I’ve been around the block a few times when it comes to news readers. I started with NetNewsWire, spent a little time with Times, and eventually made my way to Google Reader. Here’s the harrowing tale of how I found the news reader for me.

When I started with NetNewsWire it was because I was prone to using client side apps (oh, how the times have changed). It was fine, but nothing special. After a while I gave up on it because I wasn’t using it often enough and was tired of trying to skim through 578 new items every time I launched the app.

Enter Times, the designer’s news reader. It’s elegant, subtle, and simple; an attempt to recreate the analog newspaper reading experience onscreen. It’s a good idea, but there were some shortcomings: It was inconsistent in the way it handled images. Organizing and managing feeds was a huge mess. There was no way to remove read items, so I was constantly rereading items. In spite of the innovative approach, the experience just wasn’t what I wanted from a news reader.

So, I made my way back to Google Reader. It’s straightforward, with a handful of added capabilities that make it really great (specifically, the ridiculously easy ability to share things). Reader has its shortcomings, though. When I open Reader on my desktop, I get hit with a big number of unread posts. No matter how you slice it, that’s overwhelming. With that many unread items, the last thing I want to do is try reading headlines in List view (I always end up giving up about half way through). But, if I opt for Expanded view, I spend the next three hours scrolling.

This is where the Google Reader Mobile steps in. It runs in Safari Mobile, but it’s so fast and smooth it feels like a native iPhone app (if you haven’t played with Google’s new iPhone optimized Gmail, Reader, and Tasks, do it). Performance aside, what I really love is its measured disclosure of news items. I get 15 unread items at a time. Headlines are set in a bold, easy to read typeface. Spacing and leading is generous. I can absorb each headline with ease. If I want to read a whole story, I click the headline and it expands on the same page (no loading). I can easily share and star items, and when I’m ready for more I just touch ‘mark all as read’ and I get 15 brand spanking new items.

There’s one other thing Google Reader Mobile does that makes a huge difference: When I’m browsing news items, it doesn’t give me an unread count. Can you believe that? It actually doesn’t give me that pretty standard piece of information. Not having that number makes my reading experience 217% better. It removes the stress of knowing how many items I have left to wade through, and allows me to focus on the 15 news items in front of me at that moment.

I’ve finally found my ‘news reading safe place.’ Not surprisingly, it’s built upon the time-tested principles of keep it simple, and less is more. Those of you designing and developing onscreen experiences, take note. The amount of features and functionality software has is inversely related to the amount of features and functionality that actually work well. So, why not dial it back a little? It’s better for everybody.