Jared Sinclair, known for creating the beautiful App.net client Riposte, just released a new type of RSS app called Unread. The app uses a gorgeous combination of typography, animations and gestures to create one of the most inviting apps on the App Store.

I don’t have a full review here, nor do I plan to in the foreseeable future. I believe a much better sense of an app’s utility is experienced over a lengthier period of time. Having said that, if you want to read an incredible review[1] head on over to ShawnBlanc.net.

I’ve never experienced an RSS app with the ability to send text to Drafts however. I think this is why I will stick with Unread for a while.

I find much of the content for The Newsprint via Twitter and RSS. I follow my favourite writers in RSS and my favourite topics in Twitter. Generally, anything I want to check into later on Twitter is saved in Instapaper. And up until yesterday, I held the same protocol with interesting articles in Reeder.

Now, however, with the ability to share to Drafts, I can save the first few sentences of an article — or a highlighted quote of my choice — with the name of the author and a URL to the article by pressing one button. The generated draft leaves a notification badge on my homescreen and I can decide what I want to do with that note at a later time. Super simple.

The power of Drafts takes over at that point, and URL actions can be created to share, annotate and mark up the draft. I also really like Drafts’ sync feature with the iPad version, meaning my quotes and saved articles end up on both devices within seconds.[2] Instapaper was never a problem for this workflow, but I like the ease in manipulating drafts.

This unique sharing feature is part of Overshare which was designed by Sinclair himself. The ability to send text from an RSS app is something I’ve never experienced before and I love the potential.

For this reason, and this reason alone, I foresee Unread supplanting Reeder as my RSS client of choice on the iPhone.


All of Shawn’s reviews have a unique blend of personality and geekdom. His writing is one of a kind.

I am absolutely dying for a Mac version of Drafts. It’s evidently not in the works and that’s something I’ll have to live with. But a Mac app would suit this workflow just perfectly.