Slide Reader http://www.slidereader.me Slide Reader Thu, 23 Feb 2012 08:27:07 +0000 http://flipcorp.com/navisite en Slide Reader 1.1 is out. Get rid of those pesky ads! http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-11-is-out-get-rid-of-those-pesky-ads.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-11-is-out-get-rid-of-those-pesky-ads.html#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2010 05:06:13 +0000 Dinesh Lalvani http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-11-is-out-get-rid-of-those-pesky-ads.html Thanks to the great feedback from users, we have added an in-app purchase to remove the ad banners as well as added many new features to Slide Reader. We really appreciate your support and look forwarding to making the app even better over time.

  • Enabled in-app purchase to remove ads
  • Enabled iTunes file sharing for transferring custom themes
  • Added total unread items badge on home screen application icon
  • Added total count of unread items and starred in list view
  • Added visual notification while syncing feeds
  • Added setting to use your own bit.ly username and key for URL Shortening
  • Added new gesture: Two finger tap to toggle fullscreen mode in article view
  • Fixed mark all as read bug
  • Fixed invalid count issue on the folder and feed
  • Fixed Google sync related bug

 

]]> Thanks to the great feedback from users, we have added an in-app purchase to remove the ad banners as well as added many new features to Slide Reader. We really appreciate your support and look forwarding to making the app even better over time.

  • Enabled in-app purchase to remove ads
  • Enabled iTunes file sharing for transferring custom themes
  • Added total unread items badge on home screen application icon
  • Added total count of unread items and starred in list view
  • Added visual notification while syncing feeds
  • Added setting to use your own bit.ly username and key for URL Shortening
  • Added new gesture: Two finger tap to toggle fullscreen mode in article view
  • Fixed mark all as read bug
  • Fixed invalid count issue on the folder and feed
  • Fixed Google sync related bug

 

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-11-is-out-get-rid-of-those-pesky-ads.html/commentsFeed The big update is out! Now how do we protect our work? http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/the-big-update-is-out-now-how-do-we-protect-our-work.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/the-big-update-is-out-now-how-do-we-protect-our-work.html#comments Fri, 08 Oct 2010 10:51:44 +0000 Dinesh Lalvani http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/the-big-update-is-out-now-how-do-we-protect-our-work.html The biggest update to Slide Reader, featuring Google Reader Sync, is in the iTunes store today. We've also just released the first Android version of the app.  It was all the great feedback from our customers that motivated us to put this one out as fast as we could.  It's been a lot of long nights, but we hope this makes the application complete and increases our user base.

slidereader googlysync

Since we released the app 8 weeks ago, we've had over 3,000+ legitimate downloads (thanks to you all!). But we've also been grappling with piracy, with over but 15,000 illegally pirated copies downloaded!

Developing apps is exciting, challenging and very gratifying. It is also very resource intensive.  There is obviously a lot of demand for the product with so many pirated versions out there. That's a great signal to us that we're doing something right. But the challenge for us is how to we build a viable business if we cant protect even a small $4.99 payment? How can we continue to offer our customer great products if we aren't making even our cost back. It's not like we are adobe charging hundreds of dollars for an app. It's just 5 bucks. (Even beer is more expensive in most cities nowadays). It's great Apple and Google woo developers to build for their platforms,  but we would have hoped they could offer  a more secure channel for all this hard work to be monetized.

app store piracy

We're committed to what we do, but we sincerely hope that Apple and Google put better measures in place so that individual developers and also software companies can continue to invest in building great, innovative apps.

]]> The biggest update to Slide Reader, featuring Google Reader Sync, is in the iTunes store today. We've also just released the first Android version of the app.  It was all the great feedback from our customers that motivated us to put this one out as fast as we could.  It's been a lot of long nights, but we hope this makes the application complete and increases our user base.

slidereader googlysync

Since we released the app 8 weeks ago, we've had over 3,000+ legitimate downloads (thanks to you all!). But we've also been grappling with piracy, with over but 15,000 illegally pirated copies downloaded!

