Digg Reader, one of the leading contenders for those looking to replace the now-extinct Google Reader, now has a Chrome extension that lets people subscribe to new feeds more easily.

 

The extension adds an icon to Chrome's status bar; clicking on it offers an option for people to add updates from an feed-enabled that means a single click, according to a blog post Wednesday by Jon Ferrer, the company's chief marketing officer and front-end developer. It also shows how many unread items you have in your feed and lets you open Digg Reader in a new tab.

Digg Reader is one of a host of apps and services that sprung up to replace Google Reader, a service for reading RSS and Atom feeds that some Web sites make available for people who want to see when things like new blog posts arrive. Although millions used Google Reader, the company didn't deem it mainstream enough to keep around.

Also on Wednesday, Digg released an update to its Digg Reader app for Android. The new version has an option to show only unread items and folders with unread items, and it keeps that status synchronized across the mobile and browser-based incarnations of Digg Reader. It also fixes some bugs and scrolls more smoothly, Digg said.