Preview: BaconReader Alpha

You know what guys? I almost made a major faux-pas when I went to type out this post. I mean, after writing an entire column about how “beta” was becoming a shield for developers to hide behind I almost labelled this post a review.

BaconReader is an application for browsing the website Reddit.com; while this may seem counter-intuitive to just using your phone’s browser, the app brings a lot to the table in terms of functionality and usability. It’s the same kind of thing with having a Twitter client or the “Facebook for Android” app on your phone: sure, you could use your mobile browser for that, but sometimes it just doesn’t cut it.  

At the moment, Reddit does have a mobile interface (http://www.reddit.com/.compact), and it’s quite usable. There’s also another app called Reddit is Fun that replicates that functionality with an emphasis on speed.

However, BaconReader adds a lot of polish to its interface, making it look like Reddit paid good money to have it developed. Other features include previews of all shapes and sizes (images, YouTube, article) and management of your Reddit account. With a couple clicks you can manage incoming messages and subreddits, as well as filter the threads you want to see with a hide button.

While these might seem like really elementary features, its been hard to get this experience on a mobile app. I mean, I’ve used Reddit is Fun for awhile now, but I’ve really been converted to BaconReader because it looks like it’s more than something that was cobbled together as a part time project. It looks like it deserves to be in the Marketplace and making money; this extra effort in usability wins it points from me.

But I’m not going to go too much into that, because this isn’t a review. In reality, BaconReader’s just getting into its alpha phase right now; I signed up for initial testing awhile back, but you can register for updates at BaconReader.com.