GoNews free RSS reader for Android: works well but lacks features
in Mobile Reviews by David Miron — May 24, 2010 at 10:43 am | 5 comments
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My first question when asked to review this app was, “what do I need another RSS reader for?” I thought I was happy using the Google reader on my Android’s browser. This thought posed tough questions for the GoNews application.
72 hours after installing the GoNews news reader for free on my HTC Hero I can tell you that I am…Happier. The application is the first to fly off the new SBSH production line of Android applications.
To start with I viewed a tutorial for what I believed was the same product, but turned out to be a tutorial for the Windows mobile version which seems to offer a very different user experience. This was a mistake, the nearly four minute video set certain expectations which were then not met with…initially. My lack of Hero mileage is also to blame for the bumpy start with GoNews.
Unlike the Windows mobile version which sells for $15, the Droid version is Free, courtesy of Ads by AdMob. The application loads quickly and looks good. Articles are presented in full screen mode and are cached for offline viewing. SBSH which has been developing mobile applications for nearly a decade declares on its website that the GoNews reading display stands out for, “displaying actual articles and used for reading all the news”. I took this to mean that the application presented full articles, this turns out not to be the case, thus further reading requires a jump to your browser. Feeds are called channels and are arranged into categories. The overall navigation experience is intuitive and friendly, and the items are presented (text and images) in a manner that makes the most of my Android’s screen.
I had a problem adding a few feeds to GoNews, and I await a response from SBSH on this issue. I also found two features sorely lacking, GoNews does not fetch your feeds automatically, and pressing a synch button is required to get your news updated. Automatic updates should, at the very least, be an option. The other feature I found myself wishing for was some form of social sharing.
Feeling somewhat unimpressed I tried other Android RSS readers for perspective, and came to realize that GoNews is functionally and aesthetically well planned and works well overall. Asides from the specific feed subscription problems I experienced I expect this product to do well as long as SBSH keeps adding functionally important features. From their site I learned that an ‘important’ update is imminent, and that at some point in the near future GoNews will be able to synchronize with my Google reader. Assuming this happens soon enough I Think I’ll stick with GoNews as my RSS news reader.
Tags: android featured GoNews RSS SBSH
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David Miron is a Social Media Maven, and Content Curator. He has been following the internet closely since it was measured in Bauds, and has worked for Soluto, Erayo, and Channel 2 News. In the more distant past David was the proud founder, and owner of New York's biggest motorcycle dealership, Cycle Therapy.
5 Comments
2010-05-24
11:00:20
GoNews RSS reader for Android: works well but lacks features http://bit.ly/9zDk2U #thewadi #israel @sbshsoft
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
2010-05-24
13:08:02
“GoNews RSS reader for Android: works well but lacks features http://bit.ly/9zDk2U #thewadi #israel @sbshsoft” -@thewadi
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
2010-05-24
13:20:50
Hi guys! Thanks for the new GoNews review!
I wanted to drop a quick official comment from our side (SBSH) and state that we are aware of the lack of some features with the current (first) version and give some status update from our side.
We are currently in the mid of development and testing process for the upcoming update already, which will include, among others, Google Reader syncing and a few additional exciting features that we've been working on!
As it seems now, we are talking about 2 to 3 weeks time span until the new update will be released, so it shouldn't take much longer before GoNews will start enjoying some feature-boost!
Stay tuned for another really exciting Android application release in a matter of days!
If you have additional new ideas we would love to hear those - you can either contact us via our forums/support team or just leave a comment here and we'll check for new ideas and see whether those can be included as part of upcoming updates development.
Good day! :)
2010-05-24
13:27:12
TheWadi reviews new SBSH GoNews 4 Android. As for lacking features, working on it – stay tuned in 2 weeks! http://bit.ly/aJ2V0B
This comment was originally posted on Twitter
2010-05-24
13:46:57
Hi Amit,
Thanks for the insights, and we'll be looking forward for the next release.
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