I am a big fan of RSS feeds. I love the way that it makes it possible for you to get the information you want, from the web-based sources you turn to the most often, whenever and wherever you choose. And now, there is a wonderful way to give new life to any RSS-based content that you already enjoy with a remarkably clever app in Ovi Store called BlogRadio.

With BlogRadio, you can literally take your favorite blogs (any content with a feed associated with it, really) with you on your Nokia touch-enabled mobile device, and not simply read the blogs, but instead have the blogs read to you, aloud, in a very natural sounding voice, so the content becomes completely portable.

This video demo created by Forum Nokia features the BlogRadio app, and shows what you can expect when using this app:

As they note in the video, with BlogRadio you are essentially able to take any blog that you currently read, and turn it into a podcast, instantly, that will be available for playback whenever it is most convenient for you.

To begin, you will need the BlogRadio app installed on your Nokia device, and you will also need the companion desktop application that is free to download from the BlogRadio website. With this desktop application, you will manage all of the RSS feeds that you associate with the mobile app, including the assignment of the specific voice that you want to have read each blog to you. Right now, there are two friendly sounding voices to choose from – one male (they call him “Mike”) and one female (she’s named “Crystal”). According to the company, additional voices are coming soon, as you can see from this screenshot of the desktop application:

From the desktop app, you will be assigned a “Sync Code” (look at the lower right of the screenshot below) that is unique to your use of the application, so that as new feeds are added or subsequently updated, that content will be easily synchronized with the app on your mobile device.

The blogs that you add to the desktop application are then available for use with the mobile app, so that whenever you use the mobile application, it will fetch any new blog content for playback and listening. And, as you can see from the screenshot above, you can just as easily listen to any of the blogs from the desktop application, too.

But the beauty of the concept, in my opinion, is the portability. You have blogs that you want to follow, well now those blogs can be right by your side, ready to speak to you.

If you commute to work, or want to listen at the gym, or just to take a few minutes between meetings … BlogRadio is ready to roll. And as you can see, the mobile app is as easy as you could possibly expect. There are only a few buttons to press, and everything is clearly marked and truly self-explanatory.

Right now you cannot add new feeds from the mobile app – all of the maintenance is done from the desktop side. But, in some ways, this might be easier to do, since you need to copy & paste the feed associated with the blog you want to hear into the desktop application, and that function is something that you can do very quickly.

As you can see, I set up a feed for the Ovi Daily App, and within minutes I was listening to my own words – and that of my fellow writers – and appreciating this content in a whole new way. The voices that are provided with the app are cool, too. Each one, while not perfect, does sound quite natural and has good pacing and inflections. So even though it is computerized, it is still very conversational in nature.

This does raise one other idea that I would love to see in future versions of this application: offer a way to crowd-source the feeds that individuals can pick and choose. I’ve created a feed for this blog within the BlogRadio application – wouldn’t it be great if I could share it with other users of the app, so they could just press a button, and add that feed to their own collection? Perhaps even let users rate the feeds that are available, and help good content rise to the top … It’s just a thought.

BlogRadio was developed using Flash Lite, and it was a winner of funding from the Open Screen Project Fund, which awards grants to developers to build innovative new applications such as this one.

Find out for yourself why BlogRadio is an award-winning app. You can download BlogRadio for only $0.99 (USD) in Ovi Store. I promise that you will think about – and hear – your favorite blogs in a whole new way.