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Popular app Instapaper has seen an increase in downloads since the release of Google's Nexus 7 tablet two weeks ago. The new tablet from Google and Asus has become the most popular device for the program, according to Instapaper's internal numbers.
Developer Marco Arment has released v4.0 of Instapaper for iOS. In conjunction with the Instapaper service, the app saves webpages for later reading, making them available both offline and in a more eye-friendly format. The v4.0 code represents a major update, for instance completely overhauling the iPad interface, presenting items in a grid with a control sidebar. The iPhone interface has also been changed to include things like a dark mode, an option to hide the status bar, and new font and sharing panels.
Apple's newly active Reading List in Safari for Lion Developer Preview 3 is now known to be syncing with iOS devices. Handheld owners syncing Safari bookmarks either through iTunes or through MobileMe are now seeing a rough "com.Apple.ReadingList" folder in their bookmarks list with the relevant articles loaded inside. It's presumed a later preview or the final version of Lion will give the folder a new name and possibly treat it differently in software through an iOS version of the Reading List.
A leak Friday night has shown that Mac OS X Lion when it ships should have a version of Safari borrowing cues from Instapaper, Readability, and other offline web readers. Reading List will let users queue up links and websites for later reading through a combination of HTML and JavaScript. How it would exactly work wasn't said through a MacRumors exploration, but there weren't immediate signs it would sync between devices.
A new version of Instapaper, 3.0, is now on sale at the App Store. The title lets users bookmark and download converted webpages for later reading. The v3.0 update more deeply integrates sharing via Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Pinboard and Evernote. Preferences and credentials sync between the app and the Instapaper website; sharing commands can be queued offline for execution when a connection becomes available.
The developer of Instapaper, Marco Arment, says there has been no noticeable impact on sales as a result of the Verizon iPhone. The app has become a popular one sometimes featured by Apple, as it allows offline reading of webpages on iOS devices. Since the official Verizon iPhone launch on February 10th, however, Arment observes that Instapaper sales have been virtually constant.
The New York Times today gave an early look at its rough parallel to News Corp.'s imminent The Daily iPad app. News.me, co-developed by betaworks, would take more of its cues from Flipboard and curate content from Twitter. Along with formatting articles from the reader's own feed, the iPad reader alternative would see recommendations for those being followed and show what they might like, not necessarily what they're already reading.
Kobo on Friday introduced an update to its e-reader app for the iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (free, App Store). Chief among the changes is the introduction of Instapaper. Like the stand-alone service, it lets users save web content for reading offline later. Users can sync their Kobo apps with Instapaper as they would any other title.
