Newsstand App Summary
Newsstand is a commercial iPhone app [iTunes Link] for reading RSS feeds. RSS feeds, for those who don't know, allow sites to send site updates via an XML file that can be collected and read with a compatible reader. Newsstand is currently one of the most popular iPhone RSS reader apps available.
The app allows you subscribe to feeds, flag and retain items of interest, update all or specific feeds, forward item links via email, and to open links and/or feed items in Safari.
There's also a Shelf View which allows you to view feeds with a newsstand-style graphical interface.
Adding Feeds
A small number of feeds are included in Newsstand. You can keep them, ditch them all or delete the ones that don't interest you.
There are several ways of subscribing to new feeds, and by providing such a range of options, Newsstand really stands above against its competition.
The most direct way of adding a new feed is to manually type its direct address or to use the app's Automatic Feed Discovery to find a site's feed by entering a URL. To add iPhone Edition's News Feed, we simply entered the URL pocketpccentral.net/iphone and Newsstand did the rest:
You can also search for new feeds using Google Blog Search. This included search tool is a nice touch as it allows you to quickly and easily find new feeds when you're on the go.
The final way of adding feeds is to sync those you've already subscribed to on Bloglines or Google Reader. If you have a list of the feeds you like in either of these services, this is the fastest way of getting up and running with Newsstand.
Viewing Feeds (Portrait)
Once you've subscribed to the feeds you want, they're presented on the main screen. Portrait is the default viewing mode, which presents feeds in a simple list (seen below). This is the viewing mode I recommend. You can change the order in which they appear and edit feed titles if the default name is too long.
Tapping a feed title gives you a listing of items, marking new items with a blue dot. You can mark an item as read or flag it, which will store the item in the Flagged menu for later viewing. A flagged item is retained in memory until you delete it.
If you click a link to a web page while viewing a feed, the page is opened first in an integrated browser. You can also open the page in Safari if you would like to view it normally or bookmark it, however opening Safari closes Newsstand. The next time you run the app, you're shown the last item you were viewing.
One thing Newsstand doesn't handle well are iTunes links to music or software. If there is a link in a feed that opens iTunes on the iPhone, you'll need to switch to Safari to load it. This is a big problem for me as I would like to be able to tap a link and view the music or app in iTunes.
Viewing Feeds (Landscape)
Newsstand also offers a more graphically complex way of viewing your feeds called Shelf View.
Turning the iPhone to landscape, Newsstand enters Shelf View, presenting feeds as newspapers on a shelf. Double-tapping one of the newspapers opens it to an unfolded view with headlines on the left and article contents on the right.
While visually appealing, this viewing mode is limited and somewhat clumsy. I'm not sure this is so much the fault of the software authors as it is a limitation of the iPhone's screen real estate; with a larger screen, this might actually prove to be the preferred method of viewing feeds; as it is, it's little more than eye candy, not particularly useful.
Fortunately, you can disable this mode so Newsstand doesn't switch views each time the iPhone is tilted to the right or left.
Customization
When you install the app, Newsstand adds a menu item to the iPhone Settings menu. In this menu you can change how the app works including the number of new feeds its grabs when you update, how many feeds it simultaneously downloads, etc.
Conclusion
If your RSS needs are simple, you can probably get away with a free alternative like Free RSS Reader, but if you're like me and want the most feature-rich RSS reader for your iPhone, Newsstand is likely your best bet. While it does have limitations, most notably the iTunes link problem, it provides a clean, effective way of managing and viewing RSS feeds on the go.
View/Download Newsstand in iTunes on a PC, Mac or iPhone
|
