Over time and reading several articles about using a RSS news reader on the e61 I have noticed that there are not many familiar RSS readers out there which allow for offline reading of news and articles. Obviously being a disadvantage especially for those travelling regularly by plane.

Although … as we all know mobile phones already allow for many years to be turned on without the attena being on. For some this is called “flight-mode” and for the e61 one it is called “offline”. Once travelling from China to Europe the plane lifted off the ground already for quite some time, I decided to use my phone in offline mode and turned it on. Immediately I was approached by a (not so good looking) stewardess who aggressively asked me to turn off my phone. Failing to explain to her that actually the phone was not “turned on” and that basically the state of my mobile was no different than the LCDTV mounted in the headrest in front of me, I suggested her to try and make a call using my mobile. Only this suggestion got her so excited that she decided to get the captain … I gave up. Do not fly Air France.

Assuming you do not run into a stewardess with the intellect of a head of lettuce, and you still like to read your RSS messages offline, you might try the solution NewsTouch is offering. The main advantages as I see them from this solution are : 1) offline reading, and 2) the simplicity the way the information is offered. Although I do like Widgets the disadvantages I see is that you loose the overview especially when you start adding more and more feeds. NewsTouch in itself is a very basic and simple application which is java based and extremely easy to use. Because it is java based its usage is not limited to the e61. Disadvantage : it is not free and an annual subscription is required. However, trying it is free and you can download the application (*.jar) here (the application just recently has been optimized for s60 3rd edition). A listing of some standard feeds is offered both in the trial as well as the normal version. Additional feeds can be entered into the phone directly but then obviously you need to know the URL. With a registration you get access to the NewsTouch portal where you can very easily maintain your folders and feeds.

Steps to take are as follows :

1. First try it and see if you like it
2. If you like it get a registration with NewsTouch by registering on their site - this will give you a username and a password
3. If you already have the “trial version installed” select “change user” and enter your personal details as requested
4. NewsTouch checks if the user exists and if so you will get a positive confirmation - you are ready to go
5. Create the folders / list you like (firs probably on the internet) and select “update all”
6. You can change display settings and the number of messages / articles you like to track and download each time

BTW. the application will allow you (if you are online) to download the full story, and will allow you to open the article directly in the phone’s browser.

Let me know what you think.