Pocket (service)

Last updated
Pocket
Original author(s) Read it Later, Inc.
Developer(s) Mozilla Corporation
Initial release2007;16 years ago (2007)
Repository
Platform Android, BlackBerry, iOS, Kindle Fire, Kobo, macOS, web browsers, Windows, and Windows Phones [1]
Type Social bookmarking
License Freemium
Website Official website OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Pocket, previously known as Read It Later, is a social bookmarking service for storing, sharing and discovering web bookmarks. Released in 2007, the service was originally only for desktop and laptop computers [2] and is now available for macOS, Windows, iOS, Android, Windows Phone, BlackBerry, Kobo eReaders, and web browsers. [3]

Contents

History

Pocket was introduced in August 2007 as a Mozilla Firefox browser extension named Read It Later by Nathan (Nate) Weiner. [4] Once his product was used by millions of people, he moved his office to Silicon Valley and four other people joined the Read It Later team. Weiner's intention was for the application to be like a TiVo directory for web content and to give users access to that content on any device. [5]

Read It Later obtained venture capital investments of US$2.5 million in 2011 [5] and $5.0 million in 2012. The 2011 funding came from Foundation Capital, Baseline Ventures, Google Ventures, Founder Collective and unnamed angel investors. [5] The company rejected an acquisition offer by Evernote after showing concerns that Evernote intended to shut down the Read It Later service and amalgamate its functionality into Evernote's main service. [6]

Initially the Read It Later app was available in a free version and a paid version that included additional features. After the rebranding to Pocket, all paid features were made available in a free and advertisement-free app. In May 2014, a paid subscription service called Pocket Premium was introduced, adding server-side storage of articles and more powerful search tools. [7]

In June 2015, Pocket was included in Firefox, via a toolbar button and link to a user's Pocket list in the bookmark's menu. The integration was controversial, as users displayed concerns for the direct integration of a proprietary service into an open source application, and that it could not be completely disabled without editing advanced settings, unlike other third-party extensions. [8] A Mozilla spokesperson stated that the feature was meant to leverage the service's popularity among Firefox users and clarified that all code related to the integration was open source. [9] [10] The spokesperson added that "[Mozilla had] gotten lots of positive feedback about the integration from users". [9]

On February 27, 2017, Pocket announced that it had been acquired by Mozilla Corporation, the commercial arm of Firefox's non-profit development group. Mozilla staff stated that Pocket would continue to operate as an independent subsidiary but that it would be leveraged as part of an ongoing "Context Graph" project. [6] There are plans to open-source the server-side code of Pocket, [11] [12] [13] though only parts of the project [14] have been open-sourced as of 2023. [15] [16]

Functions

The application allows the user to save an article or web page to remote servers for later reading. The article is sent to the user's Pocket list (synced to all of their devices) for offline reading. Pocket makes the article more readable by removing clutter and enabling the user to add tags and adjust text settings.

Userbase

The application had 17 million users [17] and 1 billion saves, as of September 2015. [18] Some applications, such as Flipboard, Google Currents, and X, use Pocket's application programming interface (API). [3] Pocket was listed among Time magazine's 50 Best Android Applications for 2013. [19]

Reception

Kent German of CNET said that "Read It Later is oh so incredibly useful for saving all the articles and news stories I find while commuting or waiting in line." [20] Erez Zukerman of PC World said that supporting the developer is enough reason to buy what he deemed a "handy app". [21] Bill Barol of Forbes said that although Read It Later works less well than Instapaper, "it makes my beloved Instapaper look and feel a little stodgy." [22]

In 2015, Pocket was awarded a Material Design Award for Adaptive Layout by Google for their Android application. [23] [24]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox</span> Free and open-source web browser by Mozilla

Mozilla Firefox, or simply Firefox, is a free and open-source web browser developed by the Mozilla Foundation and its subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation. It uses the Gecko rendering engine to display web pages, which implements current and anticipated web standards. In November 2017, Firefox began incorporating new technology under the code name "Quantum" to promote parallelism and a more intuitive user interface. Firefox is available for Windows 10 or later versions, macOS, and Linux. Its unofficial ports are available for various Unix and Unix-like operating systems, including FreeBSD, OpenBSD, NetBSD, illumos, and Solaris Unix. It is also available for Android and iOS. However, as with all other iOS web browsers, the iOS version uses the WebKit layout engine instead of Gecko due to platform requirements. An optimized version is also available on the Amazon Fire TV as one of the two main browsers available with Amazon's Silk Browser.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Favicon</span> Icon associated with a particular web site

A favicon, also known as a shortcut icon, website icon, tab icon, URL icon, or bookmark icon, is a file containing one or more small icons associated with a particular website or web page. A web designer can create such an icon and upload it to a website by several means, and graphical web browsers will then make use of it. Browsers that provide favicon support typically display a page's favicon in the browser's address bar and next to the page's name in a list of bookmarks. Browsers that support a tabbed document interface typically show a page's favicon next to the page's title on the tab, and site-specific browsers use the favicon as a desktop icon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Minimo</span>

Minimo was a project to create a version of the Mozilla web browser for small devices like personal digital assistants and mobile phones.

