Review: Headline
Score:
90%
Version Reviewed: 1.25
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Headline, from Wildpalm, is now available for S60 3rd Edition and I’m pretty pleased about that. While the Webcore web browser that ships in the new Nokias has an RSS reader, it’s missing a lot of bells and whistles, not least in that it only works when you’re online.
So Headline comes to the rescue. Promising a huge number of features, there are two that really stand out for me. The first is that it works offline – that means I can ask Headline to download the full text of all the RSS feeds I am subscribed to when the phone is online, and read them at my leisure, no matter where I am. This is great, as my Wi-Fi at home can let me load up on BBC News (and All About Symbian!) before getting on the bus. If I was using the built in Web Browser, I’d be on GPRS for the whole journey.
The second feature is how you manage your RSS subscriptions. Naturally the application has a suggested number of RSS feeds (including All About Symbian), and you can add your own feeds using the keypad on the phone, but you can also use your desktop computer and a web browser to manage your feeds. By registering at the Wildpalm Headline homepage, you can populate your feeds using a decent computer and keyboard and then simply log in from the Headlines application, sync up these feeds from the site to the handset, and away you go!
This is a massive improvement on any other mobile solution that I’ve seen. Most applications do have OMPL import and export (including Headlines), which was sufficient, but this is by far and away the best solution. I love the fact you can also add all your subscriptions from the popular Bloglines service through this web interface as well.
There are some nice options for potentially niche users as well if you are prepared to hang around a Wi-Fi hotspot or absorb the data charges. Firstly, support for files attached to feeds (RSS enclosures) provides similar functionality to Nokia’s recently released Podcasting application, but it’s nice to have everything in one place, especially with Podcasts that have a lot of blog entries mixed in with the shows.
The second feature needs the online interface to set up, and that’s to access Usenet, a system of Internet newsgroups that was the primary way to waste time online before RSS and blogs came along. It’s still heavily trafficked and being able to catch up on the fast moving groups from the phone will be just what some people need.
Once it is all set up, Headline is a simple application to use. Once you select which feed you want to read, you are presented with a split screen – the top half has the headline of each item, and the first few lines of text on that item at the bottom. You can either click through to read the full text, or scroll to the next item.
It is a bit jarring going from a standard Nokia style list of folders and items into the ‘reader’ of Headline, which drops the font size, but there are enough options to allow you to configure the reader in the best way for you, be it full screen, increased lines of text for the headlines, or differing font sizes.
What is great about Headlines is that in practice it is immensely quick to rattle through a huge number of items, using the quick preview in the bottom half of the screen to preview items in a bit more depth before deciding to go to the full item. For a mobile application that has a reasonable number of functions that tie it (at least initially) to a PC, Headline has to be one of the smoothest, best implemented applications I’ve ever used. It’s well integrated into the phone (you can even call up the original page in whatever Web browser you prefer), it’s fast, and it does the job. I’ve no hesitation in recommending this application, and would go as far as slapping the ‘mega’ tag to it as well.
Bonus points also to Wildpalm for not only having a three day free trial, but the ability to purchase an extended trial of 30 days at a much reduced price compared to the full registration. Nice to have the option for the extension before putting down a decent amount of money!
Reviewed by Ewan Spence at