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For long, Google has cited that its RSS aggregation tool, Google Reader, has lost many users and is no longer popular. And now, the search giant is tanking the service altogether for similar reasons. So it’s finally time to explore some viable alternatives for the avid users of RSS.

The primary reason why Google Reader is probably the most popular RSS reader is simply that it is simple, intuitive to use and very quick. Plus, it embeds nicely with all the other Google services.

However, it is shuttering soon enough and its users have no other option but find a decent alternative. There are certainly a number of other RSS readers available in the market right now – but very few of them are able to provide as much functionality as Google Reader.

One tool, which I specifically find really good, is Feedly. The company was quick to react to Google’s decision and rolled out a post on its blog which provides Google Readers users with direction on how to smoothly transition to Feedly.

According to the post, “Google announced today that they will be shutting down Google Reader. This is something we have been expecting for some time: We have been working on a project called Normandy which is a feedly clone of the Google Reader API – running on Google App Engine. When Google Reader shuts down, feedly will seamlessly transition to the Normandy back end. So if you are a Google Reader user and using feedly, you are covered: the transition will be seamless.”

Currently, the tool is available for a whole plethora of platforms, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, iOS and Android. Typically, it runs as an extension in the browser, letting you add pages from around the web on the go to your RSS feed. In this, the tool is a lot more useful than even Google Reader.

Not only that, the overall look of Feedly’s home page is more visual-oriented. And migrating from Google Reader’s rather drab look, that is a pleasant surprise. The sheer number of comments on the post cited above show how hordes of former Google Reader users are lining up for Feedly’s offering. You may also want to try your hands on it.

Source: Feedly

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