Instapaper
Veteran app adds new premium features
Free (IAPs) From Instapaper Holdings Inc., instapaper.com Made for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch Needs iOS 10.0 or later
Instapaper has been a popular ‘read it later’ app for many years, but it’s been a rocky road recently. The developers split from parent company Pinterest, and the app was forced to cut off its European users after failing to comply with new data protection laws. This didn’t compromise the US version, of course. But this latest update is still a comeback, adding new premium features.
The app is still free to download, and allows you to store web pages and articles, before sharing them across your devices to read at your convenience. But, if you tend to store lots of online articles, then you can take out a subscription for $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year that adds several additional features.
I often lose track of old articles kept on my iPad, so the ability to search text through my Instapaper library is really useful. You can add unlimited notes to articles as well — rather than just five per month in the free version. New text–to– speech playlists allow you to listen to articles on the move — although I’m not too keen on the app’s robotic reading voice. And I’m not won over by the speed–reading option that rapidly flashes text onto the screen one word at a time, forcing you to focus on each word.
The free version of Instapaper will be adequate for most people, but the search and notes features alone will earn their keep if your work or hobbies involve a hefty bit of online reading and research.
the bottom line. Perfect for news addicts and research work, more so with the premium features.