While yes, the grieving process takes time, if you’re still too busy bemoaning the imminent death of your beloved Google Reader, you’re going to find yourself in a bind when it finally gets put out of its misery later this year. Replacements abound, and there’s no question that $20 price tag is going to be a turn-off for some, but for those willing to buy their peace of RSS mind, you may have found a winner.
What does it do?
Lets you import your RSS feed from Google Reader, or if you’re looking for a new beginning, you can pick and choose which specific lists you’d like to bring in to your new, Reader-less life. From there, you’ll get four main screens: unread, all, starred and Smart Streams. The last follows in the vein of Apple’s Smart Playlists, and puts together feeds whichever search terms or already existing feeds you’d like.
Why do we like it?
Convenience is front and centre here. The web app lets you manage your lists and browse your feeds when desktop access is available. Plus, for 1Password users, an icon is flawlessly integrated into the start screen, so all it takes is a single tap and you’re in browsing headlines. And unlike with many mobile-based reader apps out there, Feed Wrangler doesn’t skimp on functionality for screen space. It manages to give you just as much power (star, mark as read, mark all as read, sharing, etc.) as you enjoy in Google Reader while keeping a simple, clean layout that doesn’t detract from your experience. Of course, you’ll have to REALLY be someone who uses an RSS reader to validate the high price. Everyone else can download the sample version for free and get a glimpse of how the other side lives.
Feed Wrangler
Download this app for: iOS (free, $19.99 year feed in-app purchase)
The best part: smart streams
The worst part: pricey