With Google taking over the world, its Reader has become a popular destination for keeping up-to-date on news and feeds. But Google doesn’t offer an official iPhone app for gReader, instead, it has its users rely on its mobile site, which can be sluggish. The iPhone App Store has a few options for gReader apps, but newcomer Newsie is the best I’ve seen.
Newsie ($3.99) is lightning fast, and one of its best features is its support of offline reading. You can save items to Instapaper, or you can star items in app. Starred items can be found under a convenient tab at the bottom of the screen, and the item’s summary page displays instantly. Getting to the cached version of the original source is a little trickier if you’re offline: Don’t tap the original button — you’ll just get a network error. Instead, hit the green paper clip at the top of the screen. The load of the original source is a little slow, but it’s better than nothing.
The reason Newsie is so fast is because users can create filters to sync certain RSS feeds first. These load quickly, so while users are catching up on news in these areas, the rest of their news is loading in the background. It’s great if you keep up with hundreds of feeds.
Newsie interface is slick and uses ghosted navigation arrows to minimize clutter. Tapping the “O” in the center removes the toolbars for true full screen reading — something I’m a big fan of. Newsie also offers in-line email for sharing items and boasts Twitter integration with Tweetie and Twitterrific. (These launch separately, however.)
