The online bookmarking functionality I use most often isn’t Delicious or Google Bookmarks or even my browser’s bookmarking area. Instead, I use Instapaper, a really simple way to store things that you want read or come back to later. And the service just got a series of updates over the weekend to make it even better.
The biggest update is the addition is the addition of folders. You can now better organize the stuff you bookmark. Developer Marco Arment calls this “by far, the most requested feature in Instapaper’s history.” He had been waiting to unveil the web version of folders until it was live in the 2.0 Pro version of the Instapaper iPhone app, but apparently Apple has been really slow at approving it (no surprise there), so he rolled it out early.
Another big update is that you can now subscribe to other Instapaper users’ Starred items, making the service social. The advent of the folder feature allows for this, as when you click on the “Add folder” link, you now have an option to add another users’ starred items simply by typing in their Instapaper username. Those items are placed in the left-hand sidebar of the Instapaper site, and when you click on a user’s name, you will see all their items just as you would your own Instapaper items.
Starring an item in Instapaper works and looks exactly like the same functionality does in Gmail. But before this feature, there wasn’t much of a reason to star items beyond further highlighting what you’ve already bookmarked. Now there is a reason — to share things.
At the core of Instapaper is its bookmarklet, which allows for one-click saving on items on the web. That too has received a nice upgrade. Instead of popping open another small browser window to let you know something is saved, it’s all done on the actual page you are saving now as a quick overlay. Apparently, this works better for the new Safari 4 web browser.
And finally, Arment announced that the current version of Instapaper Pro, the premium version of the iPhone app (there is also a free version) is available for $4.99 for a limited time, as Instapaper 2.0 looms. This is a nice reduction from the app’s normal $9.99 price and if you buy the current version (1.3) at this discounted price, you’ll still get the full 2.0 update for free. You can find the app in the App Store here.
Instapaper FTW!
I second that!
WTF is FTW?
Then i googled and got know its “For The Win”
Great service. It’s works, plain and simple.
Ugh.
“It works”
I too use Instapaper all the while. With so many links being shared on twitter everyday, Instapaper helps me not miss the interesting links!!
Trust me, you’re missing more than you realize if you are counting on twitter.
I’ve tried instapaper and liked it, but for the sake of having one app for most things – i can’t see too many benefits over using Evernote.
Evernote lets you bookmark just as fast i find…
Zee, have you tried Shareaholic yet? works with both Instapaper and Evernote.
http://www.shareaholic.com
Instapaper bookmarklet is 1 click less than Evernote.
Put in other ways, most of the times you just want to save it for reading it later, without tagging, description, and all the web 2.0 mumble.
If it was also closeing that specific tab, it would have been perfect.
Ha ha…I had the exact same idea for a bookmarklet about 3 months back. Glad to see someone else made it and made it well.
It could see some improvements though.
Instapaper has a lot more functionality, but I prefer the UI of I Need To Read This. http://ineedtoreadthis.com
Good one, just added that to Instapaper
Instapaper remains the app that I use most on my iPhone (aside from the iPod itself). It’s so simple that there’s really little to it–that said, I searched (unsuccessfully) for something like this for ages for my old HTC.
It’s lovely software–just does what it should. Glad to see it referenced here!
This is not a good direction. I already have an RSS Reader and it’s cluttered. That’s precisely why I have Instapaper. The sharing just means Instapaper will be filled with more stuff to sift through to decide if I want to read it later.
Its amazing how many developers try and cram their apps with features which most people never use.
Simple things work. Period.
I’ve tried Instapaper and yes it’s nice and simple, but that’s ultimately why it doesn’t work for me. Delicious still meets and excels in most bookmarking areas while making organization and distribution of my bookmarks super simple.
They’re not perfect, but they offer more than Instapaper will be able to for a long time.
With so many people ying how good it is, I guess I will give it a shot. Currently I use ReadItLater. Read It Later served me well as a very simple way of… well, reading stuff later lol (it could use some feature updates and the Firefox plug-in doesn’t sync well with the website)
and the iPhone app too? this is why I want an iPhone. I will admit that I like HTC phones more because I can do more business stuff with MS
can’t wait for the touch pro 2!!!
I really liked this feature in diigo, which was the only reason that I keep the toolbar. But I didn’t like the way diigo work.. Too hard to keep organized
Does anybody know a service that provides highlighting feature and read-it-later and a good way to store website by tags?
I love it This is a nice reduction from the app’s normal $9.99 price and if you buy the current version (1.3) at this discounted price.
All of these new features are already available through Google Reader. Subscribe to the RSS Feed of your own Instapaper account and then you can share, categorize, and whatever else Reader allows you to do with links.