In a surprising move, Instapaper has announced a new site, Instapaper Daily. The new offering from the “read it later” service offers a unique take on feeding you information. We really like Instapaper, and Instapaper Daily, but can’t quite figure out what it’s here for yet.
If you’re unfamiliar with Instapaper, it’s a lot like Pocket, save for a few added features. We like it for its simple interface, and the ability to add folders for organizing topics. When you save a web page to Instapaper, it offers you a clean version for later reading, void of ads or cluttered animations. Links and pictures remain, but none of the ancillary fussiness.
Instapaper Daily offers you the more widely read stories of the day across their site. The Daily site itself is pretty sparse, keeping with the downtempo Instapaper theme, and breaks articles out topically — again, like Instapaper. Across the bottom of the site, there is a running timeline of the activity cobbled together that day. It’s here that we have trouble figuring out what Instapaper Daily is.
Is it a TechMeme River for Instapaper articles? A way to stay current on trending topics? We don’t know. We like the concept, but we’re not sure why it’s here. More to the point, why isn’t this in the man version, which we like so much? For cleaner reading, or saving things for later, Instapaper is easily a top contender. We like the concept of Daily, but where does it fit in with Instapaper proper?
We’re also wondering if there is some sort of RSS aggregate in the works from Instapaper. Instapaper Daily acts a lot like an RSS, even if the topics are all from their service. Currently, those with Feedly Pro can add topics to Instapaper right from the app or desktop. With such a close working relationship to Instapaper, we hope Daily makes its way to the regular offering, both the app and desktop.
VIA: The Next Web