Developing apps is exciting, challenging and very gratifying. It is also very resource intensive.  There is obviously a lot of demand for the product with so many pirated versions out there. That's a great signal to us that we're doing something right. But the challenge for us is how to we build a viable business if we cant protect even a small $4.99 payment? How can we continue to offer our customer great products if we aren't making even our cost back. It's not like we are adobe charging hundreds of dollars for an app. It's just 5 bucks. (Even beer is more expensive in most cities nowadays). It's great Apple and Google woo developers to build for their platforms,  but we would have hoped they could offer  a more secure channel for all this hard work to be monetized.

app store piracy

We're committed to what we do, but we sincerely hope that Apple and Google put better measures in place so that individual developers and also software companies can continue to invest in building great, innovative apps.

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/the-big-update-is-out-now-how-do-we-protect-our-work.html/commentsFeed 7 Tips to Ensure a Speedier & Better Reading Experience on Slide Reader http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/better-reading-experience-slide-reader.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/better-reading-experience-slide-reader.html#comments Sat, 18 Sep 2010 09:14:56 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/better-reading-experience-slide-reader.html What is the one thing that you absolutely love about Slide Reader ? We asked this question to our beta testers and almost all of them unanimously said - the overall experience and speed !

Now, that was an interesting observation to us. We've ensured at every point of Slide Reader development that it should provide the user a never before reading experience on the iPad. iPad as we all know is a device that is so revolutionary in concept, that it took our reading habits & experiences to a whole new level. We wanted to make full use of the situation, and we believe we did for the most part.

However, we've had a few users complain about sluggishness while using the app. So we thought, a clarification would be nice, at this point. So here we are.

Slide Reader is basically built for ensuring a quick and effortless reading experience. But to make full use of it, you need to get the settings right. And most people are not really aware of what those optimized settings are.

Let's try and help.

1. Set the "Fetching Time" to a lesser number.
We've set a feature called as "Fetching Time" for New RSS feeds on the Slide Reader, which basically determines the time from which published data is picked up from the sites you're subscribed to. By default, this value is at "3 Months". Which means that when you subscribe to a feed for the first time, all the feeds will be checked for new items in the last three months and all the data since then is proactively synced before its read.
Although you can set the time limit up to 6 months, we recommend that for a better reading experience and a quicker loading time, you can set the time to a lower one, like 3 weeks, especially when you have a large number of feeds. This makes sure that only latest published articles less than 3 weeks are fetched during the start up, reducing your loading time significantly. Try it.

Go to Settings > General > Fetching > New Items, and select a shorter time perid than the current one.



2. Do you really want to Sync on start ?
"Sync on Start" is an option by which you can determine if the app should sync all your subscription feeds while you start it. While this option is a great way to always get updated feeds while you start the app, if you have lots of feeds subscribed to, this might significantly increase your initial load time.
An optimal way to use it is to turn it off during startup.

Go to Settings > General > Fetching > Sync on Start (Turn Off)

3.Turn off Images for Offline Reading.
If you have a large number of RSS feeds subscribed to, its a good idea to turn off the"Fetching images for offline reading" option. The reason ? The setting is used to decide if images should be cached locally for offline reading. So the app runs the offline caching in the background, when this option is On. Turn if off and it significantly increased the speed.



4. Cleaning Up Starred Items
This is a simple tweak but helps a lot. In your Settings > Clean Up part, there is a setting which lets you set the time for which you're recently starred items will remain. Unless you're the type who reads starred items after an year, it is safe to keep it to a lower number. By Default, the starred items will be saved for three months. You might want to turn it down for an optimized performance.

5. Cleaning Up Read Items
This is yet another setting on the Clean Up Tab that lets you decide how many of your saved items should be saved. The default setting saves your 3 Months of read items. Changing the settings to a lower time frame will ensure a faster performance for the app.

6. Cleaning Up Unread Items
Just like the Read items, you can also set the time for which your unread items will be saved locally. Turning the option to a lower time frame like 1 Week will significantly change the apps performance for the good.

7. Open Links in mobilizer mode
While you view the feeds in the internal browser, there are three ways by which you can view the feeds. 1 - Original Page, 2 - Instapaper Mobilizer and 3 - Google Mobilizer mode. Go to General > Settings > Reading > Open Links.
If you would set the option to either 2 or 3, the mobilizer options, then it saves a lot of data trying to load the original webpage.



So there you have it. Seven cool tips for ensuring a faster reading experience on Slide Reader. Try it out - it works !

]]> What is the one thing that you absolutely love about Slide Reader ? We asked this question to our beta testers and almost all of them unanimously said - the overall experience and speed !

