Some Mac users may prefer RSS Reader apps to read their favorite blogs, but Reader Notifier is a great alternative to those who prefer to use their default browser. This is because Reader Notifier is just that: a way to notify you of new items in your Google Reader account.

When you see a notification from the app, you can then click on it (or swipe it) to open the item in your default browser; this will also mark the item as read in your Google Reader account. So let’s take a look at how to get up and running with this Mac app.

Getting Started

As you already know, Reader Notifier uses your Google Reader account to log you into the app. So after installing and opening for the first time, you’ll need to sign in to Google Reader.

After a short video demo of what the app can do, you can choose to subscribe to Reader Notifiers’ news via RSS and/or open the app at login. Click the “next” button and you’re all set.

Notifications Preferences

You’ll notice the Reader Notifier icon spinning in the menu bar; this means that it’s syncing your Google Reader account. If you click on the menu bar icon, you’ll see the “Notification Preferences” menu option.

If you are subscribed to a lot of feeds, you will miss out on many new items with the default “5 Recent Items” setting. So you may want to go to Notification Preferences so that you can change the number of recent items to show in Notification Center.

Reader Notifier does not have a dock icon, you’ll only have the menu bar icon. So let’s take a look at the other options accessible from the menu bar icon:

Google Reader – Shows you the number of unread items in your account. Clicking on the menu option will take you to Google Reader in your browser. Change Account – If you have more than one Google Reader account, you can easily switch between them with this menu option. Open at Login – In case you change your mind about starting the app at login. Help and Support page, Rate on App Store and Quit Reader Notifier – These are pretty self explanatory; if you need help, want to rate and review the app or want to quit the app, you would use one of these options.

Final Thoughts

Reader Notifier is still pretty new, so there aren’t too many features. However, they’re looking for feedback on their support page and new feature suggestions. Personally, I feel that it’s great just the way it is. As long as I can click or swipe the notification to go to the item in my browser, I’m happy. How about you? What features would you like to see added to Reader Notifier? Are you using this app already or do you plan to use it to keep up with your favorite RSS feeds? Reader Notifier