This means that if you are one of the many loyal users, you’ll need to start thinking today on replacing it and moving to a new RSS feed service, if you want to continue getting the latest articles from your favorite websites. According to Google, Reader is on “decline” and in order to keep focus on most profitable products, the company has to count its losses on things that are projected to become irrelevant on t he near future. Google Reader is one of these products along with CalDAV API, Google Voice for BlackBerry, and many others. Now the question is: What to do next? Well, here are your Google Reader alternatives and how to get there: First things first, if you want to avoid having to re-subscribe to all your favorite websites, before July 1st, 2013, you must download a copy of all your Reader data using Google Takeout. Below are a set of steps to do just that:
Instructions
- Stop by Google Takeout page and click the Create Archive button. The service will start building and XML file with all your feeds, started items and more.
- After the backup file is completed, click the Download button.
- Open the ZIP file with the exported data, and from inside the folder export the subscriptions.xml file.
- Finally, while in the new RSS feed reader that you’ll be using from now on, navigate to the settings page, and look for the import option. Then simply upload the Reader’s subscriptions.xml file. Now all your RSS feeds should start appearing in the new service.
Google Reader alternatives
Okay, that was how to import your Google Reader’s feeds into a new service, but which are good services for your feeds? Fortunately there are plenty of them that you can choose from, and the following are worth to check out: Feedly: This is a popular RSS reader, the user-interface looks like a really nice news website, so it’s not like Google Reader, but it gets the job done. It offers web, iOS, Kindle and Android apps, and users can also get a Google Chrome extension. Another good feature of Feedly is that it allows you to connect with your Google account and import all your feeds without having to do a thing.
NewsBlur: This is another good option that will feel very familiar to Google Readers. Users can open an account, subscribe to different websites of their choice, and because it is a web-based service, subscribers can access their favorite content from most computers. iOS and Android apps are also available.
The Old Reader: This is not as popular as the previous services mentioned above, but it’s worth to try out. According to the service: “It’s just like the old Google Reader, only better.”. The RSS service still in its beta stage, but anyone can create a new account. It doesn’t offer any kind of apps at this time, but it provides a way to import users’ feeds from their Google Reader accounts — One thing to point out is that it seems that “The Old Reader” is a bit slow.
Other options
Then, there are other kinds of readers, which are the ones that can tailor news content according to your taste in a visual interface, much like a newspaper. Some of them include: Taptu: Great for finding content and make your feeds more focus on your personal interests.
Pulse: This is a popular mobile option that can pull the most important news from your favorite websites’ feeds, but it also has a great web experience. The interface is unique, well-designed, and users can quickly read content from different sources. One thing to keep in mind about Pulse is that it is really optimized to work better with Internet Explorer 10, but of course most popular web browsers are supported, thanks to its HTML5 design.
These last two options are not like Google Reader, nevertheless they offer a great experience staying up to date with your favorite content and they also provide Android and iOS apps. Google’s RSS service will still around until July, so you have more than enough time to replace Google Reader with a new service. You can try one today and another tomorrow until you feel comfortable. Maybe by the time Reader retires, new products may emerge or existing services will make it even easier to move from Google. Do you have another service that you would like to recommend to other users? If so, tell us in the comments below. All content on this site is provided with no warranties, express or implied. Use any information at your own risk. Always backup of your device and files before making any changes. Privacy policy info.
