Reeder for iPhone Gets Feedbin Sync, Local RSS Support

Announced soon after Google’s announcement of the Reader shutdown, popular iPhone RSS client Reeder has been updated today to include support for local RSS subscriptions and Feedbin sync.

In the first major update since June 2012 (when version 3.0 came out), developer Silvio Rizzi has decided to further move away from Google Reader for traditional RSS sync: while version 3.0 saw the addition of Shaun Inman’s Fever, Feedbin is more similar to Google Reader in the way it organizes feeds in groups and lets you view All, Unread, and Starred items. Unlike Google Reader, Feedbin is a paid service that costs $2 per month.

In Reeder 3.1, Feedbin is treated like Google Reader in terms of feed navigation and reading experience; in the Settings > Add Account screen you’ll see a new Feedbin option (at the top of the “News Reading” list) where you can log into your account and start syncing feeds with Reeder. Feedbin is still in its infancy, and, right now, Reeder 3.1 with Feedbin sync works exactly like version 3.0 did with Google Reader.

Reeder 3.1 also adds support for local RSS subscriptions, which won’t sync with any web service or other device running Reeder. Supporting local RSS feeds is anachronistic, but probably the right thing to do to ensure Reeder can keep working in case more RSS services will announce a shutdown in the future. Local RSS support allows you to add subscriptions manually by URL or import them from Google Reader; again, once configured, the reading experience will be the same as previous versions of Reeder 3.x.

Alongside Feedbin and local RSS, Reeder 3.1 also comes with a custom version of pull-to-refresh that’s delightfully in line with the app’s existing graphics and animations.

While Rizzi is busy working on Reeder 2.0 for iPad and Mac, it’s good to see the iPhone app – currently the #16 top paid News app – receiving support for a syncing service that’s starting to gain traction among developers. As Google Reader’s demise nears, it’ll be interesting to see if Rizzi will keep adding new services, and, if so, how long it’ll take for Reeder to be updated again.

Reeder 3.1 is available now on the App Store.

Apple Says New Tech Talks Are Coming This Fall

Following an “unprecedented interest” in WWDC that saw tickets selling out in less than two minutes, Apple has officially announced on its “News and Announcements” developer portal that “they’ll be hitting the road” with Tech Talks this Fall:

Enthusiasm for WWDC 2013 has been incredible, with tickets selling out in record time. For those who can’t join us in San Francisco, you can still take advantage of great WWDC content, as we’ll be posting videos of all our sessions during the conference. We’ll also be hitting the road this fall with Tech Talks in a city near you. Hope to see you there.

In commenting on Daniel Jalkut’s piece on WWDC yesterday, I suggested that a new round of Tech Talks would be a nice solution for those who couldn’t get a ticket to WWDC this year. It’s good to see Apple addressing concerns of limited availability with such a quick announcement.

Tech Talks are, as the name suggests, talks given by Apple employees to developers interested in knowing more about iOS and OS X technologies, attending labs, and getting feedback on APIs and interface guidelines by the people who make iOS, OS X, iCloud, and all the services that power Apple’s devices and computers.

Tech Talks are, effectively, “mini WWDCs”. The last time Apple “hit the road” was in late 2011 with the Tech Talk World Tour after the release of iOS 5. The tour run through 9 cities worldwide:

  • Berlin
  • London
  • Rome
  • Beijing
  • Seoul
  • Sao Paolo
  • New York City
  • Seattle
  • Austin

As Apple described it back then:

We’re taking iOS 5 on a world tour and we want you to come along for the ride. Learn from Apple experts as you take your apps to the next level with the exciting new technologies in iOS. Space is limited, so register today.

It’s unclear right now whether Apple will once again a worldwide tour, but it seems plausible. In 2011, Apple started the Tech Talk World Tour on November 2, announcing tickets on October 20.

Exploring The Pros and Cons of Freemium Gaming On iOS→

Great article by Craig Grannell, who interviewed several game developers.

In particular, this part:

More often, though, you hear about, as Ismail puts it, games specifically designed to be “less fun unless you pay, but just addictive enough that you want to play”. Money and research is poured into analytics, metrics, monetisation and behavioural targeting. “The difficulty for me is you’re then no longer designing the most engaging experience for a player, and are instead designing mechanics around getting people to drop money as often as possible,” says Perrin, who likens this system to the gambling industry.

As a long-time gamer, I still find myself wondering whether In-App Purchases will eventually prove to be a healthy model for the quality and economic viability of games. I like to think that it’s possible to use IAPs without being evil, but that far too many companies are exploiting them. Keep in mind, though, that I’m biased.

Our previous articles on games and IAPs still hold true today: there’s a conflict between economics and goodwill, but I’d argue that, ultimately, value is what truly matters.

Permalink

Apple Posts “Learn More About In-App Purchases” Page In iPad App Store→

Good move by Apple. The page contains screenshots, links to support documents, and a clear explanation of Parental Controls. Apple knows that In-App Purchases are usually bought by children using their parents’ devices, and they also made sure to explain the differences between IAPs to “remove ads” and “buy virtual food”.

It’s strange that the, in the US, the page is only featured on the iPad App Store.

This doesn’t fix the several other problems with In-App Purchases and developers exploiting the platform. Games like this shouldn’t be approved to begin with. Hopefully a section that highlights clever, genuine implementations of In-App Purchases is next.

Permalink

Apple Airs New iPhone 5 Commercial: “Photos Every Day”

Apple today aired a new iPhone commercial called Photos Every Day, which, as the name implies, focuses on one of the iPhone’s core features: taking pictures.

The ad doesn’t follow the tone of Apple’s latest upbeat commercials, but instead marks a return to the company’s old iPad and FaceTime commercials with a slow music playing in the background, a single voiceover at the end, and, more importantly, a distinctive focus on the people using Apple products.

In the one-minute commercial, people are seen taking pictures of food, everyday situations, their kids, concerts – everything. The message is clear: either with the default camera or Instagram (also shown in the ad), in landscape or portrait, as normal shots or Panorama pictures – the iPhone is your everyday camera. This is corroborated by the tagline at the end: Everyday more photos are taken with the iPhone than any other camera.

The ad has been posted on Apple’s website and YouTube channel. You can watch it below. Read more

End WWDC→

The whole point of the conference needs to be rethought, and the goals addressed from scratch using new approaches. As the greatest challenge for WWDC is in scaling to meet demand, I think it’s obvious that the rethought WWDC should be considered in terms of digital solutions. Call it WWDC if you like, but it needs to take place 365 days a year instead of 4. It needs to serve 300,000 developers, not 5,000. And it needs to take place online, not within the cramped confines of a small convention center in San Francisco.

Daniel Jalkut says that it’s time for something better than WWDC. The entire post is worth a read.

Personally, I think it’d be interesting to see an expansion of the Tech Talk World Tour that Apple did in late 2011. But even in that case, venues were limited, and I imagine traveling around the world put a lot of stress on Apple engineers. Having Apple staff at smaller, independent conferences could help, but those would need to be several conferences each year, otherwise the same issues would arise.

I agree with Daniel. Maybe, with hundreds of thousands of developers, the solution that makes the most sense is a digital one.

Permalink

Instapaper Acquired By Betaworks

Today, Marco Arment announced he’s sold “a majority stake” in Instapaper, his read-later service, to Betaworks. From his personal blog:

I’m happy to announce that I’ve sold a majority stake in Instapaper to Betaworks. We’ve structured the deal with Instapaper’s health and longevity as the top priority, with incentives to keep it going well into the future. I will continue advising the project indefinitely, while Betaworks will take over its operations, expand its staff, and develop it further.

I’ve known Betaworks for years, and I’ve spent a lot of lunches at their office. They have great engineering talent, great product direction, and plenty of experience running services at Instapaper’s scale. I wouldn’t put Instapaper in just anyone’s hands, and I know that they’ll do right by it.

Marco says that Instapaper will live on at Betaworks, and I believe him. I know Marco wouldn’t have sold Instapaper if he didn’t know its new owners would be a great fit. I look forward to the future of Instapaper, but still – the first chapter of Instapaper’s life is closing today.

I could say many things about Instapaper. I could write about the design decisions behind it. I could give you a summary of Instapaper’s updates and why Marco’s vision always struck me as clear, honest, and solid.

Instead, I’ll just link you to my review of Instapaper 4.0 from October 2011. And, in particular, the very first sentence:

Since I started using Instapaper in 2008, this app has changed the way I read.

It may be overused and obvious, but for me Instapaper was the embodiment of the “design is how it works” philosophy: instead of fancy features, Instapaper focused on one thing – text. The reading experience itself was the basis of Instapaper’s design.

I used Instapaper every day, but there’s one episode that I remember in particular. Last summer, I was stuck in a hospital bed for 22 days. I was too tired to work from my iPad, and I didn’t have my MacBook with me. One day when I couldn’t sleep, I launched Instapaper and started reading. Later, I switched to the Friends tab, and saw that some people I followed were saving and sharing old articles of mine. It was a simple thing, but it reminded me of this: in the age of Twitter and real-time trends, Instapaper empowered its users to read at their own pace, with a different experience.

I wrote a quick article that night, and then went back to reading – like many other nights before.

Thank you, Marco, for making Instapaper. Here’s to its next chapter.

Sunstroke Fever Client Goes Universal→

Solid update to one of my favorite Fever apps.

The new version includes an iPad version (with a very classic Mail-like layout), a URL scheme to start a refresh and go back to other apps, and local notifications to be informed when sync has completed. Good release from an integration standpoint, too: you can now open links in Chrome (with callbacks), save via Pinbook, or share on App.net via Riposte.

Sunstroke is $4.99 on the App Store. Here’s my original review.

Permalink