Michal Ždanský The ability to read online articles offline is not a new thing. The established Instapaper service has been working for iPhone for several years, which we wrote about earlier. In parallel with it, there is an identical service with its own application, called Read It Later (hereinafter referred to as RIL). Both of these projects were created independently of each other and each offers something different. So let's imagine RIL.
The application is available in the Appstore in two versions, free and pro. The pleasant fact is that, unlike the competitor Instapaper, the free version contains a large part of the features of the paid version and at the same time does not bother you with advertising banners.
After downloading the application, you need to create an account on the RIL server. You can do this on the relevant website or directly from the application. Basically, this is just your login and password, which is necessary to synchronize articles. You can save articles on the server in several ways. Most often, you probably use a bookmark in your computer's internet browser. All you have to do is simply go to a page with an article you would like to read later, click on the bookmark and a script will be started that will save the page to the server under your login. You can also save in mobile Safari. The procedure for creating a bookmark is a little more complicated, but the application guides you through it in English.
The last option is to save from various applications in the iPhone, where RIL is integrated. These are mainly RSS readers and Twitter clients, including Reeder, Byline, Twitter for iPhone or Simply Tweet. So, as soon as you come across an interesting article, you simply transfer it to the RIL server, from where it is synchronized to your application, where you can read it at any time without an Internet connection after downloading.
Once you have the articles saved on the server, you can download/view them in the app in two modes. The first, less interesting, is the "Full webpage", i.e. a saved page with everything. The second, more interesting mode offers the "trimming" that is actually the domain of the entire service. The server grinds the entire page with its algorithm, cuts it with ads and other unrelated text and images, and as a result, you are left with a bare article, i.e. only what you are really interested in. If even the desired text does not go through this process, clicking on "more" right below the article title can help. The font of the text itself can be edited by double-clicking anywhere in the article. You can change the font size, font, alignment or switch to night mode (white font on a black background).
If you like the article and need to share it with others, you can do so by clicking the arrow icon below. There are just about every possible service available, from Facebook, Twitter, email, to several Twitter clients for the iPhone that switch to that app when clicked. As soon as you come across more articles, it's a good idea to mark them somehow for order. Tags are used for this, which you can edit in the menu available after pressing the top bar with the name of the article. In addition to tags, you can also edit the title here, mark as read or delete the article.
Read and finished articles are stored in individual folders, in each of them, including the one with unread articles, you can filter individual items by tags, title or URL. For more advanced management of articles, the paid web service Digest is also used, which we will explain to you separately on Jablíčkář. You will also find a lot of other functions and gadgets in the application, however, their complete description would be for another review. After all, everything is described in a comprehensive manual directly in the application, albeit in English.
What is definitely interesting about RIL is the graphical processing of the application. The author really cared about it, as you can see in the attached pictures. Controlling the application is very intuitive, so no one should have a problem navigating it. iPad owners will also be pleased, the application is universal, and iPhone 4 owners will also find it useful, for whose display the application is also adapted.
RIL is a great app for those who like to read articles whenever and wherever their time allows. I definitely recommend downloading at least the free version, which contains all basic and some more advanced functions, thus offering almost full-fledged use. If you like the application, you can invent 3,99 € to the Pro version.
iTunes link - €3,99 / Free
I would like to ask if there is a service that would allow the storage of an article without the need to install any application. In short, a tool that would make it possible to read articles that a person comes across at work and does not have time to read in the comfort of their own home.
Both RIL and Instapaper can do this. You can then read the articles normally in the browser
@honzeeczech http://www.instapaper.com/ I use advice. An excellent application for the iPhone as well as a classic service on the web.
I use RIL on my iPad because I only have the wifi version and it's perfect. A lot of applications have an implemented function, and where not, I find the Safari bookmark simply brilliant :)