Gerry Moth from NokiAAddict brought us news yesterday that a Google Reader version for the iPhone has been released, and that he is using it on the N800 and N810 tablets because it’s faster than the full browser. I decided to check it on my N95-1, out of curiosity and was in for a real nice surprise.
The ordinary Google Reader mobile (ie the wap-like version that looks like it got out of a history book) is very cluttered and not so easy on the eyes. The items appear as a list below each other, with no real separation and no visual aid. Plus, there is no way I could get it to show my subscriptions in folders, like on the computer. When I click on subscriptions, I get the shared items and an excruciatingly long list of feed titles, with the ones that have been updated up top and in bold.
Now with Google Reader for the iPhone, the situation is different. By choosing a zoom level of 75%, I can easily browse the new items, with a great amount of separation, which makes each title individualized with a small snippet. By pressing on “Feeds”, I go to my subscriptions, where not only I have my feeds grouped by folders, but I also have the same layout as on the computer, ie : my shared items, friend’s items, my starred items, my tags, and my folders. Awesome! Also I get to choose whether I show only my updated feeds or all my feeds. The only thing I could find missing is the ability to star items, for now I have to deal with just keeping them unread. Edit: Scratch that, Gerry has just posted his own opinion of iPhone Google Reader on the N95 8GB, and he said that pressing next to an item’s title will make the star appear. I tried it, and it works: this is a screenshot so you can see where exactly to press.
In any case, I made a small video (I am experimenting with Mobiola Remote Phone Control) to show you the difference so you can judge by yourself. Unfortunately, you can’t see the cursor in the browser so you have no idea what i’m pressing on, but try to guess, it’s not that difficult. Oh and there is no sound, so don’t go thinking there’s something wrong with your speakers.
