I seem to be going through RSS readers on my iPad like water. This week I'm now hooked on Reeder for iPad. Reeder is a popular RSS reader on the iPhone and they have released their iPad version. This reader does the all important sync with Google Reader so that when you read posts on one device such as your iPad, they are automatically marked read on your other devices such as your computer or iPhone. The last reader I reviewed was Mobile RSS HD and I liked it a lot. So what makes Reeder for iPad my new default reader? As I've said in the past when all things are equal it comes down to UI (user interface), while I do prefer Mobile RSS HD from a visual standpoint (I like the pictures of each post showing down the side), the thing that bugged me was having to hit the Load More Items button without actually knowing if there were more unread items or not? That isn't an issue with Reeder. It shows you all of your unread items at once!
The Photos App Approach
Rather than show you a lists of articles down the side, Reeder for iPad delivers your news as thumbnails. Just like the Photos App you can pinch to expand any given folder to drill down on its contents. While I think this approach is cool, I do which the thumbnails would display the first image of the post instead of either being blank (most of the time) or displaying the website's icon. This would be my only knock of the App. Reeder for iPad supports all the features I use of Google Reader including Google Alerts. So while I do think that MobileRSS HD looks better, I find Reeder for iPad easier/better to use. If Reeder for iPad displayed images more often than blank thumbnails I'd give it 5 stars!
You can get Reeder for iPad here from the 
Reeder for iPad
Reeder for iPad is a full featured RSS reader for iPad that syncs with Google Reader
- Silvio Rizzi
- Get on App Store
- $4.99
All info was collected on 17th June, 2010 when the app was reviewed.
About Terry White
Terry is the co-author of The Best Selling "The iPhone Book" 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th editions. He has been active in the industry for over 25 years and is the founder and president of MacGroup-Detroit, Inc., Michigan's largest Macintosh Users Group, host of the Adobe Creative Suite Podcast and a technology writer - Terry White Tech Blog.
I do like reeder a lot. And I think it works best in landscape view.
I am absolutely in love with this app. I had my doubts at first, especially with all the “what does this icon do?” learning curve stuff, but now I’m completely in love with it. And I’ll mirror what Sharon said – it works best in landscape view.
The interface is gorgeous and very useful, but the refresh speed is unbelievable. It’s hard for me to consider anything else, regardless of features, when i know Reeder will have everything to me in just a second or two…
I have used both Reeder for the Ipad and River of News and I much prefer River of News. I wish that it was available on the Iphone. What I like most about it is that I can see the full story from the main screen. This is very beneficial to me especially when reading Technical boards as I can get a complete picture of the post without having to click into anything. I can consume feeds so much more quickly that way. I purchased Reeder for the Ipad based on the recommendation here but after working with both of them, I still prefer River of News hands down.
What I would like to know though is which News reader Terry prefers since in the past he has recommended NewsRack and I presume he is still using that.
Robert, I now prefer Reeder!