Now, that was an interesting observation to us. We've ensured at every point of Slide Reader development that it should provide the user a never before reading experience on the iPad. iPad as we all know is a device that is so revolutionary in concept, that it took our reading habits & experiences to a whole new level. We wanted to make full use of the situation, and we believe we did for the most part.

However, we've had a few users complain about sluggishness while using the app. So we thought, a clarification would be nice, at this point. So here we are.

Slide Reader is basically built for ensuring a quick and effortless reading experience. But to make full use of it, you need to get the settings right. And most people are not really aware of what those optimized settings are.

Let's try and help.

1. Set the "Fetching Time" to a lesser number.
We've set a feature called as "Fetching Time" for New RSS feeds on the Slide Reader, which basically determines the time from which published data is picked up from the sites you're subscribed to. By default, this value is at "3 Months". Which means that when you subscribe to a feed for the first time, all the feeds will be checked for new items in the last three months and all the data since then is proactively synced before its read.
Although you can set the time limit up to 6 months, we recommend that for a better reading experience and a quicker loading time, you can set the time to a lower one, like 3 weeks, especially when you have a large number of feeds. This makes sure that only latest published articles less than 3 weeks are fetched during the start up, reducing your loading time significantly. Try it.

Go to Settings > General > Fetching > New Items, and select a shorter time perid than the current one.



2. Do you really want to Sync on start ?
"Sync on Start" is an option by which you can determine if the app should sync all your subscription feeds while you start it. While this option is a great way to always get updated feeds while you start the app, if you have lots of feeds subscribed to, this might significantly increase your initial load time.
An optimal way to use it is to turn it off during startup.

Go to Settings > General > Fetching > Sync on Start (Turn Off)

3.Turn off Images for Offline Reading.
If you have a large number of RSS feeds subscribed to, its a good idea to turn off the"Fetching images for offline reading" option. The reason ? The setting is used to decide if images should be cached locally for offline reading. So the app runs the offline caching in the background, when this option is On. Turn if off and it significantly increased the speed.



4. Cleaning Up Starred Items
This is a simple tweak but helps a lot. In your Settings > Clean Up part, there is a setting which lets you set the time for which you're recently starred items will remain. Unless you're the type who reads starred items after an year, it is safe to keep it to a lower number. By Default, the starred items will be saved for three months. You might want to turn it down for an optimized performance.

5. Cleaning Up Read Items
This is yet another setting on the Clean Up Tab that lets you decide how many of your saved items should be saved. The default setting saves your 3 Months of read items. Changing the settings to a lower time frame will ensure a faster performance for the app.

6. Cleaning Up Unread Items
Just like the Read items, you can also set the time for which your unread items will be saved locally. Turning the option to a lower time frame like 1 Week will significantly change the apps performance for the good.

7. Open Links in mobilizer mode
While you view the feeds in the internal browser, there are three ways by which you can view the feeds. 1 - Original Page, 2 - Instapaper Mobilizer and 3 - Google Mobilizer mode. Go to General > Settings > Reading > Open Links.
If you would set the option to either 2 or 3, the mobilizer options, then it saves a lot of data trying to load the original webpage.



So there you have it. Seven cool tips for ensuring a faster reading experience on Slide Reader. Try it out - it works !

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/better-reading-experience-slide-reader.html/commentsFeed Top 5 RSS Feed Recommendations for the week ( Staff Pick ) http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feed-recommendations-for-the-week-staff-pick.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feed-recommendations-for-the-week-staff-pick.html#comments Thu, 09 Sep 2010 16:33:33 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feed-recommendations-for-the-week-staff-pick.html In our continued efforts to find the best RSS feeds out there, we're continuing with our series of "best RSS feeds" posts. This time we've picked the following five RSS feeds, that we think fit the bill perfectly. Check it out.

If you're a website owner and think your RSS feed is good enough to get featured here, do let us know.

1. 2 Movie Guys

A fun blog hosted by two guys speaking about movies, humor and everything in between.

 

2. Be Chic

An online magazine with original interviews & segments featuring prominent experts in fashion, beauty and entertainment.

 

3. LA-ist

A blog covering everything about LA with local news, events, food and entertainment, targeted at young urbanites.

 

4. The Red Neck Mommy

A humorous and insightful look at the joys of parenting, the delights of marriage and the heartbreak of losing a child.

