I finally found one.
With all my relevant RSS feeds already nicely organized in my Google Reader, I naively thought it would be easy enough to view my feeds with an Android app.
Wrong.
For those who have tuned in late, the Archos 7o Internet Tablet doesn’t come loaded with Google Market. It’s a serious inconvenience since I don’t have access now to Google’s free Android apps, although not fatal.
My first idea was to try loading a semi-official Google Reader apk onto my tablet. The one I eventually tracked down in an Android forum predictably failed to register with my online Google credentials.
I turned next to Archo’s own Android app store, AppsLib. After a few false starts, I discovered a winner.
AppsLib is an alternate Android marketplace, and one which, presumably, tablet and gadget vendors get a better financial deal than from Google’s own store. No matter. There are still plenty of great Android apps, free and paid, that can be found here.
The real issue with the Android application market is that the store shelves are stocked with a hodge-podge of vendor-dependent software. There’s no guarantee that what you download will work on your particular device. Sure your mileage may vary and you may have better luck than I’ve had with my Archos, but you have been warned.
FeedSquares boxy display works well on a small screen
With the failure of my Google Reader apk, my wary eyes scanned the AppsLib store for a usable RSS reader that could connect with my Google account to achieve my ultimate goal: viewing my existing GR folder structure on my Archos’s 7? screen.
I tried the highly-rated NewsRob, but that also failed to link up. The same with gReader.
And then there was FeedSquares. Holy Schmidt, it worked!
FeedSquares connected with my Google account on the first try, and then effortlessly displayed a series of boxes each representing one of my online folders.
With the Archos’s fluid gesturing, it was a pleasure to navigate and ultimately zoom in on a particular story.
I made an unexpected discovery. RSS readers and tablets are a great combination: there’s just enough of a display on my 7″ screen to bring me relevant news nuggets. And FeedSquares does a masterful job of rendering and wrapping the actual content in my limited pixel real-estate.
I now have a working SIP phone and a beautiful RSS feed reader installed on the Archos, along with a bare-bones but usable email app.
My Android tablet is becoming the mobile information device that I had originally hoped for.
Related articles
- Android on Archos: Annoyances (technoverseblog.com)
- Feedsquares on AppsLib (appslib.com)
