Instapaper

CNET Editors' review

by: Jaymar Cabebe on June 05, 2012

Instapaper is a tool that lets you quickly and easily save articles for reading later, even when you're not connected to the Web. So, if you don't have time to dive into that lengthy blog post or interview, you can easily pull it up when you're ready, with just a few taps.

The way it works is simple. While you're doing your reading in another app, simply go to Android's Share menu and hit Instapaper. From there, Instapaper, will quickly download just the main content of that article, so you can access it later. In most cases, it will get rid of the ads, comments, and other peripheral images, in order to minimize your download. Since Instapaper is in Android's Share menu, you should be able to use it from most other Android apps, including your browser and other news reader apps like Feedly or Google Reader.

When you open up Instapaper, all of your content is front and center, under your Read Later list. There are also buttons to see your Archive or just those items you've Liked. You can even create folders to further organize your saved items, and move items around by tapping the pencil icon on the top right.

The Settings menu lets you set Instapaper's download limits. By default, Instapaper keeps the 100 latest items in your Read Later list, 10 latest on your Liked list, and 10 latest in your Archive. Any older items can only be accessed in your account on Instapaper.com.

Certainly, one of the best parts of Instapaper is its design. Its sleek monochromatic skin feels very much like an e-reader. What's more, the app lets you choose from six different fonts and adjust elements like brightness, text size, line spacing, and column width. There's also a Dark Mode, which gives you white text on a dark background, for better viewing at nighttime.

As beautiful as Instapaper is, there are still a few things it's missing. First, I wish it had more sorting options, like by content type or date added. A search function would work, too. Also, there's no full-screen view, which to me, isn't a deal breaker. However, the always-present menu bars do take away from the whole e-reader feel.

While it's not perfect, Instapaper is still a beautifully sleek app that serves its purpose well. As it's still brand-new to the Android platform, I expect it to only get better from here.