 

5. Wannabe TV Chef

Chef Donald's trials with blogging in between culinary experiments.

 

You can find all these feeds and more interesting ones at Slide Reader FeedBase, do check it out and let us know your thoughts.

]]> In our continued efforts to find the best RSS feeds out there, we're continuing with our series of "best RSS feeds" posts. This time we've picked the following five RSS feeds, that we think fit the bill perfectly. Check it out.

If you're a website owner and think your RSS feed is good enough to get featured here, do let us know.

1. 2 Movie Guys

A fun blog hosted by two guys speaking about movies, humor and everything in between.

 

2. Be Chic

An online magazine with original interviews & segments featuring prominent experts in fashion, beauty and entertainment.

 

3. LA-ist

A blog covering everything about LA with local news, events, food and entertainment, targeted at young urbanites.

 

4. The Red Neck Mommy

A humorous and insightful look at the joys of parenting, the delights of marriage and the heartbreak of losing a child.

 

5. Wannabe TV Chef

Chef Donald's trials with blogging in between culinary experiments.

 

You can find all these feeds and more interesting ones at Slide Reader FeedBase, do check it out and let us know your thoughts.

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feed-recommendations-for-the-week-staff-pick.html/commentsFeed Top 5 RSS Feeds of the week ( Staff Picks) http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feeds-of-the-week-staff-pick-of-the-week.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feeds-of-the-week-staff-pick-of-the-week.html#comments Tue, 31 Aug 2010 16:43:57 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feeds-of-the-week-staff-pick-of-the-week.html Continuing with our series of "best RSS feeds", this time we have more websites featured, from a variety of categories. From News to Web and Anime to Biking..the varierty is diverse..just like the Slide Reader feedbase, where we feature more than 220 feeds under 35+ categories.

If you're a website owner and think your RSS feed is good enough to get featured here, do let us know.

1. Computer Graphics Society

All those mind bloggling computer graphics itself was enough to impress us. Notice how the RSS feed layout is organized beautifully.

 

2. Cartoon Brew

Weblog of animation historian Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi, broadly covering animation news, opinion and artistry.

 

3. Metropolis Mag

Metropolis examines contemporary life through design--architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design, crafts, planning, and preservation.

 

4. Winding Road

Winding Road covers the latest trends in Automobiles.

 

5. Bike Hugger

A beautiful blog dedicaed for biking enthusiasts.

 

You can find all these feeds and more interesting ones at Slide Reader FeedBase, do check it out and let us know your thoughts.

]]> Continuing with our series of "best RSS feeds", this time we have more websites featured, from a variety of categories. From News to Web and Anime to Biking..the varierty is diverse..just like the Slide Reader feedbase, where we feature more than 220 feeds under 35+ categories.

If you're a website owner and think your RSS feed is good enough to get featured here, do let us know.

1. Computer Graphics Society

All those mind bloggling computer graphics itself was enough to impress us. Notice how the RSS feed layout is organized beautifully.

 

2. Cartoon Brew

Weblog of animation historian Jerry Beck and Amid Amidi, broadly covering animation news, opinion and artistry.

 

3. Metropolis Mag

Metropolis examines contemporary life through design--architecture, interior design, product design, graphic design, crafts, planning, and preservation.

 

4. Winding Road

Winding Road covers the latest trends in Automobiles.

 

5. Bike Hugger

A beautiful blog dedicaed for biking enthusiasts.

 

You can find all these feeds and more interesting ones at Slide Reader FeedBase, do check it out and let us know your thoughts.

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/top-5-rss-feeds-of-the-week-staff-pick-of-the-week.html/commentsFeed The Best 5 RSS Feeds of the week ( Staff Picks ) http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/best-rss-feeds-to-subscribe.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/best-rss-feeds-to-subscribe.html#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 09:39:56 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/best-rss-feeds-to-subscribe.html Sometimes, we at the Slide Reader development team, think we’re a bunch of weird guys.  

Reason?
a) We have an insatiable appetite for finding new websites and testing them on Slide Reader.
b) While others just skim for content on a new website, we dig deeper, to the extent that we run straight for the RSS feed, rip it apart, put it together and render it out on Slide Reader !

Well, we do it quite often these days that whenever there’s a new website found, this is the drill.

