FeedMe is a Lovely Lightweight RSS Reader

	FeedMe
	Version N/A
	Cost: Free
	Joe Chiu, Abhishek Baxi (Developer Info)
	(No Ratings Yet)

I know, I know, this must be the number #100 RSS Reader that we have pushed to you. But we really really like this one. And we think you will too! FeedMe was born through interaction and collaboration with the goal of making it easier for the user and the device, to get through RSS Feeds. Occupying a mere 84KB, the FeedMe allows subsciption to RSS feeds, Podcasts as well as Photostream for both Windows Mobile PocketPCs and Smartphones.

Note: This application requires the .NET Compact Framework 3.5 to run. You may download it from here.

Installation

The lighweight application will only take up 84KB of your device or storage space. The entire process is quick and painless. Installation on storage is fine. The application can then be found in the Program List following installation.

Design

When it comes to computing, there is always a case for compensation between design and processing speed. In this case, the developers went for faster processes accompanied with simpler design. We understand and we can certain live with it.

The basic design of the RSS reader is very simple. The feeds are arranged as a List, similiar to the arrangement you will find on your PC. Each feeds are a folder, with different icons representing different nature, including error, loading and loaded. The layout for each feed’s updates are the inherited, and there are also icons differentiating read and unread updates.

The developer titled the application as intuitive, and with the simple icon designs, I would agree with him. The same concept of intuitive seems to apply to the Options and Search feature. You don’t really have to think very hard to figure out what to do next. It’s just a series of clicks to bring you to a better place.

Usability

The application is fairly user-friendly, especially for PC users who are accustomed to the layouts and icons. A RSS feed reader’s main functionality is to allow users to add feed of various source and variety (i.e. podcasts and photostreams), as well as accessing them. FeedMe achieve all of them without bringing much hassle to the user. It will take no more than 4 clicks to add or access a feed of your choice.

The Search feature is a luxury add-on that allows the user to look outside of the box (that is their default RSS feeds) and explorer what is out there. Simply enter the name of an interested source (i.e. The New York Times) and download its feed.

Features

There is a bunch of things you can do with FeedMe, here is a list of features for the application listed by the developers:

Pros

• Lightweight application – takes up only 84KB (not including the space allocated for downloads)
• Fast loading speed as the contents are cached
• Give you ability to manage downloads and downloaded podcasts
• Support a whole range of feed and multimedia formats

Cons

Okay, so the application is seamless, works perfect, so what’s there to criticize? Well, we think nothing is perfect (yet), and we’d like to see improvements to better the user experience. Here we go:

• Slideshow doesn’t seem to be enabled on the Smartphone
• Better UI and hopefully not sacrificing too much memory either ways

Should I get it?

Yes. You should.

Screenshots

Screenshots above from left to right, top to bottom:

#1: Proof of low memory usage
#2: Default start-up screen for FeedMe
#3: Looking inside the [Google] RSS Feed folder
#4: New RSS Feeds can be added this way
#5: Search for new RSS sources (The New York Times)
#6: Search results
#7: Subscription to photostream (not slideshow on Smartphone)
#8: FeedMe Options – notice the memory space allocated for content.

Have a question? Leave a comment or contact us! Enjoy!

Video

[Coming Soon!]

Min Req:	Windows Mobile 5 and 6 PocketPCs and Smartphones .NET CF 3.5 is required for better usage experience. (Download it here)
Device Tested:	Samsung Omnia Samsung Epix Samsung Blackjack Samsung Propel Pro
Price:	Freeware
Ratings	(No Ratings Yet)
Target Audience:	If you are like me and have a bunch of RSS feeds that you’d like to pay close attention to, as well as church podcasts, friends’ photostream, then this is a perfect tool. All in one place without exhausting your device’s memory space (both ROM and RAM)!

Microsoft Tag for Mobile Download (?)