If by this time you are still mourning the demise of Google Reader and you don’t have a proper replacement yet, this app will try to be the one. NewsBlur attempts to become the app that will try to make sense of all the websites, articles and information that is available on the Internet. Having a proper news reader is very important to keep you updated while not going into information overload.
The developer of NewsBlur promises that this is just the beginning as they will be bringing more improvements as time goes by. It will keep all your RSS feeds in one place and updates which one you’ve read or haven’t yet. And even when you’re offline, you can still read your feeds and then sync them again once you have a connection again. You can also save stories so you can go back to them when you need them, even after they’ve already been marked read.
The app also brings a more social context to reading the latest news. Aside from the usual sharing options on your social networks, it also encourages you to comment on what you’re reading,rather than just sharing it without your opinion. It also gives you the chance to meet fellow NewsBlur users who share the same interest as you so you can exchange comments,other links, etc.
In terms of visual style, there is an option called River of news where you can see stories from several news feeds in just one glance. But you also have multiple viewing options, including dark mode for reading during the night. You can download NewsBlur for free from the Google Play Store.
I tried NewsBlur, but Feedly just works better for my needs. It has all the features mentioned above, and includes a heck of a lot more.
Android only? What happens if I wanna read my feeds on my laptop?
Well you would go to their web interface, of course. Who said it was Android only?
I’ve been using NewsBlur ever since Google Reader was taken down. At that time, I tried the various alternatives and NewsBlur felt the closest to the way that Google Reader worked. It suits my needs just fine, and I check it several times a day both through the web browser and the Android app.