The fact is that our quality standards for an RSS feed is way above the average. And we love feeds with rich media, like images, videos and the like. Slide Reader was built to render rich RSS media feeds, and it’s a pleasure for us to add more of such.<!-- blog description separator -->

Every week, our staff will pick the best of RSS feeds they discovered and share it with Slide Reader users here. Here are our best feeds for the week. Do let us know of better ones, and we’d love to rip it apart..err..try them.

No.1  - Boston.com, The Big Picture

Category - Photography

We're big fans of the Big Picture at Boston. A concept that revolutionized photo journalism, Boston stands unique with its "photo stories". They have a very rich RSS feed, and we love it. Obviously the number one this week.

 

No.2  - LifeHacker.com

Category - Technology

This is one website you can't skip. Gina Tripani and her team delivers amazingly "life changing" stories every day and what we like is the rich media in their RSS. Images, Videos...its got all of that.

 

No.3  - Esquire.com

Category - Celebrities, Fashion

Fashion, Entertainent, Celeb stuff and a lot more... Esquire falls into many brackets. And their RSS feed ? One of the best out there. Lot of content and daily updates. Must subscribe.

 

No.4  - TheChive.com

Category - Fun, Lifestyle, Humor

If its fun, its The Chive. We like it for the pictures though. The best website in the world ? May be, but one of the best RSS feeds for sure.

 

No.5  - Mashable.com

Category - Technology.

Your one stop window to the social media, web world. Pete Cashmore and his team makes sure that their RSS feeds are rich and compatible on all platforms. Don't even ask if we love them.

 

So, there you have it. Our favorite websites of the week. We'll be posting more every week, so do drop in your comments on what you're favorite RSS feeds are and why ? If good enough, we'll feature it on our list.

]]> Sometimes, we at the Slide Reader development team, think we’re a bunch of weird guys.  

Reason?
a) We have an insatiable appetite for finding new websites and testing them on Slide Reader.
b) While others just skim for content on a new website, we dig deeper, to the extent that we run straight for the RSS feed, rip it apart, put it together and render it out on Slide Reader !

Well, we do it quite often these days that whenever there’s a new website found, this is the drill.

The fact is that our quality standards for an RSS feed is way above the average. And we love feeds with rich media, like images, videos and the like. Slide Reader was built to render rich RSS media feeds, and it’s a pleasure for us to add more of such.<!-- blog description separator -->

Every week, our staff will pick the best of RSS feeds they discovered and share it with Slide Reader users here. Here are our best feeds for the week. Do let us know of better ones, and we’d love to rip it apart..err..try them.

No.1  - Boston.com, The Big Picture

Category - Photography

We're big fans of the Big Picture at Boston. A concept that revolutionized photo journalism, Boston stands unique with its "photo stories". They have a very rich RSS feed, and we love it. Obviously the number one this week.

 

No.2  - LifeHacker.com

Category - Technology

This is one website you can't skip. Gina Tripani and her team delivers amazingly "life changing" stories every day and what we like is the rich media in their RSS. Images, Videos...its got all of that.

 

No.3  - Esquire.com

Category - Celebrities, Fashion

Fashion, Entertainent, Celeb stuff and a lot more... Esquire falls into many brackets. And their RSS feed ? One of the best out there. Lot of content and daily updates. Must subscribe.

 

No.4  - TheChive.com

Category - Fun, Lifestyle, Humor

If its fun, its The Chive. We like it for the pictures though. The best website in the world ? May be, but one of the best RSS feeds for sure.

 

No.5  - Mashable.com

Category - Technology.

Your one stop window to the social media, web world. Pete Cashmore and his team makes sure that their RSS feeds are rich and compatible on all platforms. Don't even ask if we love them.

 

So, there you have it. Our favorite websites of the week. We'll be posting more every week, so do drop in your comments on what you're favorite RSS feeds are and why ? If good enough, we'll feature it on our list.

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/best-rss-feeds-to-subscribe.html/commentsFeed Nobody.... Move..... A Muscle ! http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/nobody-move-a-muscle.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/nobody-move-a-muscle.html#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 04:41:26 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/nobody-move-a-muscle.html Good news for Slide Reader users.

In our constant effort to improve the app, we’ve come up with some nice updates this week!  Most of them are based on user feedback and focus on enriching user experience. Thanks to all those who emailed / facebooked and tweeted us with your suggestions.

