If you're a fan of Reeder for iOS then you can now use the final version on for Mac in the form of Reeder for Mac. After months of beta testing (during which the application was free to test and use) Reeder for Mac is now the finished product.

Reeder syncs either manually or automatically with Google Reader and you get the same readability.com integration, customizable interface and of course gestures that you do on iOS. Naturally, you can also send marked items instantly to Instapaper, ReadItLater, Readability and post them to Twitter.

To get going, you will of course need a free Google Reader account. Once you sign-in, all of your feeds will be automatically collated by Reeder. If you're used to using RSS feeds to keep track of your favorite feeds, then you'll be pleasantly surprised at how Reeder makes reading them a far slicker and digestible experience.

On the other hand, if you're used to using the web version of Google Reader, you'll definitely find Reeder a much slicker and intuitive application. However, you'll need a multi-touch trackpad to really get the best out of it.

Reeder for Mac is a super slick and elegant way of reading your RSS feeds on Mac. If you're a fan of the iOS version, you'll love it.

Download Reeder 1.0 in Softonic

As the name suggests, The Times Reader is a desktop reading interface designed specifically for reading the New York Times. Times Reader has actually been around for over a year already but was previously based on Microsoft's Silverlight Platform. It's only now that the NYT has switched to the far superior Adobe Air platform that Times Reader looks like a genuine model of the future for all newspaper outlets.

Times Reader displays the print version of the newspaper so you're seeing pretty much what someone who's holding the real thing would. Unfortunately, unless you're a subscriber much of the content is locked but major features such as front page, videos, latest news and most emailed are available. You can scroll and move around the page using the mouse and skip through pages using the arrows. As a bonus, you can search for topics by keyword. Why this search tool doesn't extend beyond 7 days is not clear but maybe it's technical because of how large the NYT archive must be.

Although you can read all of the material in Times Reader in the online version, for a newspaper nostalgic like myself I really liked to look and feel of Times Reader. There's something slightly easier on the eye in terms of the layout, less intrusive advertising and it just feels more..."newspapery". The fact that it's updated regularly too gives it an added appeal and you can click on hyperlinks to be led onto the net edition.

Overall Times Reader is a very impressive application. You can definitely see it as a model for future readers and if you're a newspaper nostalgic, you'll certainly enjoy using it.

Download Times Reader Beta 2.0 in Softonic

This last option is great, since it lets you add any new RSS link you might find, without having to open up Google Reader every time.

You can also choose to block items you don't want to see. If you want to save yourself the hassle of even simply visiting Google Reader, you can also set up Reader Notifier as your default RSS reader in your browser preferences.

TorrentCasting allows you to keep up to date with media in RSS feeds such as torrents, podcasts or videocasts. It'll attach the file to the feed, making it immediately accessible to you from the menu bar.

Download Reader Notifier 1.10 in Softonic

It's easy to see why too. NetNewsWire is free and easy to use and filled with viewing modes and feed reading features that make it feel like a very complete and professional application. Not only can you view full screen, in tabs or combined, but NetNewsWire also lets you sort items by attention or create smart lists to keep your items organized.

The RSS reader previews new items in the interface, which saves you the hassle of opening up your browser. You can also sort items by headline column, depending on the date, title and more. NetNewsWire also integrates perfectly with programs such as Spotlight, iCal and iPhoto and allows you to post items to del.icio.us and Digg.

Perhaps most importantly for many, you can also automatically sync with NetNewsWire with Google Reader and your iPhone meaning you can read feeds from anywhere and not then duplicate them later when reading on your phone or in Google Reader.

Although there are no add-ons as such for NetNewsWire, it can be extended very easily using scripts although this obviously requires a certain amount of scripting knowledge. Most of the time, NetNewsWire works smoothly, however if you're following a large amount of feeds, it can take some time to load them up.

NetNewsWire is an excellent desktop RSS reader with multiple viewing modes and synchronisation with Google Reader.

