Instapaper has finally launched an official Android app, which is available now from Google Play for $2.99. It will soon be hitting the Amazon appstore and Nook appstore too, once it gets through the approval process.
Instapaper made a name for itself on iOS (iPad, iPhone). What Instapaper does is it allows users to save web pages for offline reading so you can read articles even when you don’t have an internet connection.
Instapaper re-formats the articles and optimizes them for small screens used on smartphones. It was designed for tablets as well, especially 7″ devices like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet. It will work on 10″ tablets too and pretty much any Android device running Android 2.1 and higher.
Most web articles can be saved as text-only for distraction-free reading, and there are different font types, adjustable text sizes, line spacing, margins, and dark mode for night reading.
You can organize articles in folders, share them using a web browser, sync them across multiple devices, and have up top 500 articles stored on your device at one time (more can be saved online).
The biggest complaint from early reviews is that the Android version of the Instapaper app doesn’t have all the features the iOS version has. While that’s a valid point, the Android version also costs $2 less. They’ve also said that more features will be added to the Android app in time.
When it comes right down to it, you might be better off trying Pocket for Android before buying Instapaper. It’s basically the same kind of app and is free.
Doesn’t Android 4.0 allow you to do this?