A new version of Feeds (opens iTunes) has come out and the changes are huge!
You may remember where I previously outlined how I use Feeds to read the RSS feeds that interest me since I’m on the go a lot and most of my time to catch up isn’t always where there is a great signal to be touching content on the Web. Feeds also offered me the ability to grab the whole article to read later on ReadItLater (or Instapaper if you like using the other offline option). There was a bit of clunkiness to share articles – Not anymore!
First, right off there is a major change in the UI – not so much where everything is but the developers really punched up the look and feel that does make a difference. All of the following screen shots are of the previous version on the left and the new version on the right:
Drilling into an article – the content wraps better and is much more readable at a glance – interesting how the shading make a lot of difference when skimming through article titles:
They have added icons for quicker access to needed components throughout the updated screens. Now you can send an email with the title and short text of all the articles in a feed via a email button… great when you want to read a group of content on a work machine that doesn’t have the reader access you have here or on your personal computer. The only negative I have with the new buttons is when on a article and you want to drill in for more info you tap the icon in the lower right corner that… er, looks like a compass needle… I don’t get it!
Lastly, and it’s the biggie, is the ability to share out content faster and easier. Previously I would send all content I wanted to share with friends on Twitter to ReadItLater and then share from there. Now, you can do so directly from Feeds. Feeds offers URL shortening from that window. The window for Twitter sharing does cover the title and content of the article without a way to pull it in so think of your tweet prior to hitting the Twitter share option.
For those times I do want to send content to ReadItLater, the process now is much more seamless and has worked for me every time. The other option I had been using has had mixed successes with this so I’m happy to see Feeds get it buttoned up.
For those looking for a full list of new features and fixes – this is what the Feeds authors say: