The iPad has been available for 2 months today, and many users are still looking for a great application to catch up with Google Reader feeds. Sure we’ve reviewed a bunch of good apps here on MacStories such as Newsrack, NetNewsWire and Headline, but none of them can be described as the great piece of software that manages to show all the capabilities of the device it runs on.

Don’t get me wrong, those are good applications. I’ve used Newsrack for about a month and, even though it looks like a bigger iPhone version, it definitely did its job fine. What I’m saying is that we’re still missing that application that shines in the App Store, the one you could describe as “the best”.

Now, you’ve already read the title of this post so you know what I am about to review. Before we delve deep into it, let’s provide some background. Reeder for iPhone came out of nothing last year, and we were amongst the first blogs to spot the potentialities of that app and review it. Needless to say, I immediately fell in love with the app and decided to keep it on my home screen for good. Reeder 1.0 was a great app, and a stunning first version. It was fast, probably the fastest Google Reader engine I had ever seen in an iPhone application. The UI design was custom, with faux leather elements and paper to give the feeling of an old journal or something. Animations were smooth and pleasant, and so was navigation.

Overall, using Reeder was like using an Apple application - a perfect and polished experience. Silvio Rizzi, the developer behind Reeder, gained a lot of popularity thanks to his breakthrough app, and surely made some good bucks out of it. But he wanted more, and so he started working on a 2.0 version, which we reviewed here. Reeder 2.0 was (is) a well-thought refinement and betterment of the original application, with an even faster engine, faster loading times, more features and a better overall experience. I am not afraid to say that Reeder 2.0 for iPhone is the best Google Reader client ever made for a mobile phone.

Back to 2 months of iPad, you guys want to know whether Silvio Rizzi made it once again or not. Let me state this straight up: Reeder for iPad is the best Google Reader experience you can have on the tablet right now. It’s the app that perfectly manages to showcase all the great things about this device, and deserves to be installed by every user who daily checks his Reader account.

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This is the kind of post that should end with “seriously?”.

[via CrunchGear]

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In the digital era, remembering birthdays and sending a card shouldn’t be a pain in the butt. After all, if you’re not one to consistently refresh Facebook, you may feel awkward leaving a wall-post a week later saying, “Happy belated birthday dude!” And I do that quite often. But hell, I’m connected! And birthday’s should be easier and more personal than Facebook tracking and a wall-post. So what does one use to manage these important events? Why, Jubilee of course.

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With 2 million units already sold in less than 60 days, it’s no surprise that companies are starting to look at Apple’s new toy with some sort of interest. Mercedes Benz, the popular automaker, will indeed start to use the iPad as a sales tool to bring a better experience for customers in its showrooms.

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It is common understanding that the iPad is the perfect reading device. Whether it’s about long reading sessions (iBooks, Kindle app) or news reading (Pulse, Instapaper, the upcoming Reeder for iPad) the iPad is proving itself to be just great when it comes to sit down and read. Books and iBookstore aside, what we’re seeing today is a slow shift away from typical RSS applications, and even if some great software is coming our way in the future weeks, developers are focusing on finding new solutions to let users catch up with the latest news. Pulse, which we reviewed here, is a good example: a customizable visual news reading app that lets you pick up your own sources and browse news in a visual way that no one has ever accomplished before, not on the iPhone OS platform at least.

The idea of enabling readers to choose their own way to stay updated with what’s going on isn’t new, but sure the iPad is helping in implementing this idea and turn it into great software. The Early Edition from Glasshouse Apps has just been updated to 1.1 version, and it’s about time to talk about this app, which allows you to create your personalized daily newspaper within a great looking interface.

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If you’ve ever wanted to create those perfect 8-Bit sprites on your iPad, there’s an app for that. Ars Technica reviewed Sprite Something for the iPad, which allows young pixel lovers such as yourself to square off with your magical handheld. Apple and retro were practically made for each other, and Ars Technica agrees.

Pixel art is a finicky mistress: it’s difficult, time-consuming, and can be highly frustrating. It’s definitely not for everyone, but if it’s your thing, taking work along with you on an iPad is pretty awesome.

You can check out the full review here, but don’t forget to visit the iTunes App Store and grab your own copy of Sprite Something for only $2.99. A bargain for pixel pushers if you ask me.

If you’re following me on Twitter, you may’ve noticed that last week I decided to start moving my workflow to the cloud, taking advantage of all the services Google has to offer. Up until 5 days ago I was a proud user of Gmail and Google Reader, but I never really considered using all those other apps such as Docs, Buzz and Talk. Not to mention Location services, Calendar and Tasks.

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I don’t know how many people are still using Netvibes, but I’ve always been interested in trying out the service. And it turns out that maybe I’ll be able to do it this week, when the company will launch a first beta of their iPad optimized website.

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Lots of journal & note taking applications have landed in the iTunes App Store for the iPad, and the basic decision usually comes down to, “What’s your style?” Some like the moleskine or leather bound look, other’s like the spiral notebook, but I always try to pick out something that has one or two differentiating features. For Chronicle, it was Google Docs syncing, note annotations, and privacy lock.

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