Google Reader for iPhone gets a face-lift

With all the kerfuffle with iPhone 3G rumors, new Blackberry Bolds,and Google's own mobile operating system Android, it's nice toknow that Google hasn't lost focus and is continuing to innovate and improve their products for existing mobile platforms.

Thelatest release from the Google mobile team is Reader for iPhone. The bad news is, it's back in Beta, but the good news is the new interfaceis seriously good, and a great improvement over the older version.

I'vegot to admit that I'm addicted to Google Reader on the iPhone (and onthe computer). The new version mimics the web version much more closely, and now displays stories in-line. That means there's no backand forward to get back to your main reading list, and once you'vefinished reading an article you simply continue to scroll down - a much easier interface gesture than tapping on the 'back' arrow. Tapping on'share' or 'keep unread' is now also done in-line aiding usability.

If you've got an iPhone or iPod Touch you should check out Google Reader.To use it, you'll need to first set-up your Google Reader account via a regular web browser, and then log on via Mobile Safari. Apart from the great interface you'll also find that your RSS feeds stay in-sync on the computer and your iPhone. That means, if you read a story on the iPhone it will appear as 'read' in your web-browser, and vice-versa.

And don't forget that Google has also optimised other sites for MobileSafari -- Google News is another example of how good design makes the mobile browsing experience that much better. To access the new versionof Google Reader for Mobile Safari point your browser to http://www.google.com/reader/i/ and for Google News for Mobile Safari go to http://news.google.com on your iPhone or iPod Touch. With iPhone or iPod Touch firmware 1.1.4, you can also make these bookmarks and add them to your iPhone's home screen as an icon for one-button access -- mobile web browsing done right!