hand, is faster than Byline. (Due to the offline capabilities of Byline that requires "extra" polling or whatever you want to call it).

So as you can see, each user will have to choose what's most important to them at this point in time.

Another example I should throw out there is that Byline doesn't have subfolder structure. In other words, if you have your Feeds in folders such as below...

Technology
>>>>>>>Macrumors
>>>>>>>Engadget

In Byline, the feeds from Macrumors and Engadget are mixed in versus the ability to drill down with subfolders that Feeds have accomplished. This is an annoyance to me simple the fact that if I want to read "macrumors" feeds, there is really no easy way.

BUT....

As part of app evolution, this is going to be addressed by Byline in their next release (sometime in April, hopefully).

Confused yet. hahaha. :)

What about the other RSS feeds such as iNews, Newsgator app, etc. ?

They all perform well but not as robust and as refined as the top 3 I mentioned. Of course, you will have happy users for these other applications but in a general consensus (I say this loosely), the top 3 is what I mentioned above.
 

gowanis

macrumors 6502
Sep 22, 2007
413
7
Please, people. FEEDS DOES NOT sync properly with Google in its current state. The unread count does not match and there are all kinds of sync bugs. Byline is better, but I have had some sync problems. As stated by others, it does not yet drill down to individual feeds.

Gazette is still my choice. It is SLOW to sync with Google, but it works.
 

SFC Archer

macrumors 68000
Nov 9, 2007
1,742
0
Troy, MT
We looked at RSS readers a few shows back, and put together a spreadsheet comparing their features, though some of our thoughts on them have changed a bit since then- I still primarily use Newsstand while Kevin has warmed up a lot more to Byline. The prices have also changed on some of them since the spreadsheet was put together...

Great Spreadsheet and review...however, request that you open up the comments to fill the cell as I cannot see the full posted comments.

Nuts & Bolts...Have to totally agree with you on your evaluation. I however continue to use Gazette because of the sub-folder issue with Byline. Gazette is slower but I would rather have slow then all of my feeds mixed together like some fruit salad. I still have Byline in my iTunes and when/if they change this feature...may go back. If Gazette gets faster on download then I will keep it as it is fully featured and works great.
 

sallythemac

macrumors 6502
Jun 16, 2008
274
8
If you don't use Google Reader, then Pro RSS Reader. If you use Google Reader, i use feeds. However, i will be switching straight back to Pro RSS Reader when they add Google Reader sync.
 

alones

macrumors newbie
Feb 11, 2009
24
0
Seoul, Korea
Please, people. FEEDS DOES NOT sync properly with Google in its current state. The unread count does not match and there are all kinds of sync bugs. Byline is better, but I have had some sync problems. As stated by others, it does not yet drill down to individual feeds.

Gazette is still my choice. It is SLOW to sync with Google, but it works.

Yes you're right!. Byline's sync problem make me crazy. See the high price of the app!!. I'll try Gazette as you mentioned.

I think performance is not point. while we sleep, it can work for us.
 

nutsnbolts

macrumors 6502
Aug 11, 2008
312
0
If you guys don't know here are the expected changes that Byline is expecting to release on the next versions.

Byline Google Group

On the other hand, Gazette is a perfect example of an app that is evolving. I would or can say that Gazette is a good contender along with the top 3 that i have mentioned earlier.
 
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