Download NetNewsWire 3.3 in Softonic

With the FireANT Player, you can subscribe to any RSS 2.0 channel and automatically download fresh media content to watch and listen to. In this way, you don't need to keep checking your favorite channel - whether it be CNN or ESPN - to see whether there's anything you want to watch on as FireANT delivers it all to you in much the same way as Google Reader tracks your favorite blogs.

The other big draw of FireANT is that the media player is incredibly versatile - rivaling VLC Player in some respects - as it's able to play just about any format without the need for codecs including Quicktime, Windows Media, Flash, Real Media. FireANT can even sync downloaded files with portable media players such as iPod and Sony PSP.

In addition, FireANT player comes with an integrated Yahoo! Video Search function. When FireANT was originally released this was probably quite useful but now that Google is king, you probably won't find much use for it. You can also interact with video creators by sending comments to them based on their content although I'm sceptical as to whether this actually works properly.

A format free and fun way to keep track of your favorite programming, FireANT is maybe a bit dated now but better than having to keep checking channels for new content yourself.

Download FireANT Beta in Softonic

If you want to organise, capture and of course listen to your favourite podcasts, but are busy when they are scheduled, Juice (formerly known as iPodder) could be your solution. Juice allows users to capture and listen to Internet audio programs at anytime for listening at a time more convenient to them - it's kind of like a VCR but for podcasts.

Juice enables you to select and download shows and music and to play them whenever you are ready on your iPods, portable media players or PC. Juice is completely free to use and supports a range of external media players (although not all) and Juice can even help you discover new music with hundreds of podcast feeds you might not be aware of or have heard about (although most are American based). It's the organisation of your podcasts and highlighting of what you've listened to and transferred however that's most useful in Juice. Plus of course the fact that you'll never miss a podcast again.

Juice is an easy to use podcast organiser and scheduler that takes the stress out of keeping up and planning when to listen to your podcasts.

Download Juice (formerly iPodder) 2.2 in Softonic

RSS feeds are a great way to get articles from sites you like all in the same place. Readefine, like any RSS Reader allows you to collect your RSS feeds together, and browse them within the app.

As well as adding feeds manually, if you use Google Reader, the browser based RSS app, you can import your feeds from that account. Readefine is an Adobe Air application, which means it's cross platform, but also means it's a little more resource heavy than it need be.

While Readefine's newspaper style does look good, and makes reading really comfortable, the interface itself isn't as well designed or easy to use as it could be. You can't open feed folders you've imported from Google Reader, and the Share button doesn't do much.

Readefine is slower and less user friendly than other readers, and the newspaper style should probably have been kept for the articles themselves, because it's a bit of a mess to look at all over the interface.

Despite these criticisms, if you like reading newspaper style columns, you will like Readefine.

Download Readefine 0.92 in Softonic

On the first run, you are given the option to register and pick from a predefined list of blog “guides” or groups. The next step is to enter custom terms that are of particular interest to the user, so that the program can highlight these terms, giving them more prominence. This is a welcome alternative to what seems to be the accepted approach, which consists of bundling of all kinds of feeds of which the majority are of no interest to the user at all.

One of our favourite features was the easy-to-use rating system where users can give feeds a score from one to five stars. The ratings can then be used as a filter to show only the top feeds, making it easy to scan through the most relevant news quickly. What’s more, there are multiple options for customizing the interface, which is by far the best that we’ve seen to date. Other great features come in the form of tags for feeds and a synchronization system for using the reader on multiple computers without the need to sort through the same information more than once.

Extra merit goes with the fact that BlogBridge is an Open Source project, and although it seems secure and stable there are a few minor usability issues that could be improved upon. The program relies on an external browser to display blog sites, letting it concentrate on being a great feed reader. Annoyingly, however it doesn’t detect the default browser. With the browser selected, it then opened everything twice whether it was an article or the programs FAQ page. Even taking these hiccups into consideration, BlogBridge remains a quality package, so if you are searching for an RSS reader, your search has just come to an end.

