I have loved Instapaper ever since I became aware of it. It fits perfectly into my workflow. There’s tons of stuff I want to read, but not just yet. Instapaper gives you a little bookmarklet to save these jewels for later when you’ve got more time to slow down and read a longer piece.
When the accompanying iPhone app came out, I fell in love again. Instapaper is perfect for filling your interstitial time, which is something I often find myself when I fish my iPhone out of my pocket. Also, you have to check out the tilt-scrolling feature; every reading app should implement it.
The love affair grew stronger recently. The newest version of the iPhone app came out boasting great improvements to the interaction design and new functionality that makes it an even better tool for occupying the time where you would otherwise find yourself day-dreaming[1].
Firstly: a sort of light-weight feed reading mechanism. It’s not for every site out there; there’s a curated list of sites you can consume in this way. I went with The Economist, but noticed things like Wikipedia Featured, Wired, The New Yorker, and popular stories posted to Instapaper. Great idea.
Next: folders. I’ve used it to organize my reading list into topics so that I can quickly go to whatever matches my mood or energy level. This functionality is present in the web app too, and Marco’s done a great job of making it really easy to set things up just the way you want.
Finally: shared favorites. Peek into what other people have marked as great reading. Maybe it’s a cliche “social feature”, but I’m excited to see curated reading lists from my wonderful friends.
In conclusion: Marco Ament is awesome, start using Instapaper and leave your username in the comments so I can read your stuff.
fn1. For example, wondering why butterscotch is so awesome.
