Oh man, this is so gorgeous, guys. Just so so nice. Worth the wait just for the prettiness factor.
The good:
Holo. Yes.
The color scheme.
The little details (like the two-tone feed favicon indicator on the left. Lovely)
I do have a few niggles, though, some more important than others, obviously.
Major Numero uno: Mark as unread. Definitely a requirement for me if I’m to switch from Blar (and I really want to!). I often don’t sit and read through everything on my tablet or phone, but I do clear things out to make the list tidier for when I get back to a computer. Not being able to mark as unread is… well… I won’t switch until it’s there.
Minor 1: make text resizable with multitouch! No need for a menu option for this.
Minor 2: throw the filter options up in the action bar so i can see more posts on the feed pages. It has a rather large presence for something that isn’t used constantly (although it IS pretty). Besides, that’s what the action bar is for… Actions!
Will there be other ways than the google store to get hold of this app? I only use the f-droid.org repository or use .apk files directly. For Blar i compiled the apk from source.
Why isn’t there a +1 button for “I have the same praise”? Thanks, Sam!
One of the best ways to say “thanks” is to leave a 5-star review on the Google Play store. Those are how a startup’s app gets exposure, promotion and credibility. (Leaving a 4-star review is like leaving a $1 tip in a restaurant.)
Got if from the GOOG appstore, just glad I saw this GetSat post, or I’d have missed it! 5 stars for karen.
Cheers: I can finally read my news on my phone!
Jeers: I have to install a whole new application just to do it?
Cheers: At least the application is less than 1MB.
Jeers: Trying to login the first time while newsblur is down, the app crashed.
Jeers: After the crash, I had to re-enter my username and pass.
Cheers: At least landscape layout works on the login screen!
Woo, got it up and working! More preliminary thoughts:
Cheers: UI is clean and distinctive.
Jeers: font for stories is huge, only fits a few words/screen. [1]
Jeers: “share this story” button only does blurblogs, not 3rd-P shares?
Cheers: can see already-read stories!
Cheers: newest-at-the-top!
Jeers: no way to “save” a story. no “saved stories” view.
Jeers: folders collapsed in web view are not collapsed here.
Jeers: have at least one folder that says it has an unread story, but tapping it brings up a list of stories that are all read/grey.
Thought: no long-press menu for feed items. expected something.
Thought: no way to go prev/next while viewing a story. don’t want swipe/gestures, but small buttons would be nice.
Thought: top (logo and menus = 62px) and bottom (all/unread/focus=86px) bars take up a ton of space (148/480~=31% of my landscape screen) and have a lot of unused pixels. [2]
You can change the font size in the upper-right menu when on a story. It’s defaulted to XL for some reason, but I have that set to default to M for the next release.
Sharing to third-party sites directly from a new share is slated for the next big release, which could be a little while from now.
Saved stories coming as well.
I also didn’t bother to match collapsed folders on web to Android (or iOS for that matter) because they are completely different interfaces, and so you might want different folders collapsed on mobile than you would on web. I think that’s the right decision.
Small buttons to traverse stories is also on the wish list for the next big release.
I’ll see if I can reduce the footer size.
Keep the great feedback coming! Better now than later, so I can get as many bug fixes into the immediate releases this week and next, and then fodder for the next big release in a month or two.
Thanks, Sam!
