Apple picker Byline is an absolutely brilliant application – an RSS reader synchronized with Google Reader. The combination of simplicity and clarity resulted in an incredibly productive application.
After launch, the application prompts you to take an essential step - you enter your access data to your Google account (i.e. your gmail address and password) and you have all the news from Google Reader at your fingertips tapping to the screen. The precise design put the cherry on top of it all. Everything is clear, organized and nice, there is no extra button anywhere.
On the first screen you have the categories as they are set up on your Google Reader. In addition to categories, you also have items marked with a star and notes, which you create with the paper and pencil icon in the lower right. Refresh with the arrow in the lower left, as otherwise, you start synchronization with Google Reader, but synchronization can take place - depending on the settings - immediately after starting the application.
I consider it a huge advantage caching of downloaded items - unread articles are stored in your cache, so you can always read the Byline content that has remained since the last synchronization, even if you are not currently on the Internet, which is useful, for example, for public transport. Content to be had to cache you can set in the default iPhone configuration app, as well as other basic preferences for Byline.
And when I say sync with Google Reader, I mean real sync. Read items in Byline are automatically marked as read in Google Reader as well, immediately upon the next synchronization. Synchronization of starred articles and notes is a matter of course. For complete comfort – when you exit the application, you have Byline next to the icon badge (red circle, signals e.g. the number of missed calls on the phone) with the number of unread items - this property is also configurable. You can, if possible, view the viewed article in webviews in Byline, or directly in full view in Safari.
In my opinion, the application has no faults and there is nothing I can criticize about it.
Experiences of the Appleman
I have been using Byline for a long time and I must say that if you use Google Reader as your default reader, there is currently no better RSS reader in the Appstore that would synchronize with Google Reader. In addition, the author is constantly improving the application, adding functions and increasing its speed. Investing in Byline is definitely worth it. Currently, its position could be threatened only by the iPhone application NetNewsWire, which will soon appear in version 2.0 and will bring many new features, such as synchronization with Google Reader.
Appstore link – (Byline, $4.99)
[xrr rating=5/5 label=”Antabelus rating:”]
I bought the herbs at a discount and have been using them for a week now. It's fine, but some details are missing. E.g. they cannot mark as unread (Mark as Unread) or subfolders for individual feeds would also be useful (such folders are only for main tags). I'm looking for competitors and would like to try Gazette and Feeds which have at least the same features as Byline and maybe a little more. Here is a clear comparison of TOP RSS features that sync with GR: http://bit.ly/15piAf
And I'm going with a cross because I opened it half an hour ago and forgot to refresh now.
At the very bottom of each category is the 'Mark all se Unread' option.
Otherwise, I will add - the subfolders are replaced by a gray tape, when you get to the folder, there are crossed arrows on the top right, which changes the mode.
That's really Mark all as Read, mark all as read. But I'm talking about the opposite thing. An article that I glance at (so that it is marked as read by the fact that it is displayed) and I would like to read it later on the PC, I no longer have the option to mark it as read. (I don't want to star, that's for something else.)
Yes, the strip is there, but with web GR I often use Mark all as read for one specific feed, and here it only works for everyone in the given category, which is crazy. And it's stupid to create a separate category for each feed.
Jablickar: Great observation... I really didn't know that, it works ;) I would wait for this gesture to be deleted, but fine. The main thing is that it works. Thanks.
> That's really Mark all as Read, mark all as read. But I'm talking about the opposite thing.
Sorry, I misread it :)
MaraM: and you can mark the item as unread. If you have a message open, go back to the folder and tap the message record with your finger and swipe right. It's a similar movement to the slide you use to unlock your phone. A blue circle will immediately appear next to the title of the read message. It takes a little while, I didn't do well at first either.
Otherwise great app. I couldn't be without her anymore. The only thing that would be useful to me would be the synchronization of only selected folders. I have a lot of photo blogs in one, and synchronization on the smaller network is not very convenient when I want to read only text items.
Just today I tried the new version of NetNewsWire for MAC (thanks terry :-) ), which has just started to support synchronization with GR. Synchronization is generally working, what is not yet working is the synchronization of flagged items (star in GR, flag in NNW). It's just that NNW won't pull me the items marked like this in GR. I hope they still finish it.
I just looked for the same application on the iPhone and found that the current version does not support synchronization with GR. I had no idea that a new version was to be released and I am happy if it offers synchronization. I will be even better if they keep the price :-). For the time being, I am put off by the slightly higher price of the herb.
actually netnewswire released an update today that offers synchro with google reader :) and it's free...
Byline is great, but it (she? :) lacks one thing that makes me stick with the web Google App. Unlike it, Byline does not reformat the full text of the article into a mobile-readable form, but loads the page in a normal "non-mobile" form. I have a lot of RSS feeds that don't contain full text, so I have to jump to the originals quite often. Or can this also be set somehow?
Well, I have NetNewsWire version 1.0.10 in the US App Store, but there is no mention of synchronization with GR. I look at their website and I don't see anything either..
Speaking of RSS, is it possible to follow comments from the apple seller via RSS? Somehow I don't see it :-)
Jablickar: Thanks to the complicated address I needed to NNW :-)
I have been using Feeds for a long time to my complete satisfaction. Synchronization with GoogR is a matter of course, the Instapaper support is nice, without which I can no longer imagine working with texts on iP.
Jablickar: thank you for the explanation, it's clear now :)