FeedDemon Review

Google Reader goes the way of the dodo on July 1st, so it's time for disappointed users to find a replacement RSS feed reader. FeedDemon is a solid solution which syncs to Google Reader—at least for now—and has a wallet-friendly price (free!). Unfortunately, its raw look and status as a desktop client may limit its appeal.

Note: FeedDemon creator Nick Bradbury has announced that he's stopped supporting the client, but it will continue to exist as a standalone RSS reader even without Google Reader synchronization.

The Basics
The ad-supported FeedDemon differs from the Editors' Choice award-winning Feedly in a significant manner: It's a desktop app. As such, you can't access your feeds using FeedDemon from any web-connected device. Instead, you must install the desktop client on all PCs which you regularly use (and only PCs, as Linux and Mac aren't supported). FeedDemon also lacks Android and iOS apps, so if you're likely to read while on the go, you may want to check out one of Feedly's mobile offerings.

That said, FeedDemon makes it a breeze to add and manage feeds. Adding a feed is as easy as clicking the "Subscribe" button in the upper-left corner, and keying in a URL. Like Feedly, FeedDemon has a satisfying content discovery tool. You add content by typing in a keyword (such as "gadgets"), selecting a source (including Google News, Twitter, and a handful of others), clicking "Find," and choosing a feed. It's all really simple.

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The FeedDemon Experience
FeedDemon's Windows Explorer-like interface consists of a tall, vertical column that houses your subscriptions. It displays the number of unread articles, starred items, and categories dedicated to viewing either just today's or yesterday's articles. The interface resembles the bland, unattractive software UI design typical of the late '90s and early aughts, but at least it's easy to navigate.

FeedDemon syncs with the soon-to-be-gone Google Reader so you can import feeds, tags, and more. Clicking a feed opens the article within FeedDemon, while clicking the feed's title opens the story within your web browser. My favorite FeedDemon feature is the desktop notifications. If you have the app minimized, FeedDemon alerts you to new content in a fashion similar to Outlook's incoming email notifications—very handy. You can also dive into the options menu to set how often you'd like FeedDemon to update feeds.

FeedDemon also has a premium version—the $19.95 FeedDemon Pro—that adds several attractive "newspaper" style layouts, offline reading, a content filter to help sift through feeds, the ability to download and sync podcasts to portable media players, and the My Stream social media feature that lets you connect Facebook or Twitter (Feedly lets you do so for free). FeedDemon Pro also removes advertisements. $19.95 is a bold asking price as some of those premium features appear in dedicated reading apps like Flipboard, Instapaper, and Pocket. Still, if you like reading while sitting at the desktop, it may be more convenient to have those features all in one app.

Turning the Page
If you're a FeedDemon user, you're probably lamenting the end of both FeedDemon and Google Reader, which have walked hand-in-hand for some time now. It's a quality RSS reader, but its main competitor, Feedly, is far more conducive to mobile lifestyles by being browser-based and having associated mobile apps. Those who read mostly at their desktops, however, will glean the most value from it.