<!-- blog description separator -->

Check out Version 1.1.1 of Slide Reader (now available on the App Store) with these new features:

1. More control

Switch between articles, bookmark, share and toggle with minimal effort. You’ll have better control on your reading experience with two additional feature settings for the Toolbar.

As you know, the Toolbar, which has all the essential functions you need when reading an article, generally shows up on the right side while you’re reading. Now, you can choose where it appears according to what’s most comfortable for you.

Just go to Settings > General, and you’ll see an additional menu for “Toolbar,” under which there are two options. i) Full screen mode and ii) Portrait mode

In Full Screen mode, you can set the toolbar to appear on the right, left or both. In Portrait mode you can make the toolbar appear on the left or right.

This should give you more control over all the content as you read.

2. Pinch, Swipe, Tap for surprises--More Gestures!

Slide Reader now supports gestures! Simple additions that will make a big impact to your reading experience. 

Quick pinch to full screen : Not much more needs to be said to explain this one. A nifty feature but very versatile. While reading a piece of content, just pinch to move into full screen mode. Pinch back to go to previous view.

3. You wanted more screen space? You got more screen space!

For those of you who needed that “intrusion-less” reading experience, all you need to do is a two finger tap on the article and everything else other than the article itself will disappear from the screen. And you can just swipe to move to the next one and go on and on without any intrusion. Sometimes less complex is more fun! Try it out.


4.  Stability! Bug fixes & optimizations

There were some bugs with the earlier version which made the app crash at certain points like switching from one profile to another. We’ve done an intense test this time and fixed as many bugs as possible. You should see a more stable app with the 1.1.1 version.

Essentially, all these updates are a part of our efforts to make Slide Reader more intuitive and easy to use. We’re always looking for possibilities to improve the app’s features and your overall reading experience. And we have more features on our wish list like “Mark All as Read” and “Google Sync” which we’re working on already. But feel free to let us know if you have any ideas for new features/improvement.

 

]]> Good news for Slide Reader users.

In our constant effort to improve the app, we’ve come up with some nice updates this week!  Most of them are based on user feedback and focus on enriching user experience. Thanks to all those who emailed / facebooked and tweeted us with your suggestions.

<!-- blog description separator -->

Check out Version 1.1.1 of Slide Reader (now available on the App Store) with these new features:

1. More control

Switch between articles, bookmark, share and toggle with minimal effort. You’ll have better control on your reading experience with two additional feature settings for the Toolbar.

As you know, the Toolbar, which has all the essential functions you need when reading an article, generally shows up on the right side while you’re reading. Now, you can choose where it appears according to what’s most comfortable for you.

Just go to Settings > General, and you’ll see an additional menu for “Toolbar,” under which there are two options. i) Full screen mode and ii) Portrait mode

In Full Screen mode, you can set the toolbar to appear on the right, left or both. In Portrait mode you can make the toolbar appear on the left or right.

This should give you more control over all the content as you read.

2. Pinch, Swipe, Tap for surprises--More Gestures!

Slide Reader now supports gestures! Simple additions that will make a big impact to your reading experience. 

Quick pinch to full screen : Not much more needs to be said to explain this one. A nifty feature but very versatile. While reading a piece of content, just pinch to move into full screen mode. Pinch back to go to previous view.

3. You wanted more screen space? You got more screen space!

For those of you who needed that “intrusion-less” reading experience, all you need to do is a two finger tap on the article and everything else other than the article itself will disappear from the screen. And you can just swipe to move to the next one and go on and on without any intrusion. Sometimes less complex is more fun! Try it out.


4.  Stability! Bug fixes & optimizations

There were some bugs with the earlier version which made the app crash at certain points like switching from one profile to another. We’ve done an intense test this time and fixed as many bugs as possible. You should see a more stable app with the 1.1.1 version.

Essentially, all these updates are a part of our efforts to make Slide Reader more intuitive and easy to use. We’re always looking for possibilities to improve the app’s features and your overall reading experience. And we have more features on our wish list like “Mark All as Read” and “Google Sync” which we’re working on already. But feel free to let us know if you have any ideas for new features/improvement.

