Google just pissed off a whole slew of reporters, journalists, bloggers, and many other Google Reader users out there. Google Reader became the gold standard for RSS readers with Google pioneering the space a few years back. It is one of the only Google services I would actually pay a subscription for. In the past year or two they started treating it like the black sheep as social networking took off. In February we got a taste of what would happen when Google Reader went wonky for almost two days. Now it Google has announced that they plan on completely killing off the service on July 1, 2013. Here is what Google has to say about it:
We launched Google Reader in 2005 in an effort to make it easy for people to discover and keep tabs on their favorite websites. While the product has a loyal following, over the years usage has declined. So, on July 1, 2013, we will retire Google Reader. Users and developers interested in RSS alternatives can export their data, including their subscriptions, with Google Takeout over the course of the next four months.
All I can say is B@$+@RD$!!! To add insult to injury they are also killing off the Google Voice App for BlackBerry for BlackBerry Legacy devices. They are recommending users go to their HTML5 web app which works on OS 6.0+.
My mind is still reeling from all of the apps I use daily that will stop working when Google Reader goes dark. I really hope Google releases the source code or something because there really is no alternative right now. On top of that there are so many apps that utilize the Google Reader API to sync between devices.
This is a sad day… Maybe there is some hope Google will change their mind.
Amir Saad ( View Profile) - Posts: 550
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 9:31 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9810 | OS 7.1.0.694
Hey Ronen, I think this goes hand in hand with the google maps login problem.
Like I mentioned in my forum, more winter clean up, late winter clean up…
Next thing you know it, google maps will go dark very soon.
You know what, if they want to charge for it that’s one thing, to kill off a service is a totally different experience.
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3408
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 10:13 PM EST
Yeah I am pissed. So pissed… I use Google Reader just about as much as I use my email. Hell I learned about Google Reader being retired by checking Google Reader!
Luis Merlos ( View Profile) - Posts: 1315
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 10:46 PM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.0.10.672
My sentiment is the same and learned when I logged into it via web.
Marc Paradise ( View Profile) - Posts: 539
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 10:48 PM EST
Indeed. I may even use it more than email. It would be cool if they released source – allowing folks to host their own – but I’m not hopeful.
DanielH ( View Profile) - Posts: 577
Posted: March 15, 2013 at 12:07 AM EST
Yup, pretty much, except I found out using my BeReader app on my 9900, blog posts galore complaining about it
dimm0k ( View Profile) - Posts: 87
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 11:03 PM EST
damn, this seriously sucks… Google drops good ish and then they take it away! First it was the GMail app on the BB, then it was Sync, now Voice/Reader. WTF?!
Elessar Cm Not Registered
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 11:08 PM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.0.10.672
I’m furious and confounded! Google Reader has been my daily news and info source for years. I actually held off getting the Z10 until I was sure I could get a suitable RSS reader for BB 10. Found one and got the Z10 this weekend. Now this.
Considering the way Google seems to be trying to alienate users, it seems like the time to migrate to Outlook.com.
yandar ( View Profile) - Posts: 67
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 11:59 AM EST
I dropped Google and moved to outlook.com the day I got my Z10. When Google kills a service it should be for all devices not just us.
DanielH ( View Profile) - Posts: 577
Posted: March 15, 2013 at 12:25 AM EST
I agree, between FB and Google, I’m going piecemeal…and while I want to laugh about it, who knows, maybe they do eventually axe gmail too (as some angered user wrote on a blog post somewhere on the web)?
dpr ( View Profile) - Posts: 789
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 11:24 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9930 | OS 7.1.0.580
Some very bad news to taint this otherwise great news day for Blackberry.
bbfanboi ( View Profile) - Posts: 200
Posted: March 13, 2013 at 11:59 PM EST
I’ve lost faith in Google a while back. It started when I realized last year that they scanned all my email and messages and pushed stupid ads that matched content in my message. B@sT@rD$! They had dropped Google Mail app support for BlackBerry. Then they killed Google Sync. Now this. Can we really rely on Google for anything anymore. Perhaps Google Calendar will be next? Seriously.
iosys Not Registered
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 8:41 AM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.0.9.2372
I started to get rid of google from my life…
Only http://www.google.com left for searching for web… but how many alternatives have we? None.
