iPhone app: NetNewsWire 2.0 plays well with others
It wasn’t long ago that pundits fervently believed that really simply syndication (RSS) would take over content delivery. Although that revolution failed to materialize, whether you’re just a news junkie or journalist, there’s still no better way to stay up-to-date.
I’ve been a NetNewsWire for Mac user for years — there’s no better way to get up to speed with the news. Now, with the release of NetNewsWire 2.0 for iPhone and iPod touch, I can feed my nose for news without pulling out my beloved yet big MacBook.
Available in free, ad-supported and premium ($1.99, no ads) versions, NetNewsWire 2.0 for iPhone relies on Google Reader syncing to keep your feeds updated across multiple devices. That said, folks that don’t have a Google account will need to sign up.
Syncing NetNewsWire on my iPod touch via the cloud with that application and all of my existing subscriptions was a snap and took just moments. That said, I did need to update to the latest version of NetNewsWire for Mac, which you can get by either clicking “Check for Updates within the application or by visiting the NewsGator website.
See also: NetNewsWire 3.2 for Mac delivers Google Reader synchronization
Scanning headlines and reading stories in NetNewsWire 2.0 for iPhone is quite simple with users presented with a Homescreen that lists your news groups (if any) and individual subscriptions, and then ⓵ individual feed view, ⓶ story summary view and ⓷ share view.
In story summary view, you can choose to mark individual items for reading later, like when you’re back at your desktop, or choose to share an article via email, twitter or instapaper. There’s also an option for opening stories in Safari — it would be nice if iPhone OS 3.1 allowed users to choose another default browser, iCab Mobile being perhaps best available.
Aside from choosing to list news items at the top of the page or bottom of the page, there aren’t any preferences in NetNewsWire 2.0 for iPhone. Also, there’s no way for you to choose NNN as your default RSS reader and there’s no way to even copy and paste new feeds in, which is an irritant, as well.
My last quibble is the lack of a “Home” button to take back to the group/subscription view, rather than back tracking one level at a time — there’s plenty of space at the bottom of the screen for one.
The advertisements in the free version (see the arrow in ⓵ above) aren’t intrusive and aren’t display in story view, which is a thoughtful touch. Of course, if you consider any advertisement an irritant, then the $1.99 asking price for the “premium” version is particularly egregious.
Still, this application is responsive and stable, and it has earned a place of pride on my iPod touch’s first homescreen…
What’s your favorite RSS reader for the iPhone?
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September 24th, 2009
Thanks for checking out NetNewsWire!
A couple quick things:
1. NetNewsWire does have preferences — but they’re not in the app, they’re in Settings. (I know, that can be easy to miss. But they’re not things you’d change often.)
2. About not having a home button — Apple has told iPhone developers not do that. So we don’t.
September 24th, 2009
“aside from choosing to list news items at the top of the page or bottom of the page, there aren’t any preferences in NetNewsWire 2.0 for iPhone”
Yup, saw it. Just didn’t express it all that well.