 

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/nobody-move-a-muscle.html/commentsFeed How to get started with Slide Reader ? http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/how-to-get-started-with-slide-reader-how-to-tutorial.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/how-to-get-started-with-slide-reader-how-to-tutorial.html#comments Tue, 24 Aug 2010 03:35:21 +0000 Mani Karthik http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/how-to-get-started-with-slide-reader-how-to-tutorial.html Importing feeds from Google reader


So, you’ve got your hands on Slide Reader, now how to get started with it?

Slide Reader was built with both the advanced and the easy user in mind. Which is why, even with all those nifty features included, you would find it really easy to use. Many users have told us that the one thing that they like most about Slide Reader is the ease of using it.

However, because Slide Reader is new and many users need someone to help them take through the functions, we’ve decided to come up with a series of articles that will help you discover new ways of using Slide Reader. Today, we’re going to help you with the very basic function – importing RSS feeds from Google Reader.<!-- blog description separator -->

How to start with Google Feeds ?


First off, a clarification.

Slide Reader, at the moment (Version 1.1) supports only Google Reader RSS feed import and not Google Sync, which by the way, is already on the roadmap. We’re working towards it, with much enthusiasm, and hope that it will be available in the future updates.

Having said that, if you have a set of RSS feeds subscribed to on Google, then it’s easy to start with on Slide Reader.

Step 1

Click on Settings > Google Reader > Login > A menu appears as shown below in screenshot.

Pick the fourth option from the menu “Import from Google Reader”.

How to import Google RSS feeds

 

Step 2

Give your Google Login Credentials.

How to import Google RSS feeds How To

 

Step 3

Click on "Import All"

After giving your Google login credentials, the entire list of feeds appear in the drop down menu.

i) You can either import all feeds in one go by clicking on “Import All” button to import them to your subscriptions.
ii) Or, you can import selected feeds by selecting only the ones you like by single tapping on them. As you tap, a green tick mark appears against each, confirming your selection.

How to import Google RSS feeds Screen 3

 

Step 4

Close Settings, and allow to sync for a few minutes. 

How to import Google RSS feeds Screen 4

 

After allowing to sync for a few minutes, all your feeds will show up in the subscriptions list.

Now you’re ready. Go ahead, play around with the feeds, have fun with the gestures and handy clicks and taps.

The fun thing with Slide Reader, is that it takes full advantage of the iPad’s features. Rotate it in many ways, and you get a different orientation each time!

Slide, tap and read articles as you wish and believe us, there’s a lot to discover using Slide Reader !

If you have any suggestions to improve, ideas or feedback, feel free to contact us.

Don’t forget to join the Slide Reader community at Facebook and Twitter !

 

]]> Importing feeds from Google reader


So, you’ve got your hands on Slide Reader, now how to get started with it?

Slide Reader was built with both the advanced and the easy user in mind. Which is why, even with all those nifty features included, you would find it really easy to use. Many users have told us that the one thing that they like most about Slide Reader is the ease of using it.

However, because Slide Reader is new and many users need someone to help them take through the functions, we’ve decided to come up with a series of articles that will help you discover new ways of using Slide Reader. Today, we’re going to help you with the very basic function – importing RSS feeds from Google Reader.<!-- blog description separator -->

How to start with Google Feeds ?


First off, a clarification.

Slide Reader, at the moment (Version 1.1) supports only Google Reader RSS feed import and not Google Sync, which by the way, is already on the roadmap. We’re working towards it, with much enthusiasm, and hope that it will be available in the future updates.

Having said that, if you have a set of RSS feeds subscribed to on Google, then it’s easy to start with on Slide Reader.

Step 1

Click on Settings > Google Reader > Login > A menu appears as shown below in screenshot.

Pick the fourth option from the menu “Import from Google Reader”.

How to import Google RSS feeds

 

Step 2

Give your Google Login Credentials.

How to import Google RSS feeds How To

 

Step 3

Click on "Import All"

After giving your Google login credentials, the entire list of feeds appear in the drop down menu.

i) You can either import all feeds in one go by clicking on “Import All” button to import them to your subscriptions.
ii) Or, you can import selected feeds by selecting only the ones you like by single tapping on them. As you tap, a green tick mark appears against each, confirming your selection.

How to import Google RSS feeds Screen 3

 

Step 4

Close Settings, and allow to sync for a few minutes. 

How to import Google RSS feeds Screen 4

 

After allowing to sync for a few minutes, all your feeds will show up in the subscriptions list.

