Google has added an iPad-friendly version of its RSS aggregator, called Google Reader Play. According to the official Google Reader blog, the new full-screen slideshow is for people who "aren’t interested in taking the time to get Reader set up." It is also perfect for viewing on tablet PCs, including the upcoming iPad.
Navigate to the new page (part of Google Labs, but open to everyone) and you'll see a black screen with a row of thumbnails along the bottom and the content of the news item up top. If you have ever used a Flickr slideshow, you'll be instantly at home. One news item is shown at a time. You can navigate with the arrow keys, or by clicking or touching the arrows and thumbnails onscreen. It works on the iPhone, but you can't yet swipe to flip to the next item, and the view is way too small.
Google Reader Play recommends items to you based on what you mark as a liked or disliked. If you are logged into your Google account, it will pull from your own recommended items and also articles shared by contacts. And if you already use Google Reader, there is a new option when you click the arrow on one of your feed-folders to "View in Reader Play."
It's a great way to quickly flip through the news, and you don't need to have ever touched an RSS subscription to do it. If you also consider that pretty much every Gmail user now has contacts due to Google Buzz, then Play should get pretty accurate, pretty soon. And of course, while it's neato on the desktop, it's tailor-made for tablets, especially as it doesn't use Flash which can easily slow down these often underpowered machines. We fully expect to see an iPad-optimized version very soon.
And Now for Something Completely Different [Google Reader Blog]
Google Reader Play [Google]
