Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Newsie - RSS Addicts Need Apply Within

ntrigue

ntrigue

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Jul 30, 2007
3,805
4
A developer has finally ousted Newsstand and Byline from the throne.

Newsie is an outstanding RSS Reader that is sleek, speedy and responsive to users.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/newsie/id333407236?mt=8

-Google Sync
-Offline (Starred Items cached)
-Instapaper Support
-Tweetie 2 Support
-Quirky, attractive interface
-Slide to Star (much like Tweetie)
-Stable already no crashes

I have several pages of RSS Apps and $3.99 is a steal.

attention-image.jpg
 
I look at the first picture on the iTunes page, and I honestly can't tell what's happening. Is it showing a gesture of something?

I just switched from Byline to Reeder due to Byline's continued lack of Instapaper support and couldn't be too much happier.
 
Screen shots look pretty bad. I just switched from byline to reeder. This isn't tempting me to spend my $3.99.
 
PBF said:
:)
Click to expand...

I got that. :) It's the little circle with a green dot that says Mark as read. It's on top of or behind text and sort of awkward looking. I really need to see a video or something I think, but they don't have one on the site.

Either way. I'm really happy with Reeder now and won't switch again I don't think.
 
TonyL08 said:
I got that. :) It's the little circle with a green dot that says Mark as read. It's on top of or behind text and sort of awkward looking. I really need to see a video or something I think, but they don't have one on the site.

Either way. I'm really happy with Reeder now and won't switch again I don't think.
Click to expand...
Gotcha. You know I've been looking at the exact same icon trying to decipher it and finally did: the green dot is part of the unread article, and the white circle is there to mark it as read. It does look kinda weird with all them transparent layers. Should have been just like Tweetie with opaque overlays.
 
PBF said:
Gotcha. You know I've been looking at the exact same icon trying to decipher it and finally did: the green dot is part of the unread article, and the white circle is there to mark it as read. It does look kinda weird with all them transparent layers. Should have been just like Tweetie with opaque overlays.
Click to expand...

You're right. I see it now. I wonder if the screen shot was taken while the layer was sliding off or something. To show how it moves, but badly. It's really confusing just looking at it. Especially with the translucent white bar to the left of the star. Very strange looking and really needs video to show what's going on.
 
Anyway, I've added this and Reeder to my AppShopper Wish List. For now I'm sticking with Byline and patiently waiting for its major 3.0 update.

TonyL08 said:
I look at the first picture on the iTunes page, and I honestly can't tell what's happening. Is it showing a gesture of something?
Click to expand...
Tony, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioUttzWGKuQ

I'm really digging that sliding feature. Now the infamous screenshot makes total sense. LOL.
 
PBF said:
Tony, check this out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ioUttzWGKuQ

I'm really digging that sliding feature. Now the infamous screenshot makes total sense. LOL.
Click to expand...

That's actually pretty cool. If I hadn't just bought Reeder, I'd snag it just to try it out.

The Reeder dev just told me over Twitter that their going to wrap the text of new item tittles in the next update and that their working on some sort of slide to mark read/unread, which were my only two problems with the app.
 
I hate this app. Far too many buttons and widgets need to be pressed to read the news. Too many animations, etc.

I prefer to read by category, so I have to hit filter, pick the appropriate tab. Reeder just starts out that way. In this app I have to hit another little button and suffer an animation to get past the summary. To mark all read I have to scroll to the bottom. Yuck.

Lots of flash, but reeder is much easier to use.
 
I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but it's only $3.99!

I paid $9.99 for Byline and $4.99 for Newsstand. I'd sacrifice my Starbucks coffee for Newsie a dozen times over.

Full disclosure: I did have a two crashes total since purchase (10 hours usage) but support was proactive.
 
ntrigue said:
I know this has been beaten like a dead horse but it's only $3.99!

I paid $9.99 for Byline and $4.99 for Newsstand. I'd sacrifice my Starbucks coffee for Newsie a dozen times over.

Full disclosure: I did have a two crashes total since purchase (10 hours usage) but support was proactive.
Click to expand...

Reeder is $1.99, and doesn't look like someone just regurgitated up every UI widget they could think of. For that matter, byline is only $3.99, and also is far easier to use for just ordinary reading of feeds.
 
I wanted to agree with all the seniments regarding Reeder; terrific App and superior UI.

The huge 'but' is that there is no offline access. I need to be able to sync 200+ feeds in the morning and read while in Airplane Mode throughout the day.

Am I missing something?
 
ntrigue said:
I wanted to agree with all the seniments regarding Reeder; terrific App and superior UI.

The huge 'but' is that there is no offline access. I need to be able to sync 200+ feeds in the morning and read while in Airplane Mode throughout the day.

Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

yeah, if you want off-line access you'll need a different app.
 
OK, I took the plunge and bought both Newsie and Reeder. My verdict: I wasted $4 and found another great RSS app for $2.

Newsie is too complicated and generally user-unfriendly. The sliding feature is cool but not so perfect because you have to be careful as to how far to slide your finger in order to star or mark as read. You can't just swipe away. In short, the user interface is unnecessarily cluttered.