Download BlogBridge 6.6.2 in Softonic

In the end, maybe I expected too much because it didn't impress me as much as I'd hoped. After recently trying the excellent Times Reader based on Adobe Air, I thought Google Reader would look just as elegant but the reality is it ends up looking rather stripped-down and basic compared to the real thing. The interface is similar to Google Reader, allowing you to add stars to items, share items and mark items as read. Each feed also displays a count of all your unread items.

In addition, you can subscribe and unsubscribe to and from your feeds, and ReadAir syncs automatically with your Google Reader account. However, the configuration options available in Google Reader are not accessible in ReadAir. You also can't use Google Gears with ReadAir for reading posts offline. The overall presentation of ReadAir could have made better use of the elegance offered by Air and OS X, but it could serve as a useful backup if you can't use Google Reader in your browser for any reason.

I expected more from ReadAir than it delivered but for those fans of the rapidly growing Adobe Air platform, it's worth adding to your collection.

Download ReadAir 0.31 in Softonic

Gruml allows you to view and manage your feed subscriptions of your Google Reader account in Mac OS X. The advantage of this is that you don't need a browser, you get a nice RSS symbol in your menu bar telling you how many feeds you have unread and of course, it uses a Mac OS interface. Gruml allows you to read your newsfeeds, manage them in folders, tag them and more.

All this of course takes place in sync with your Google Reader account. On the positive side, I like the way feeds are organized into folders and expanding them reveals the feeds with their logos. I also like the way I don't need to worry about Firefox crashing while I'm accessing feeds and the large window in which to read them. Given time, I'm sure I could come to rely on Gruml but it my eyes, Google Reader is already a pretty good product that's hard to improve upon. Gruml is also still in beta stage so expect some crashes and bugs while using it.

Gruml is a nice idea and if you're a die hard Mac OS X Cocoa interface fan and use Google Reader, you'll probably love it. Otherwise, you'll probably find little reason to switch.

Download Gruml 0.9.21 in Softonic

RSSOwl is however a very decent offering which I'd consider using if it Google hadn't trumped the market. RSSOwl is all about organization - organizing your RSS feeds so that they're easy to read manage and access. Although Google Reader now offers offline reading via Google Apps, RSSOwl has long allowed it's users to read feeds offline. In addition, it's a great solution for those that use both Macs and PC's as it works across platforms.

The latest version of it incorporates many new important features that enhance it such as a full screen mode, support for searches and improved notifier and multi-tabbed browsing. You can now add a password to your feeds although this is hardly the most essential thing you need in an RSS reader. The overall look of RSSOwl is very basic but it keeps things simple in order to make feeds easy to find and navigate.

I still won't be changing to RSSOwl but as a lightweight cross platform solution, it's a very well developed RSS reader.

Download RSSOwl 2.1.2 in Softonic

We were disappointed by the search feature, which, although it generates results quickly, opens up in a new window and does not let you preview feeds except in your browser. We also found that, on some occasions, images did not appear properly in MiNews.

In all, MiNews is a solid RSS reader, but users looking for something more professional should probably turn to other solutions.

Download MiNews 1.5 in Softonic

Unlike most clients, Mixero has a genuinely unique interface. This means to begin with users will feel a bit lost, but there is a method behind the design. The central panel features the accounts you add to Mixero, which can include Facebook as well as Twitter. Thes can be viewed on the left or right panels.

You can also set up channels to focus on specifying things in either service. These could be Twitter searches, user groups or specific friends, for example. These channels also sit in the central channel, and can be viewed quickly in either left or right panel. The idea behind this is that you can set up filters or channels, which will give you the information you want and cut out all the background noise that pollutes social media.

Mixero is made in Adobe Air, which means it looks good and is cross platform, but a tiny bit heavier on resources than it should be. The feed management is really well done, and it's great that they are trying something different, however only heavy twitter users are likely to need this degree of control.

Mixero is impressive as it does something different. However, it's claim of cutting out the noise is contrasted somewhat with an interface that can get very busy at times! One for Twitter addicts.

Download Mixero 0.57 in Softonic