Now you’re ready. Go ahead, play around with the feeds, have fun with the gestures and handy clicks and taps.

The fun thing with Slide Reader, is that it takes full advantage of the iPad’s features. Rotate it in many ways, and you get a different orientation each time!

Slide, tap and read articles as you wish and believe us, there’s a lot to discover using Slide Reader !

If you have any suggestions to improve, ideas or feedback, feel free to contact us.

Don’t forget to join the Slide Reader community at Facebook and Twitter !

 

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/how-to-get-started-with-slide-reader-how-to-tutorial.html/commentsFeed Slide Reader….an RSS app for everyone http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-rss-anwendung-entwicklung.html http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-rss-anwendung-entwicklung.html#comments Tue, 17 Aug 2010 06:18:27 +0000 Dinesh Lalvani http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-rss-anwendung-entwicklung.html Just two weeks in the iTunes store and we’ve already submitted our second update. It has been a grueling two months in design and development, and we’re still not ready to sleep.

01 usability testing

Creating Slide Reader has been an exciting and challenging design experience for us. We were inspired to build an app that would be powerful , intuitive and easy to use.  Basically something that we ourselves would love (not an easy feat considering we are a pretty demanding tech-head, gadget loving-bunch).  Great user experience begins with strong user interface, so we started by defining the app’s gestures. Just the sheer nature of the device with its countless interactions and orientations offered so many possibilities of how it could work. We studied what was most comfortable for users and developed our own “ergonomic” app design….everything is easily accessible with just the thumbs! Hold the device in landscape view and you will realize that you really don't need to move your hands much. It’s like holding a video game controller, but for RSS.<!-- blog description separator -->

We were also conscious of the fact that we needed to please a range of user types with this app. There are those, like us, who follow a massive amount of feeds and like the power features, and then there are also those who prefer to read at a more leisurely pace and like to customize the look and feel of their app.

We think we managed to develop something that works for everyone. The app is feature rich, so our users really get their money’s worth -- multiple profiles, a theme store, constantly updated and extensive feed catalog, and, of course, multi-lingual functionality since the iPad is truly an international device.

001 profile screen     002 feed base

003 default landscape right details    

There are more feature updates in the pipeline that we are going to be rolling out at a feverish pace so do follow us on our twitter page (twitter.com/slidereader) or join our discussions on facebook (www.facebook.com/slide.reader) to give us your feedback, brickbats and more. We really want to know what you think, and we take all criticism constructively (or as much as humanly possible!), so please do chime in.

]]> Just two weeks in the iTunes store and we’ve already submitted our second update. It has been a grueling two months in design and development, and we’re still not ready to sleep.

01 usability testing

Creating Slide Reader has been an exciting and challenging design experience for us. We were inspired to build an app that would be powerful , intuitive and easy to use.  Basically something that we ourselves would love (not an easy feat considering we are a pretty demanding tech-head, gadget loving-bunch).  Great user experience begins with strong user interface, so we started by defining the app’s gestures. Just the sheer nature of the device with its countless interactions and orientations offered so many possibilities of how it could work. We studied what was most comfortable for users and developed our own “ergonomic” app design….everything is easily accessible with just the thumbs! Hold the device in landscape view and you will realize that you really don't need to move your hands much. It’s like holding a video game controller, but for RSS.<!-- blog description separator -->

We were also conscious of the fact that we needed to please a range of user types with this app. There are those, like us, who follow a massive amount of feeds and like the power features, and then there are also those who prefer to read at a more leisurely pace and like to customize the look and feel of their app.

We think we managed to develop something that works for everyone. The app is feature rich, so our users really get their money’s worth -- multiple profiles, a theme store, constantly updated and extensive feed catalog, and, of course, multi-lingual functionality since the iPad is truly an international device.

001 profile screen     002 feed base

003 default landscape right details    

There are more feature updates in the pipeline that we are going to be rolling out at a feverish pace so do follow us on our twitter page (twitter.com/slidereader) or join our discussions on facebook (www.facebook.com/slide.reader) to give us your feedback, brickbats and more. We really want to know what you think, and we take all criticism constructively (or as much as humanly possible!), so please do chime in.

]]> http://www.slidereader.me/en/blog/blog/slide-reader-rss-anwendung-entwicklung.html/commentsFeed