Goodbye iGoogle, Hello Google Currents

iGoogle, the feed reader service is being discontinued from 2013. If you use iGoogle to subscribe to your favourite blog posts what are you going to do when it switches off next year? We recommend Google Currents (if you have an Android device). Find out more about Google Currents.
20 Sep, 2012
Sample iGoogle screenshot

iGoogle is on its way out

I’ve been using iGoogle as my browser home page and feed reader of choice for several years. iGoogle has been ideal for subscribing to my favourite blogs, organising my web reading list, and ensuring I don’t miss any newly published content relevant to me and my business.

Why is Google closing the iGoogle service?

Google recently announced that they were closing down this service after 1st November 2013 (the mobile edition already closed in July 2012). The reason Google gives for this is that the landscape has changed since they launched the product in 2005 and that it has become surpassed by other apps.

Is there an alternative to iGoogle?

I spent a bit of time looking around for something to replace iGoogle and came across another product – Google Currents. At the moment, Currents is available on Android phones and tablets, but not on desktop computers. I hope this changes soon, as Currents works well on my Android tablet and Samsung Galaxy phone.

Sample Google currents screenshot

iGoogle to be replaced by Google Currents?

Google Currents looks great and presents your subscribed content in a way that makes it more appealing to read. The ‘home’ view shows a screen split in two, with a large image slider showing in the left-hand pane showing the images associated with recent posts, whilst in the right-hand pane you have a table view of the thumbnails associated with the content you are subscribed to. Clicking on the left-hand slider image opens a specific post, whilst clicking on any of the thumbnails in the right-hand pane displays all the most recent posts from that content source (e.g. blog).

As well as being able to specify the blog feeds you want to subscribe to, Google Currents also suggests good sources from a list of various categories (e.g. News, Sports, Business, etc.).

All in all, it’s a really cool product, and of course, it’s free. It’s a shame it is not yet available on desktop computers, but perhaps it won’t be long before there is at least a Chrome version. You can get Currents for Android at Google Play.

What do you use to keep up to date with your favourite news and blog feeds? Let us know by adding a comment below.

7 Comments

  1. SaveiGoogle.org

    If a magazine style reader like Currents is an adequate replacement for IGoogle, Feedly is a better choice, is available for iOS, Android and desktop/laptop browsers, syncs between all platforms and has more features than Currents.

    And, if you’re unhappy about iGoogle’s retirement, join the Save iGoogle campaign.

    Reply
    • Martin Jarvis

      Thanks for flagging up the ‘Saveigoogle’ campaign, and also for the heads-up about Feedly. I did have a look at this a while ago, but dismissed it in favour of Currents. However, I’m taking another look at it now and will run them in parallel for a while to see which one I get along with best. If Feedly is anywhere near as good as Currents then it would get my vote because of the multi-platform availability.
      Very useful comment, thank you.

      Reply
      • George O

        Well, a replacement would be nice indeed, but it can’t really match the original iGoogle and doesn’t really add value to your startpage… I feel it’s somehow a downgrade from the original iGoogle.

        Reply
  2. Martin Jarvis

    I’ve now been using Feedly for nearly 6 months as my igoogle replacement and love it. Great on Android tablet and smartphone, and there is a Google Chrome extension for it too, so you can use it on your desktop.

    No excuse to ever miss posts by your favourite authors ever again!

    Thanks to the savigoogle campaign for flagging it up for me in the first place.

    Who else is using this, and have you found anything better?

    Reply
  3. tanya

    Hello Martin… Did you try start me? I really like this as google alternate source. So give it a try and let me know your thoughts.

    Reply
    • Martin Jarvis

      I haven’t tried this. I’ll have a look around, but I think I’m happy with Feedly now, having tried it after my original Google Currents post.

      If startme.com are going to have any success I think they need to get it to work for both www and non-www domain names. I tried start me and it failed to load.

      Reply
  4. JohnMatt

    Have a look at igoogle alternatives as well. Here you can choose your best alternative from top 10 best iGoogle alternatives.

    Reply

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