Just yesterday some R/WW readers were bitterly complaining in our comments about Google Reader’s lack of search. “I’m a loyal Google Reader user,” remarked R/WW reader Stephen Glauser, “but if they don’t hurry up and implement a search feature very soon, the first company who does will win my service.”
Perhaps the Google Reader team noted those comments, because today they’ve announced that Google Reader has search. What’s more, it allows search for keywords (a very useful feature) and if you subscribe to someone’s shared items, it’ll search across those as well. Note: I had to log out and then in again to see the new Search box in GReader.
Beta Bloglines also has search, however it is not an integrated search within the beta RSS Reader. Rather, when you search for something using the Beta Bloglines search box, you are taken to a new browser window in the old Bloglines.
Now to a feature that I’ve been complaining is missing from Beta Bloglines – a ‘View All’ option. Probably my main use case for an RSS Reader is to view a list of the latest items, just titles and arranged in date order. This is really a “power blogger” feature, so possibly not something a lot of Bloglines users are requesting. However Bloglines told me today that this feature is coming, although not till later in their beta cycle.
Probably due to all the work Google Reader has done over 2007, they are in the lead regarding features. Bloglines is playing catch-up, even if they still hold the lead in users.
