Newsblur has gotten much faster in the last month or so and there was a major iOS app release. It's now actually pretty snappy.

Was going to say the same. Has been steadily improving over the last month or two. Still not perfect, but the best alternative I have found yet, and I love that it's under active development by someone who is invested in its success (and paid for it!).

Also, they used to offer only 12 RSS feeds for free. Now, they give you 64.

And they've also been improving their user interface.

For a trial, this is important but after picking one if you're at all concerned about being Reader-ed in the future you really should chip in a couple dollars a month to ensure that the business is viable.