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This is the first in a series of RSS/Feed Reader articles covering all the available options for BlackBerry users. In this review we will be looking at the FreeNews reader from FreeRange Communications.

FreeNews is, as implied by the name, a free news reader. Simply install this Java-based application onto your BlackBerry and you will be reading all of your favorite news feeds on the go in no time flat.

With full featured access for any existing RSS or Atom feed (RSS 0.9, 0.91., 0.92, 1.0 and 2.0) there is virtually no content unavailable to you.

First Impressions

Upon first visiting the FreeRange Communications website to download my FreeNews reader, I was not immediately blown away. The website itself is pretty bland visually. That being said, it contains links to great product information and support materials.

The description of the FreeRange website essentially sums up the FreeNews reader as well. It is not particularly stunning in the visuals category; however, it does process information extremely efficiently and proved quite easy to navigate throughout my tests.

For FreeNews product information, please visit this link.

Getting Started:

Installing The Software
For users who have a BlackBerry, the FreeNews application can be downloaded by pointing your mobile browser at the following URL, http://mwap.at.

Follow the onscreen instructions and create a free account with FreeRange Communications.

BlackBerry owners who wish to download the application and install via the BlackBerry Desktop Manager, will have to navigate to the following URL (http://www.freerangeinc.com/m/install_f/install.html) and download a specific set of instructions and install files to their desktop. These files can then be transfered to the BlackBerry using the BlackBerry Desktop Manager.

BlackBerry users can download the software in English and German languages, with a variation of each for traditional setup and one for those utilizing a BES.

Creating your free account
Setting up your FreeRange account is a simple and straightforward process. Begin by clicking on the FreeNews icon now located on your BlackBerry homepage. You will be prompted to either enter your account information or create a new account. Select the option “Create a Free Account”.

When accessing the new account setup from a BlackBerry, most of the information required will be filled in already.

Ensure that all fields are completed and a username and password have been selected. Once you are satisfied that they are all complete, choose “Create Account”.

Adding news feeds

Adding a news feed to your FreeRange account requires only a couple of clicks. You are presented with a number of options to assist in the addition of a new feed.

The first is by browsing a list of pre defined news sources. This pre defined list includes content related to Arts and Entertainment, Business and Finance, Computer and Internet, Family and Home, Government and Politics, and more.

In order to select an actual feed, drill down into these menu options and select a specific feed to be added to your FreeNews reader.

You can search for a particular news source, or add a Yahoo or Google reader feed based on a specific keyword.

Additional items you can add to your feed reader subscription include US stock symbols and US weather by zip code. It is also possible to conduct a job search by city and enter a specific URL to aggregate news from.

Once you have selected all of the news feeds you would like to read on your BlackBerry, click “done”. You will now see your chosen feeds are associated with your account. Each feed will have a number to the right of it, referring to the number of stories available at the time of viewing.

In an effort to help you identify any particular news source in your list, favicons are downloaded and displayed next to a particular feed when available.

OPML files can be imported to your account via the FreeRange website.

Click here for an online demo of the FreeRange account setup process

Basic Features

Browsing Feeds
The FreeNews reader presents your selected news feeds organized into category folders with related feeds within each. EG: Photos, Business and Finance, News, and Technology. Each of these category folders can be collapsed or expanded with a single click for ease of navigation and reduced scrolling.

On a feed level, you are presented with individual article headlines which are organized by date. Clicking on a headline will produce an abstract view of the article consisting of the date posted and a short description of the news item. If you wish to read that article, simply click “Read full story for latest details”.

It is important to note that you can view the individual items from a news feed in either your BlackBerry browser, or in “full story” mode which utilized the FreeRange built in browser. The advantage to the FreeRange browser is that it optimizes the conten for quick and easy download and mobile display. Any links within the article are stripped out. In the event that you wish to follow those links, simply choose “access links” from the main menu, or press the 5 key on your BlackBerry keyboard.

Making Notes
Any time a full story has been loaded, it is saved to your devices memory so that you will not have to incur data usage to read it again in the future. All articles that have been full downloaded will be displayed with a small book icon for easy identification.

Each time you read an article its title will be marked as read (article headline will go grey).

You are also given the option of marking an article for reading later. In the drop down menu, select “Mark Later”. All news items marked for later will display a small pencil icon. Additionally, they will appear in a custom feed folder at the top of your feed category list for easy access later on.

Email an article to a friend
For each article in your feed, you are given the option to send the item to a friend via email. to do this, select “Send” from the drop down list. You have the option to send to yourself or a specific contact from your contact list.

A dialog box will appear prompting you to enter the email address and an accompanying message.

Bookmarking an article on del.icio.us
At any point while viewing an article, you can choose to send this article to del.icio.us. Select “Post to Del.icio.us” from the drop down menu and fill in the requested fields for description, notes, tags and “share”.

Click here for an online demo of the FreeNews Basic Features

Advanced Features

Shortcuts
FreeRange provides an extensive set of shortcuts to make feed reading as quick and easy as possible. To learn more about the FreeNews shortcut functionality, just access the help menu from the drop down list and select the shortcuts topic. You will now see a complete list of all shortcut keys and their associated functions.



Flight Mode
The FreeNews reader is a full offline reader, making it ideal for users who do not always have online connectivity. I.e., those of you who travel quite a bit on airplanes or on the subway, or those of you without access to unlimited data plans.

To turn on flight mode, simply access the settings area from the drop down menu and choose “Change settings for Flight Mode”. When in flight mode, you will see a small airplane icon in the top left corner of your BlackBerry desktop.

What flight mode does is restrict any attempts to download any more feed content or images. Additionally, it will store any actions you may wish to implement and carry them out when you have regained connectivity. I.e., sending an article to a friend via email. The email will be stored along with the send instructions and sent out only when you have turned off flight mode. The selected actions will not automatically carry themselves out, you must instead, go to the drop down menu and select “Update — all feeds”.

Image browsing
Like most feed readers, the FreeNews reader allows for image viewing. As you may very well know however, when viewing on a small screen, images can be less than engaging. FreeNews addresses this by allowing you to view images in either a 3X, 2X or fullscreen zoom.

To access the zoom features, press the 5 key on your BlackBerry keyboard and select the desired magnification.

Click here for an online demo of the FreeNews Avanced Features

My Opinion

Overall, I believe the FreeNews reader will be a valuable asset to any BlackBerry owner. The installation process is straight forward, information is handled efficiently on all levels, advanced flight mode options provide extended functionality and image viewing is a breeze.

I would reccomend this RSS/Feed reader to all BlackBerry owners, particularly those who are offline for extended periods of time, whether in the air, flying the friendly skies, or underground riding the tubes.

Tune in next Friday for the latest installment of Feed Reader Fridays at BBGeeks.com

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