BoltReader – Review

Our rating:

By: BoltReader

Version #: 1.0

Date Released: 2008-12-31

Developer: Hua Luo

Price: 1.99

User Rating:

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Having tried a wide variety of iPhone applications for accessing and reading RSS feeds I’ve come to the realization that there are three requirements that go into making the "ideal" RSS reader.

1. It must sync with Google reader

2. It must provide access to content when the device does not have an active data connection

3. It must provide both landscape and portrait reading modes

4. It must be fast

The result of this combination means that my long-time RSS application of choice net newswire has gone by the wayside. It does an excellent job with RSS feeds but it syncs with news gator not Google reader and has a fatal flaw of not providing access to items that have been "saved".

My long-time Google Reader application, Byline, is an excellent application. It fulfills all of the items listed above — it syncs with Google, it provides off-line access, it provides both landscape and portrait, and it’s "fast enough". This new RSS reader, however, fills all three of the first items and, at least in my experience, peace all of the other applications I tried with regard to speed.

The application is ugly. The user interface is as uninteresting as any I have seen. It doesn’t display feed icons. It doesn’t offer interesting graphics way Byline and NewsStand do. As I noted, it’s ugly. The result of this super stripped-down look, however, is that it is substantially faster than any other RSS reader I have tried. That makes it an outstanding option.

Setting up the application is simple. After putting in my Google Reader credentials I was given the option of whether or not to show previously read items, whether or not I should lock the rotation or allow it to change as the devices held differently and it offers the option to mark all items as either read or unread.

And that is the whole application.

When reading a specific item it offers the option to share the item with others, to "star" the item, to open the item in Safari or to mail a link to the item to oneself or to others. As noted above it is stripped-down to its most basic core functions.

Overall the speed advantage of this application makes it incredibly desirable for me. It is not, however, without its faults. The biggest flaw lies in the placement of the "next item up" icon which, once again, is in the upper right hand section of the screen. For those of us with a dominant left hand this is incredibly uncomfortable and I don’t understand why a better, ambidextrous, location can’t be used. Second, the icon for marking an item for later access is too small and difficult to recognize as an item being marked or unmarked. These are, however, small complaints in an otherwise excellent RSS reader.

I highly recommend it if you’re looking for function over form.

Quick Take

Value: High
Would I Buy Again: Yes
Learning Curve: Very, very low
Who Is It For: People with numerous RSS feeds
What I Like: Fast
What I Don’t: Placement of "Next Item" button

Final Statement: This is a simple, fast RSS reader that gets the job done.

My Rating: 4/5