Pulse.Me for Web Isn’t Better than Google Reader – It’s Just Different and Just Awesome!
Editor’s note: Since writing this article, Pulse.ME has ceased to operate. This post remains as part of their legacy. However, you can read our story about a similar .MEr here.
Pulse.Me, the great, scrollable reader known for its great iPhone, iPad and Android app just released a potential Google Reader killer. It might be too soon, but Pulse’s new web app looks amazing and works on par and maybe even better then the most popular RSS reader in the world. The app means even more growth for Pulse’s over 15 million users!
Tile-lovin’ Reading
The new Pulse for Web offers a more explorative experience than most RSS and news readers that you’ve opened in your browser, either as a web page or a plugin. The most specific element is a tiled, full-screen layout filled with images of the articles you’ll read.
If it looks like Metro, ah sorry, new Windows 8 style UI, its because the interface is optimized for touch interfaces. Specifially, the Pulse.Me team worked closely with Microsoft to fully optimize the new web app for the new generation of Windows 8 tablets. What this means is that it supports multi-touch gestures available in IE10:
[youtube width=”555″ height=”312″]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5YPJ1CoiMBA[/youtube]
But don’t worry. While Pulse for Web is optimized for IE, it works well in Firefox, Chrome and Safari. In practise the layout changes and adapts to your browser windows size, moving images around so your browser is always filled – and as they say in the official announcement post – you won’t be wasting a single pixel.
Pulse for Web offers a very user friendly reading experience that you could see as a web version of Flipboard. When comparing it to Google Reader, Pulse.Me’s experience is more of a “slow read” – and that’s good!
The Whole-App Experience
Pulse for Web will sync without a problem with Pulse.Me’s range of mobile apps for iOS and Android. Pulse.Me will be encouraging users to starts accounts that make the syncing possible, as Pulse’s CEO Akshay Kothari told AllThingsD that most Pulse’s users never created an account. When they did, it was for connecting their Twitter and Facebook accounts for sharing articles.
What’s next for Pulse? Kothari said that the plan to focus the company on extending its products around topics like discussion and curation. So if you haven’t tried out Pulse.Me’s mobile apps and even if you have – check out Pulse for Web – it’s well worth it.
