Betaworks garnered some attention in the tech world when it purchased social media site DIGG. Today, it was announced that the company has absorbed the read-it-later service Instapaper.
Instapaper originally launched in 2008 and quickly became one of the most beloved apps for the read it later crowd. It is available for PC, MAC, iOS, Android, and a myriad of other platforms. Registering with the PC service only involves choosing a login name and password, no other information is needed. This software basically prompts you enter a slew of links to websites, such as https://goodereader.com/blog/, and imports the entire website into Kindle friendly format or ePub. Once these ebooks are saved on your PC, you can load them onto your e-reader or tablet via Windows Explorer or Calibre. Betaworks also has a bevy of dedicated apps that you can read on, too.
Some cool options that this gives is being able to save an entire website to text and then change the font, font size, margins, and more. Once you get it looking the way you want, you can save it as an ebook. The mobile apps for iOS and Android both cost money, but are a worthy investment.
There is no word yet on the direction or future of Instapaper and how it will look in a year’s time. The main developer has promised to stay on as a consultant, and likely will see further integration with Digg.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