ShvartzBerry ( View Profile) - Posts: 406
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 9:24 AM EST
I discovered the lack of Voice App recently when my Torch bricked and I had to start from scratch. Because no Google Apps exist in BB World, I went to m.google.com and when I clicked on Voice, it didn’t take me to the app – it took me to the HTML5 site.
You might want to check out Feedly as a possible replacement for Google Reader. I think it’s currently a Google Reader client but they just announced Normandy which they say is a replication of the Reader service and will kick in automatically when Reader goes down. Found it via this Wired article.
Elessar.cm ( View Profile) - Posts: 16
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 10:55 AM EST from my BlackBerry Z10 | OS 10.0.10.672
Feedly sounds like it may be a viable option. Now we just need them to provide a BB10 app!
kiddo2050 ( View Profile) - Posts: 814
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 10:56 PM EST
Don’t give a shit. Why people use this I have no idea.
If they block Gmail I could care less. Use outlook.com and be happy all of your email isn’t being scanned and used for the benefit of a company that doesn’t give a shit about you.
People are Google crazy because they think its something new and cool like my coworkers that use Gmail over exchange. I can tell you Gmail is shit compared to exchange.
Google maps better than Bing or any number of others. Seriously when have you been lost using Blackberry maps?
Get over Google!!!!
dpr ( View Profile) - Posts: 789
Posted: March 14, 2013 at 11:22 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9930 | OS 7.1.0.580
Here is an alternative to Google Reader, its called Zite – http://t.co/d0rVT4asIP.
jah Not Registered
Posted: April 7, 2013 at 12:02 AM EST
anybody know of a replacement for Google Voice app? I need to be able to text by way of a virtual number. The html5 app is total rubbish.
Ronen Halevy ( View Profile) - Posts: 3408
Posted: April 8, 2013 at 2:01 PM EST
I just sideloaded their Android app on my BlackBerry Z10 but I have not found anything for older BlackBerry 7 devices
jah Not Registered
Posted: April 8, 2013 at 2:07 PM EST
Blackberry 7 users! If your problem is texting (won’t solve your voice dial out problems unfortunately but you can use this to SMS text), After about 4 days of internet searching and falling down many rabbit holes – victory.
http://www.gvmax.com offers a service that allows you to send SMS text messages through your Google TALK IM messenger account. It’s pretty brilliant. You can download one of those 3rd party IM apps for your blackberry — I am using BeejiveIM… Incredible fix for people who’s problem is only texting SMS related. I am stoked and texting through this is actually a MUCH better experience than texting through GV ever was.
Amir Saad ( View Profile) - Posts: 550
Posted: April 8, 2013 at 2:07 PM EST from my BlackBerry 9810 | OS 7.1.0.825
How is that running? Any bugs to report?
jah Not Registered
Posted: April 8, 2013 at 2:09 PM EST
By the way, I’ll emphasize that, yes you can send and reply to SMS text messages to cell phones through your Google Talk account by using the free http://www.gvmax.com service. I sound like an advertisement but this is some very sneaky trickery that blows my mind.
jah Not Registered
Posted: April 8, 2013 at 2:11 PM EST
No bugs. It’s too many ways of brilliant. I guess it’s possibly a text could get lost since it’s traveling through quite a few pathways before it gets to your phone, but it’s quite responsive and I don’t think there is any delay beyond what would normally happen when you receive a text message. Nice thing is since it’s through a messenger app, you don’t have to constantly refresh your GV app to look for texts. It populates instantly. I think GV was only refreshing at best every 5 minutes in the settings.