My favorite iPhone apps usually bridge gaps between my desktop and mobile lives. I’ll pay a lot of money for the ability to do something on my desktop and updates my iphone automatically. Instapaper is just that kind of service, and it’s free!

Instapaper saves web content for later. It’s tupperware for you blog articles… tin foil for your RSS Feeds. It is a tool that I use in my workflow to keep me on task while still retaining important info that I pick up along the way.  For example, I use Instapaper to save an emailed article that my boss needs me to check out. I also save links from twitter posts to Instapaper. In fact, big name iPhone twitter apps such as Tweetie have Instapaper integration. When I have a free moment, I read my saved Instapaper articles when I’m eating lunch on a blanket under a tree.

How it Works

Whether I’m on my iPhone or desktop, I can use a bookmarklet to save web articles to my Instapaper account.

Safari Bookmarklet

iPhone Bookmarklet

Saving an article is as easy as clicking on the bookmarklet while viewing the post. To read the saved articles, I can either log in to my Instapaper account on my desktop or open up the iPhone app.

You’ll notice that I’ve chosen a dark theme for Instapaper. I think it’s easier to read large amounts of text using this setting for the iPhone. My twitter and kindle apps are also set up this way. The dark theme combined with Instapaper’s easy to read format allows me to churn through articles like I’m an otter darting around a plexiglass aquarium.

The middle button on the bottom bar is the tilt scrolling feature which is only available in the pro version of Instapaper. Instead of flicking through an article repeatedly, you can just slightly tilt the phone to scroll up or down. I think it’s worth the upgrade just for that feature alone, but Instapaper Pro has a bunch more thrown in as treats. Side Note: the article in the picture is a great tutorial re: food photography and Adobe Lightroom.

Instapaper is a free iPhone app and you can sign up for a free account on their website.

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