Now, the Reeder is what I've been looking for. It instantly replaced Byline for me (well, at least until Byline's 3.0 update in December). The UI is so simple and intuitive. It delivers nicely. Perfect!
 
I am also looking for the best RSS app with google sync. So far I like MobileRSS the best over Byline and Newsstand. Just tried Reeder and it is nice but still prefer MobileRSS. There is also a free version of MobileRSS for anyone who wants to try it out.
 
PBF said:
OK, I took the plunge and bought both Newsie and Reeder. My verdict: I wasted $4 and found another great RSS app for $2.

Newsie is too complicated and generally user-unfriendly. The sliding feature is cool but not so perfect because you have to be careful as to how far to slide your finger in order to star or mark as read. You can't just swipe away. In short, the user interface is unnecessarily cluttered.

Now, the Reeder is what I've been looking for. It instantly replaced Byline for me (well, at least until Byline's 3.0 update in December). The UI is so simple and intuitive. It delivers nicely. Perfect!
Click to expand...

+1

After 5 hours with Reeder.
 
BD1 said:
I am also looking for the best RSS app with google sync. So far I like MobileRSS the best over Byline and Newsstand. Just tried Reeder and it is nice but still prefer MobileRSS. There is also a free version of MobileRSS for anyone who wants to try it out.
Click to expand...
One thing I hate about Byline (and MobileRSS looking at its screenshots): the placement of next/prev buttons. How am I supposed to reach them with my thumb while holding the iPhone in the left hand??? Exactly! It's very awkward!
 
Hmmm, wondering how come I've not seen Reeder mentioned before this thread - just bought, tried and I LOVE it. Used Byline, Newstand, Feeds, iNewz, you name it I've tried it.

Reeder is finally the "Tweetie" standard for RSS apps and it's only on v1.1 - I've suggested a few improvements to the author so expect to see it rapidly overtake the competition. Fast and beautiful to use and look at.

Thanks for the heads-up on that one guys!
 
I have only two complaints about reeder - sometimes the UITableView doesn't refresh after it syncs, and I'd prefer it if the titles wrapped.

But I've bought all of the RSS apps discussed in this thread, and the one I currently use is reeder.
 
My biggest complaint about any app besides NNW is that they don't sync read items unless you sync again.

NetNewsWire actually marks each item as read as you read them. So I can read some stuff, quit the app and those items are synced.

With Newsie or Reeder or Byline you read something and you want it marked as read on Google Reader then you need to actually sync before you quit. That is the one big reason why I stay with NetNewsWire.
 
cmaier said:
I have only two complaints about reeder - sometimes the UITableView doesn't refresh after it syncs, and I'd prefer it if the titles wrapped.

But I've bought all of the RSS apps discussed in this thread, and the one I currently use is reeder.
Click to expand...

The developer says wrapped tittles is coming in the next update.
 
IronLogik said:
My biggest complaint about any app besides NNW is that they don't sync read items unless you sync again.

NetNewsWire actually marks each item as read as you read them. So I can read some stuff, quit the app and those items are synced.

With Newsie or Reeder or Byline you read something and you want it marked as read on Google Reader then you need to actually sync before you quit. That is the one big reason why I stay with NetNewsWire.
Click to expand...

This hasn't been my experience. When I read an item in Reeder or Byline, it's marked read and sync'd immediately. With Byline, if you don't want to actually have to read it, you can swipe across the tittle and it'll mark as read and sync. When I return to Google Reader, those items don't show up in my unread count. I never have to manually tap the sync button unless I've read everything and want to check for more.
 
TonyL08 said:
This hasn't been my experience. When I read an item in Reeder or Byline, it's marked read and sync'd immediately. With Byline, if you don't want to actually have to read it, you can swipe across the tittle and it'll mark as read and sync. When I return to Google Reader, those items don't show up in my unread count. I never have to manually tap the sync button unless I've read everything and want to check for more.
Click to expand...

Just tested it across all 3 clients that I have

NNW: Synced without "syncing"

Reeder: Works 50/50. Sometimes it works, others it doesn't. Must be a bug.

Byline: Synced without "syncing"

NNW did it perfectly every time and just plain works.

That leaves only two main problems. Reeder is terrible in terms of color choice. It's difficult to see what has been read and what hasn't.

Byline is just plain ugly in my opinion. NNW is lightweight and just works. I'm sticking to it. Just my opinion afterall.
 
IronLogik said:
Just tested it across all 3 clients that I have

NNW: Synced without "syncing"

Reeder: Works 50/50. Sometimes it works, others it doesn't. Must be a bug.

Byline: Synced without "syncing"

NNW did it perfectly every time and just plain works.

That leaves only two main problems. Reeder is terrible in terms of color choice. It's difficult to see what has been read and what hasn't.

Byline is just plain ugly in my opinion. NNW is lightweight and just works. I'm sticking to it. Just my opinion afterall.
Click to expand...

For a time, Byline didn't work for me. But it has for a while now. This is a time when having 100k apps comes in handy. Plenty of solutions for the same problem.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back