Kobo has announced a firmware update to all its supported e-readers that brings Instapaper to replace Pocket.
Mozilla, the company behind Pocket, announced it was shutting down the read-it-later app in July, but Instapaper has stepped up to be its replacement.
When you think of e-readers, there is every chance you will think of Amazon Kindle first. It was the original after all.
But it's not the only e-reader available, with Kobo in particular offering several enticing alternatives. It also beat Amazon to the punch when it came to launching a coloured e-reader.
Amazon now offers the Kindle Colorsoft of course, but another advantage of the Kobo reader was its integration with the Pocket read-it-later app. Unfortunately, Mozilla – the company behind Pocket – announced in May this year that it was shutting down its service in July.
If you're a Kobo owner and a Pocket user, you will therefore likely be all too aware that your data will disappear on 8 October.
What can I use instead of Pocket on my Kobo?
However, all is not lost. Following the news of the Pocket shut down, Kobo announced it was replacing the app with another option – Instapaper. The best news? The Verge has reported that support for Instapaper is now live for Kobo users and it can be downloaded as a free firmware update for all readers that are currently supported by software updates.
That list is very long too, and while we aren't going to list them all here, you can see all of the supported devices on Kobo's website.
There's even better news as well. You won't beed to have an Instapaper Premium subscription to take advantage of the new collaboration, so hopefully the move from Pocket will be relatively pain free (as well as actually free).
Plus, if you look for the silver lining in all this, it's not that hard to find. Mozilla hadn't delivered any significant improvements to Pocket on Kobo for years and it was nearly killed off in 2023 anyway.
The way we see it, you've had a couple of years of borrowed time with Pocket and hopefully the new Instapaper alternative will offer a smooth experience. Perhaps even a better one with regular improvements over the coming years.
