This review originally appeared within iLounge’s iOS Gems series within the compilation article, iPhone Gems: Every RSS Reader, Reviewed. Additional details may be found in the original article.
Feeds ($2) is a fairly straightforward, standalone RSS reader for iPhone and iPod touch. After waiting through an unnecessary splash screen, users are presented with a list of subscribed feeds, along with a starred items option at the top of the list and an add feed button.
Luckily, Feeds does offer auto-discovery of feed URLs, so the user need only enter the main domain for the feed they’re searching for. A selection of sixteen feeds, listed only by favicon, sits below the URL text field on the add feed screen.
Tapping a feed takes the user to a list of recent entries, with unread items in black text and read items in grey, all listed with the date, time, and title.
The individual entry view shows the title at the top in a nice-looking blue box, with the summary directly below, and buttons at the bottom to email a link to the story, star the item, or open the story in Safari — Feeds lacks a built-in browser. Offering the ability to view individual feeds, the option to star or flag items, and auto-discovery of feeds, we feel that Feeds provides enough value at its $2 price point to be worthy of our general recommendation. The addition of syncing, offline browsing options, and a built-in browser would make it even better.
