[APP][2.1+] D7 Google Reader v2.2.3.1 [28th July 2012]

---

I want to introduce my android application to the XDA community in the hope that it will be useful for like minded people and to get constructive feedback to improve the app.

D7 Google Reader

I have been using the web based Google Reader on my Android phone for long and I have tried several native applications in the market, which sync with Google reader, including the official one. However, I was not satisfied with any of them because of the below reasons.

• All the apps want to sync in the background and store all articles offline (who wants to download those 1000 articles which were published a month ago, wasting the precious bandwidth)
• The sync has always been an issue - I read article in the app and half an hour later I check the web based reader, that article wasn't marked as read
• I couldn't do all the actions which I do in the web based Google reader (e.g.: add/remove subscription, label/tag management, article search, view shared articles, etc)
• No app is instantly usable - initial sync may take up to an hour and this happens on a regular (scheduled sync) basis
• Most of the apps are slow on my Galaxy S

So, I wanted to make a Google Reader app for my own needs and the result is "D7 Google Reader".

Below are details of the app.

D7 Reader: the fastest Google Reader app for Android

rss | atom | news | podcast | video

A simple, fast and powerful Google Reader client for Android, enables you to access your reading list and manage your subscriptions with ease from a native application. The app keeps all the stuff in sync with Google Reader, always, without the need for a scheduled sync. It supports listening to podcasts or downloading them for later use and watching embedded video using the youtube app.

D7 Reader is an online app and it does support offline reading when the articles are explicitly saved (locally) by the user.

kw: rss atom podcast google reader news feed subscription share newspaper search

Main features

• Much faster than official Google Reader app
• No Lags (specially on Galaxy S devices)
• Google username/password NOT required
• Multiple account support; switch between accounts on the fly
• Utilizes low network traffic
• Podcast support (download/play)
• View mobilized articles
• Add new subscription directly from the browser
• Search for articles (powered by Google) within your subscriptions
• Feed discovery and subscription (search for feeds using keywords)
• Recommended articles from Google
• Theme support (dark/light)
• Support for multiple sharing options: Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Email, SMS and Pocket (Reader It Later) and Readability.
• Support for embedded video playback

Features

• A dashboard with quick access links to your reader
  - Reading list/Subscriptions/Starred/Read articles
  - Recommended articles
  - Feed search
  - Saved articles
  - Preferences
• Clean and friendly subscriptions management
  - Tree structure for labels/tags and subscriptions
  - Add new subscription (by feed search or direct add)
  - Remove subscription
  - Add/Remove labels to/from subscriptions
  - Rename label
  - Delete a label
  - Search for articles within labels/tags and subscriptions
• Articles list view with the ability to choose between show all or new items (configurable in preferences)
  - Add/remove star
  - Keep-unread/Undo Keep-unread
  - Mark all as read
  - Search for articles
  - Swipe (left/right) to mark/unmark as read (or configure a custom action)
  - Add to Read It Later/ Readability
• Recommended articles list
  - Personalized by Google
  - Subscribe to the feeds from the recommended items
• Article view with support for sharing and social web
  - Better mobile readability and user experience (horizontal scrolling is not necessary for most articles)
  - Volume key navigation (set in preferences) or using on screen buttons
  - Add/remove star
  - Keep-unread/Undo Keep-unread
  - Share via Facebook, Google+, Twitter, Email or SMS
  - Add to Pocket (Read It Later) and Readability
  - Swipe (left/right) to navigate between articles (when enabled in preferences)
  - View original article in browser
  - Save article offline to read later
  - listen to podcasts or download for later use
  - Mobilize original article (Mobilizers: Instapaper/Readability/Google)
  - Support for embedded video in articles
• Offline items
  - a list of saved (sd card) articles
  - listen to downloaded podcasts
• Home screen Widget with unread count display
  - Refresh interval can be configured
  - Does not update when the phone is in stand by (save battery power)
• Configurable cache clear on exit (preferences)
• And many more

Screen shots






The app has been published in the Android market as an ad-supported free version. A paid version with additional features is also made available. Below are the QR codes for you to download app direct from the market.

D7 Google Reader (free version)


https://market.android.com/details?i...oidlab7.reader

D7 Google Reader (paid version)


https://market.android.com/details?i...ab7.reader.pro


Available in YAAM
http://yaam.mobi/app/?id=com.droidlab7.reader.oth

Latest free version (2.2.3.1): D7GoogleReader.apk

Update change logs

• Version 2.0
• Version 2.1.0
• Version 2.2.0
• Version 2.2.1
• Version 2.2.3
• Version 2.2.3.1

looks nice on first test, but one major issue: to open an article in browser i first have to open that menu and then click the browser button. should be a single click on the headline, way too annoying this way.

and also that check for ad blocking hosts file is quite annoying. If i like the app i'll buy it but please let me test the free version in advance without changing my system config. Show red annoying boxes instead of the ads when ads are blocked, that's ok, but please don't force me to disable my ad blocker which will in turn enable ads on all websites

Originally Posted by XlAfbk

looks nice on first test, but one major issue: to open an article in browser i first have to open that menu and then click the browser button. should be a single click on the headline, way too annoying this way.

and also that check for ad blocking hosts file is quite annoying. If i like the app i'll buy it but please let me test the free version in advance without changing my system config. Show red annoying boxes instead of the ads when ads are blocked, that's ok, but please don't force me to disable my ad blocker which will in turn enable ads on all websites

Thank you for the feedback XlAfbk.

Next version will have the browser button fix; I will consider finding an alternate solution for ad-blocked devices.

Very promising. Finally an *online* reader similar to Google native. I feel however that article list view space could be better used to fit more articles on the page, the last line is wasted with two icons. Also, how about showing article time in addition to date?

Originally Posted by crimper

Very promising. Finally an *online* reader similar to Google native. I feel however that article list view space could be better used to fit more articles on the page, the last line is wasted with two icons. Also, how about showing article time in addition to date?

Thanks for the feedback crimper.

Do you think you can live without those icons? Even if I remove the left 2 icons, podcast icon needs to ne shown to indicate the user there is an attacjed podcast. I will think of a better way of arranging the information to utilise the space.

For the date/time display, do you think showing the time for todays articles and date for the older articles is a better option? Displaying both time and date will take up more space in my opinion. Please let me know your comments.


Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

i like it anyway u could implement swipe to mark as read

Originally Posted by jtkes693

i like it anyway u could implement swipe to mark as read

Thanks jtkes693. I have added this request to my to-do features; You can expect this included in future releases.

swipe... good that you mention it. swiping right/left to go to the next/previous item would be nice (instead of having to click the arrow buttons)

Originally Posted by droidlab7

Thanks for the feedback crimper.

Do you think you can live without those icons? Even if I remove the left 2 icons, podcast icon needs to ne shown to indicate the user there is an attacjed podcast. I will think of a better way of arranging the information to utilise the space.

For the date/time display, do you think showing the time for todays articles and date for the older articles is a better option? Displaying both time and date will take up more space in my opinion. Please let me know your comments.


Sent from my GT-I9000 using XDA App

1. Maybe show icons on the same line as subject or preview? I really like the way Reader mobile page is formatted, clean and much better than the Google's reader app - article preview, smaller fonts.
2. I agree that time is relevant for today only.