The old saying If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em also applies to the world of software. Or apparently that was the reasoning of the developers behind Palabre, a totally free RSS reader for Android whose principal appeal, besides its meticulous aesthetic and interface adapted to Material Design standards, is that you can log in to your Feedly account and make it run alongside Palabre. It even updates your bookmarks and read notes simultaneously on both services. Trust me, if you try it out the idea of using it as your main RSS reader could well occur to you – and that even while it’s still in beta.
When you first install the app, it’ll ask if you want to create a new account or use your existing Feedly details. If you choose the latter, all your associated lists will automatically export, as will your pending and saved articles. Any activity you do will be reflected on both Feedly or Palabre, which means nothing keeps you from using both apps alternately or using Palabre on your mobile and Feedly on your web browser.
As you can see in the attached screenshots, Palabre goes a step further in terms of the design of the entries to be read on your timeline as well as the reading page itself. The system to save favorites or discard readings is more intuitive, as each card has its own small menu. And the upper bar also boasts better usability as you don’t have to pull out a side menu (practically identical to Feedly’s).
In terms of its basic features, it’s almost a carbon copy of Feedly in terms of adding new feeds manually or browsing themed categories. In fact, the system is even more intuitive. You can mark an entire section as read or view a selection of the most active readings.
The app is available for free, although it’s still in beta phase. The only problem is that it puts promoted links right in your timeline, very similar to what Facebook and Twitter have been doing with their ad campaigns lately. But if you want to get rid of them you can always get the paid version for €/$2.30.
