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Three Google Reader Replacements You’ve Never Heard Of

6277208708_7e6607d601[1]It’s now Day 4 of the Readerpocalypse, and as I sit here reading my RSS feeds this evening I see that some blogs are still posting lists of possible replacements. Almost all of the lists include the obvious entertainment-focused aggregator apps like Flipboard or Zite, and they also included the obvious heavier-duty feed readers (6 of which I mentioned last week).

But one thing missing from most lists of Google Reader replacements is uniqueness. The lists mention well-known services but so far as I can tell no one has gone looking for the obscure, the unknown, or the little used.

Here are a few news readers that qualify on all 3 counts.  They are so obscure, unknown, and little used that I did not know about them until I went looking.

PageFlakes

pageflakes screenshot

Remember when everyone was hot for personalized home page? Pageflakes was one of the also-rans, having been beat out by iGoogle, Netvibes, and others. But this service is still around, and you can use it to subscribe to and manage your RSS feeds.

Newsbeuter

newsbeuter-titles[1]

There are many news readers that are quite pretty, with nice layouts, good graphics, and pictures.

And then there is Newsbeuter. This app isn’t old-school so much as it is a creative anachronism. It only works on Linux, and it only runs from the command line.

FeedsAnywhere

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FeedsAnywhere popped up in the comments on this blog yesterday. It’s browser-based, and while it doesn’t have a mobile app it does offer a website that is focused on the mobile user (almost to the detriment of the desktop web browser)

I’m still playing with FeedsAnywhere, and it’s beginning to grow on me. There are a few issues, but I think this one could be satisfactory replacement for GR for some users.

This service seems to be handling my 1900 feeds quite well. It can sync with Google Reader to get my current feeds and lets me look at either single folders, a single feed, or all the feeds. I am encountering the occasional quirk, but so far this is the feature rich news reader I have been looking for.

image by NS Newsflash

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Comments


Chris Meadows March 17, 2013 um 9:27 pm

So which one of these are we supposed to have heard of?

Nate Hoffelder March 17, 2013 um 9:31 pm

FeedsAnywhere.

I’m surprised it hasn’t been mentioned before. It’s quite good.


The Commons March 17, 2013 um 10:31 pm

I think something many are overlooking is the likelihood of being able to extract your data–tags, stars, likes, whatever–when the new service you migrate to goes kaput as well. Because, let’s not kid ourselves: it’s just a matter of time before whatever web-based reader you’re using will shut down as well.

Ethan March 17, 2013 um 10:42 pm

This is one the many reasons I switched to tt-rss (Tiny Tiny RSS). It is a self-hosted solution.

Nate Hoffelder March 17, 2013 um 10:48 pm

Good point. I did not think of that at all.


Doug March 18, 2013 um 6:02 am

Really appreciate your posts on Reader alternatives


Ana March 21, 2013 um 6:50 pm

I have tried Feedsanywhere after reading the comment in your post, and I’m liking it too. I’m still giving a try to Newsblur too, because on a PC looks better, and I’m having some issues with Feedsanywhere when I mark my feeds as read, some posts pop out again as new, but for a quick check on sites with a lot of updates is great


David June 17, 2013 um 11:15 am

I have tried many, each have their plus points and problems. currently trying out Feedrebel and Eldonreader.


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