Feedlounge RSS Reader Review

There are generally two species of RSS Readers. Web based readers (Bloglines, Pluck, Rojo, Newsgator) provide the ability to read RSS content via a web browser. Client readers (Abilon, FeedDemon) are RSS applications that are installed locally on a PC. The two main goals of RSS Readers has been 1) the ability to read content from any computer and maintain individualized settings and 2) provide a quality reading experience and user interface.

Web based readers made it easy for users to stay in tune with their subscribed content via any computer with an Internet connection. However, a large problem has been has been speed. Also, some of these interfaces were clunky at best.

Client readers excelled at providing a quality reading experience. They are fast and the interface is “pretty”. However, the downside is their inability to be used from computer to computer.

There have been several attempts to marry both goals. The Newsgator/FeedDemon partnership allowed users to get the best of both worlds. Users could use the speedier client, yet could still keep up on the their content (which was synched to their client reader) via the Newsgator website while away from their main computer. Pluck integrates a “client” within the actual browser while maintaining a web based reader. Blogbridge installs a lite java client on any machine accessing it and synchs them together via their web server.

I mention all of this to say that I believe a more perfect marriage of those two goals has been met in Feedlounge.

I admit I was skeptical while waiting for the public release. When it was finally released last week, I wasn’t incredibly impressed. It looked pretty much like any other RSS Reader.

However, it took a day of playing around with it to truly begin to understand how different it was from the rest of the crowd. Feedlounge is a web based reader with a fast and pretty interface.

• Web based. It can be accessed from any computer with an internet connection. Read some posts at work, and pick up at home with no problem.
• Nothing to download. There is absolutely nothing to download with Feedlounge. No browser integration, no lite client, no full client.
• Speed. Unlike other web based readers which have to refresh the browser with almost every single action, there is none of that with Feedlounge. It behaves like a full client. One forgets it is actually a web application.
• Speed. I mention this again because it is so important!!! It is quick. Actions are performed quickly. Content appears quickly.
• Automatically Updates. Feedlounge goes out and updates content on a regular basis. While leaving the browser open, users can do other tasks and return to Feedlounge to find new content ready to be read without having to refresh the browser.
• Post Title URL’s are the actual permalink. In a few RSS readers, especially web based ones, the Post Title URL is actually the readers own redirect to the permalink. It is not the permalink itself. In Feedlounge, the link IS the permalink. A simple right click and Copy Shortcut and the URL can be snagged. No need to actually visit the post page and then grab the correct URL.
• Three Ways to view the news. Two Column Split, Three Column, or River of News. Personally I like the River of News.
• Clarity of functionality. Buttons are labeled clearly. Nothing is hidden or buried.
• Organization is based on tags. Feeds themselves can be tagged to create the “directory” structure. Posts can be tagged in separate filing system.
• Posts can be flagged to be read later.
• Feeds are updated based on the average time between posts. Some feeds will update every 30 mins. Some will update every day. Some every few days.
• The interface is “pretty”: easy to use, nice to look at. I would possibly change the font.
• Inserted pictures are clear. There is little distortion of picture or text (its not perfect, but this is generally true).
• Speed (yes I mention it again). For the professional who has lots of feeds to keep on top of, the speed of Feedlounge will be the biggest asset.

The one downside is the cost. I questioned this in a previous post. The cost is $5/month. There will be a free version offered at some point. So for the beginner, it is best to hold off until the free version is released. For the advanced power user, sign up now, and give it a test run. While the $5/month will occur automatically, users can cancel anytime. Again, for the power user, it is worth the initial $5 to test it out.

Features I would like to see:

• Feed AutoDiscovery Simply enter a URL and Feedlounge can locate the feed. No need to have the exact feed URL. Along with this, remove the need to enter http:// at the beginning of a URL.
• Ability to change the font. Some fonts are easier to read than others. Readability is subjective however. Giving users the ability to change fonts allows them to choose a level of comfortable readability.
• Smart Feeds take a collection of feeds, filter the collection by keyword to produce a new feed. This is useful not only for sorting out content, but also has applications for feed republishing.

Feedlounge has had its share of bug reports in its first days. However, a huge amount of credit needs to go to the Feedlounge team for being prepared. There is a forum for bug reporting and general discussion about Feedlounge. There is a very helpful FAQ. I can tell that they have taken every effort to be prepared for the release. It shows. What shows as well is their dedication to fixing bugs that users have reported. I had written down a few bugs yesterday. Others, obviously, had already reported them, for by the end of the afternoon today, I noticed several were already fixed.

Look for added functionally over the coming year. In a crowded market, it can be hard to be excited about any new additions. I believe power users have something to be excited about in Feedlounge.

01.20.2006 @ 5:10 PM — Filed under:

• RSS Solutions

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