Super See Original bookmarklet for Google Reader on iPhone

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Right now, if you visit Google Reader on the iPhone, you get redirected to the mobile XHTML version of Reader. This works fine for browsing through feed items, but when you click “See original” to go to source page for an entry, you get the stripped-down Google Web Transcoder mobile version. We know that the iPhone is capable of more than this; what I really wanted to see in this situation was the full-blown original page in a new “tab”.

Fortunately, the iPhone’s Safari supports bookmarklets, so I whipped up a little bookmarklet that makes it easy to see the real original page in Reader. Here’s how to use it:

  1. On your desktop computer, drag the following link onto Safari’s bookmarks toolbar: Super See Original
  2. Sync your iPhone
  3. Once that’s done, go to Google Reader on your iPhone, and navigate to a blog entry.
  4. Hit the bookmark icon at the bottom, then choose Bookmarks Bar > Super See Original
  5. The original page for your blog entry should open in a new “tab”!

I have no doubt that the Reader team will eventually make a more iPhone-optimized version of Reader, but until then, hopefully some of you will find this useful.

  • http://LoneGunman.co.uk Lloyd Morgan

    Just came across this post when searching for how to solve this problem. There’s now an easier way:

    http://www.google.com/reader/isettings or just click Settings when in Reader on the iPhone. Then, untick the ‘Reformat linked webpages for mobile broesers’ box.

    All is now well in the world.

    (I wouldn’t be surprised if you already knew this, but seeing as how this one of the top results when searching for this problem I thought it wise to update.)