At the top of the year Milind took a look at some of the best RSS readers for the iPhone. Back then the compeition was fierce and although the clients were pretty rockin’ and feature rich, no one iPhone RSS client could be picked out as the best. The game has picked up since then with plenty of new clients jumpin’ in the ring, though many failed to make it through the warmup. Many of the clients we previously reviewed have seen the light of a major point version increase sporting dozens of new features and some dashing new looks. Many of our previous competitors have come back for round two with one new client making its debut. Today’s showcase will include; Byline, NetNewsWire, Newsstand, and new kid on the block, ‘Reeder’.

Byline ($3.99)

In the game early since the launch of the App Store as a beloved choice of many, this client only supports Google Reader accounts (which isn’t a bad thing, Google Reader’s great), which means if you’re looking to just add feeds without an account, you’re outta luck. Previously Byline was ahead of the game supporting many features other clients did not, but at this point its support for notes, sharing, and favorites are nothing special. Byline supports ordering your unread items simply by newest, or by heading items based on source. Whilst this layout works for some, the lack of categorizing based on subscription source kept me looking for something more me. Byline also sports a fantastic interface for easy reading, folders, landscape support (if that’s your thing), and article and image caching. Although still loved by devout users, Byline seems to be maturing slower with a complete lack of hot features like Instapaper / Read It Later support, social article sharing, and other fun goodies.

NetNewsWire ($1.99* / Free)

Coming in both paid and ad-supported versions, NetNewsWire has also long been a favorite of many, notably those using NetNewsWire on their desktop. NetNewsWire just hit 2.0 equipped with Google Reader support for all. Unlike Byline however, this app also supports supports automatic syncing with NetNewsWire for your Mac and FeedDemon for the Windows kids. Again, NetNewsWire supports the standards (notes, sharing, favorites) but doesn’t have anything exceptionalto offer besides the fantastic syncing support unseen in our other top clients. This client also one ups Byline with support for Instapaper accounts, which in my opinion seems like an obvious standard for iPhone RSS clients. NetNewsWire doesn’t yet support Read It Later, but I’m hoping to see it thrown in in the near future as it becomes the prefered choice of some. No landscape support in this one, but it does keep subscriptions categorized and bears a simple interface that is visually appealing.

*NetNewsWire is currently 3 bucks off the regular price of $4.99 to celebrate the 2.0 launch.

Newsstand ($4.99)

Up until just a few weeks ago Newsstand was unheard of by many, which shocks me to some degree as it’s been my client of choice for over half a year. It may have been Newsstand’s 2.0 launch back in August with tons of sweet new features that sparked the switch for most. It seems like a standard that your RSS client has to support Google Reader at this point, because Newsstand does too. Newsstand isn’t strictly tied to Google Reader like Byline or NewNewsWire however, if you wish you can simply add your feeds on the fly and read your news exclusively on your phone you certainly can. Of course Newsstand supports regular things like notes, sharing, and favorites, because with the plethora of other awesome features it has it’d simply be odd if it didn’t. Newsstand is loaded with incredible features such as adding feeds on the go (via XML feed, site feed search, or OPML import), caching, and support for adding Delicious and Twitter feeds which is incredibly handy for real time Twitter news accounts (like @smokingapples for instance). This wonderful little app also shows off cool features like mobilizing sites with Google Mobilizer, multiple themes, and sharing articles through a variety of services including Instapaper, Read It Later, Twitter, and Delicious.

Reeder ($3.99)

This little gem popped up in the App Store just a few weeks back. Reeder is the new kid on the block but he seems like he knows the neighborhood and it looks like he’s already fitting in. Reeder already does the simple stuff (notes, sharing, favorites), and a Google Reader account is required (same situtation as Byline). Although Reeder has just been released, the developer has commented that fun sharing options like email, Instapaper, and Twitter are in the works. Caching is something that is still in thought, but I’m pretty confident it’ll turn up soon enough if the developer expects to keep up in this game. One thing I really love about Reeder is the interface [Milind: I'll second that. The interface is just beautiful]. Of course all of the other RSS clients we’ve looked at here have pretty nice interfaces, Reeder seems to be going a little further. The subscription interface isn’t something I’m in love with, however I do love the interface for reading an article. Whether that contrast of color works for your reading eyes is up to you, but I’ve become pretty attached to it myself.

Bonus: Push Notifications

It really depends upon how you like to get your news delivered. If you read when you want, then push notifications may not be all your thing. Some of you might even just prefer to hear about the hottest news through Twitter. However, if you are into push notifications and you’re looking for them for a couple (or more) of your feeds then Notifications may be just what you need. I’ve been using Notifications for just a couple weeks now (RSS only, mind you) and haven’t had an issue yet. The app also supports Twitter, Email, and other notifications but RSS is what I love best about it. There’s a couple other solutions in the App Store that handle push RSS, but any I’ve seen are clients that don’t appear all that yet developed.

Ed Update: Time has passed, updates have followed, and Patrick has changed his preference. As noted in this little post comment here,

Just wanted to note that Newsstand is no longer my main client, and I’ve since switched to Reeder as it has pretty much all the features I need and in a sicker for design and intuitive gestures.

So, it’s been more than a year now with the App Store. What have you settled on?

Patrick Patience is a lonely Mac nerd on twitter, who would kill for an extra follower or two. The two most important things credited to him are [redacted], and #favepatrick.