Digg Reader, Digg’s RSS reader replacement for Google Reader, has been in the works for the past three months – really ever since Google announced that they’d be shutting down their own reader on July 1st. With the date fast approaching, Digg has finally unveiled more details about their new product.
Digg Reader will launch next week “in phases,” and they say that everyone will have access by June 26th.
Like before, Digg is emphasizing that their RSS reader will focus on speed, simplicity, and ease of transition for Google Reader users. And they’re focusing on power users:
“Given the compressed time frame for this sprint, we decided early on that we needed to focus on one type of user. We asked ourselves who had most to lose from the shutdown of Google Reader, and the answer was fairly obvious: the power user, the people who depend on the availability, stability, and speed of Reader every day,” says Digg.
Here’s what Digg says we can expect from Digg Reader, v.1:
- Easy migration and onboarding from Google Reader.
- A clean reading experience that gets out of the way and puts the focus squarely on the articles, posts, images, and videos themselves.
- Useful mobile apps that sync with the web experience.
- Support for key actions like subscribing, sharing, saving and organizing.
In the future, the focus will shift to building an Android app and integrating with other services. Digg says that future version of their Reader will also sport search, notifications, and better sorting tools.
Digg has previously hinted that their reader would be paid, or at least “freemium.” This is still true, but Digg says that the basic experience (plus some additional features) will be free.
“We mentioned in a prior post that Digg Reader will ultimately be a ‘freemium’ product. But we’re not going to bait-and-switch. All of the features introduced next week, as well as many others yet to come, will be part of the free experience,” says Digg.