AOL Reader
Google Reader was one of those products
that you either loved to use, or knew nothing about. If you work in
technology, media, news or any field that requires you to keep
abreast of lots of information constantly, nothing beats a good RSS
reader, and Google Reader was seen by many as the best option.
Unfortunately, Google announced a while back that they would be
killing this product. Google Reader reaches end of life this week.
Many other companies have worked on
alternatives to try and create a feed reader that could bring over
the users of Google Reader, including Digg which launched their own
app in close beta last week. But one entry that came in completely
unsuspectingly and is now available to all in beta form is the AOL
Reader. This is a web based reader app that can import your Google
feed and add any site you wish to follow. By logging in with your
AOL, Twitter, Google or Facebook account, you can sign in and access
the latest information from your feed.
The AOL Reader interface is
surprisingly well designed, and it includes options that Google
Reader didn’t have, such as how your feeds are displayed. You can
view a list, cards or the full information. The site also adapts very
well to mobile browsers and AOL promises an upcoming iOS and Android
native app. On the negative side, while this web app is free, AOL
does push some of its own content properties inside of it. For
example, when you add a feed, it will recommend that you also add
some sites that are owned by AOL. Still, if you’re looking for a web
based solution for your daily news, you might want to give this one a
try.
