Top 5 RSS news feed readers for iPhone, iPad

Have an iPad, iPhone, or iPod touch and curious which are the best, most must-have RSS feed reading apps you need to check out? We've already covered readers in general, from eBooks to comics, but this time we really wanted to focus on RSS news. So if you want to keep your syndication really simple, and yourself up to date with the latest new, read on for TiPb's top 5 most recommended RSS feed readings apps for iOS.

NetNewsWire is the granddaddy of iOS RSS readers and is still a favorite for many. It syncs with Google Reader, and while in version past that was a laborious process, improvements to both the app and iOS have made it much smoother these days. It's now been given a whole new codebase and has been picked up by a new team of dedicated developers so its quite possible grandaddy might just become the new, fresh kid on the block as well.

Rather than a universal binary for both iPhone and iPad, NetNewsWire has separate apps for both. There is, however, a free version for iPhone with ads that you can try before you buy. If you want a great way to organize and chew through your Google Reader-synced RSS feeds, give NetNewsWire a look.

• Free - iPhone App Store link
• $4.99 - iPhone App Store link
• $9.99 - iPad App Store link

The Early Edition was one of the first RSS readers available for iPad when it launched and it's still iPad-exclusive to this day. Beautifully rendered in a newspaper-style motif, it won't sync with Google Reader but will import your feeds to get you started. You can flip pages in the same way you can in iBooks, and there's a familiar Action button to share your favorites.

Just like iPad itself, The Early Edition isn't meant to be an on-the-go, breaking news reader. It's meant for when you want to relax. When you have your feet up and a glass of wine or a latte close at hand. It's for when you have time to just enjoy your feeds.

• $4.99 - iPad App Store link

Reeder manages to sync with Google Reader but without the slowdown many other apps seem to experience. Indeed, for a sync-enabled app, it's smoking fast. It presents everything in a clean, clear interface that doesn't seek to ground you in tradition or wow you with modern effects.

If you just want to power through news on the go, get in, get informed, and get back out, Reeder is a great way to do just that. It's not a universal binary, however, which means you'll have to buy it separately for iPhone and for iPad.

• $4.99 - iPad App Store link
• $2.99 - iPhone App Store link

Flipboard is a fun, fancy way to not only keep up with your Google Reader RSS feeds, but also Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and more. And that's both a blessing and a curse. If all you want is your news, just the facts and fast, then Flipboard may be eye-candy-coated social overkill. However, if you prefer your news filtered through your social networks, if you value sharing as much as gathering, the Flipboard can be a blast.

Because of all of the above, it feels better suited for quickly glancing through tons of content than for deep diving and focusing on news reading, but it's also free so you have nothing to lose by trying it. Except your time...

• Free - iPad App Store link

When Pulse debuted it seemed like the RSS feed reader someone in the Star Trek universe would use. Geometric, colorful, and elegant its a mosaic view of your news and a great way to browse all the laster stories. Pulse doesn't sync with Google Reader but rather lets you import your feeds so you start off with the sites you want, where you want them.

While Pulse isn't a universal binary for iPhone and iPad, it is free so there's no pain or price involved in trying it out on all your iOS devices.

• Free - iPhone App Store link
• Free - iPad App Store link

Your top apps?

So there you have them, our top 5 best RSS feed reader apps to get you going. Be sure to check out our Picks of the Week and iPad App and Games Forum for more recommendations, and if we missed any of your favorites leave them in the comments below!