With Google Reader's demise looming, a host of media companies have jumped to fill the impending void. Apps like Zite have updated to take on Reader-like qualities. Digg has been racing to build its own RSS reader that largely reproduces Google Reader's core functions. And now, AOL joins the fray with its own AOL Reader, officially launching today.
Like the just-announced Digg Reader and Google Reader before it, AOL Reader has a simple, minimalist design. It's got all the features you'd expect from a robust RSS reader. Does it have anything mind-blowing that sets it apart from other readers? Not really. But it looks good, works as expected, and if you have an AOL account, you'd be remiss not to give it a shot if you're looking for a new web-based reader.
Searching for news sources and adding feeds is straightforward -- just tap the plus sign on the upper left of the interface. A "Settings" button next to that gives you more options, like the ability to import the OPML file for existing subscriptions if you currently use another reader.
AOL Reader offers four different views for browsing feed content: A simple list view, which expands a post within this list when you click or navigate to it; a more visual Google+ or Flipboard-like "card" view; a "full view," which most resembles Google Reader's default viewing mode; and a two-panel view that lists articles on the left and pulls up the full text on the right. I like that you've got these different options -- depending on whether I'm on a desktop or tablet, if I'm in a hurry or if I'm feeling browsy, I can use a different view to satisfy that need.
You can organize incoming items into folders, and on the AOL Reader homepage, you can quickly see a selection of the most recent content from each folder. You can also tag items, making it easy to reference articles around a certain subject later on. There's also the ability to star/favorite things, or mark them unread.
And because we're nothing if we're not constantly connected and sharing with our peers, articles can be shared in AOL Reader easily through Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Google+ or via e-mail.
You can check out AOL Reader yourself here once you've logged into your AOL account. You still have one of those, right?