Mozilla Firefox has features that allow it to be distinguished from other web browsers, such as Chrome and Internet Explorer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozilla Corporation</span> American software company

The Mozilla Corporation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Mozilla Foundation that coordinates and integrates the development of Internet-related applications such as the Firefox web browser, by a global community of open-source developers, some of whom are employed by the corporation itself. The corporation also distributes and promotes these products. Unlike the non-profit Mozilla Foundation, and the Mozilla open source project, founded by the now defunct Netscape Communications Corporation, the Mozilla Corporation is a taxable entity. The Mozilla Corporation reinvests all of its profits back into the Mozilla projects. The Mozilla Corporation's stated aim is to work towards the Mozilla Foundation's public benefit to "promote choice and innovation on the Internet."

XULRunner is a discontinued, packaged version of the Mozilla platform to enable standalone desktop application development using XUL, developed by Mozilla. It replaced the Gecko Runtime Environment, a stalled project with a similar purpose. The first stable developer preview of XULRunner was released in February 2006, based on the Mozilla 1.8 code base. Mozilla stopped supporting the development of XULrunner in July 2015.

Evernote is a note-taking and task management application developed by the Evernote Corporation. It is intended for archiving and creating notes with embedded photos, audio and saved web content. Notes are stored in virtual "notebooks" and can be tagged, annotated, edited, searched and exported.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crash reporter</span> System software that identify and report crash details

A crash reporter is usually a system software whose function is to identify reporting crash details and to alert when there are crashes, in production or on development / testing environments. Crash reports often include data such as stack traces, type of crash, trends and version of software. These reports help software developers- Web, SAAS, mobile apps and more, to diagnose and fix the underlying problem causing the crashes. Crash reports may contain sensitive information such as passwords, email addresses, and contact information, and so have become objects of interest for researchers in the field of computer security.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox for Android</span> Android web browser by Mozilla

Firefox for Android is a web browser developed by Mozilla for Android smartphones and tablet computers. As with its desktop version, it uses the Gecko layout engine, and supports features such as synchronization with Firefox Sync, and add-ons.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Google Chrome</span> Web browser developed by Google

Google Chrome is a cross-platform web browser developed by Google. It was first released in 2008 for Microsoft Windows, built with free software components from Apple WebKit and Mozilla Firefox. Versions were later released for Linux, macOS, iOS, and also for Android, where it is the default browser. The browser is also the main component of ChromeOS, where it serves as the platform for web applications.

Firefox Sync, originally branded Mozilla Weave, is a browser synchronization feature for Firefox web browsers. It allows users to partially synchronize bookmarks, browsing history, preferences, passwords, filled forms, add-ons, and the last 25 opened tabs across multiple computers. The feature is now included in Firefox and is being implemented in Thunderbird.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox OS</span> Mobile operating system written by Mozilla

Firefox OS is a discontinued open-source operating system – made for smartphones, tablet computers, smart TVs, and dongles designed by Mozilla and external contributors. It is based on the rendering engine of the Firefox web browser, Gecko, and on the Linux kernel. It was first commercially released in 2014.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Instapaper</span> Social bookmarking service

Instapaper is a social bookmarking service that allows web content to be saved so it can be "read later" on a different device, such as an e-reader, smartphone, or tablet. The service was founded in 2008 by Marco Arment. In April 2013, Arment sold a majority stake to Betaworks and by mid 2016 Pinterest acquired the company. In July 2018, ownership of Instapaper was transferred from Pinterest to a newly formed company Instant Paper, Inc. The transition was completed on August 6, 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Feedly</span> News aggregator

Feedly is a news aggregator application for various web browsers and mobile devices running iOS and Android. It is also available as a cloud-based service. It compiles news feeds from a variety of online sources for the user to customize and share with others. Feedly was first released by DevHD in 2008.

Firefox was created by Dave Hyatt and Blake Ross as an experimental branch of the Mozilla browser, first released as Firefox 1.0 on November 9, 2004. Starting with version 5.0, a rapid release cycle was put into effect, resulting in a new major version release every six weeks. This was gradually accelerated further in late 2019, so that new major releases occur on four-week cycles starting in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozilla</span> Free and open-source software community, developer of Firefox and Thunderbird

Mozilla is a free software community founded in 1998 by members of Netscape. The Mozilla community uses, develops, publishes and supports Mozilla products, thereby promoting exclusively free software and open standards, with only minor exceptions. The community is supported institutionally by the non-profit Mozilla Foundation and its tax-paying subsidiary, the Mozilla Corporation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Newton (software)</span> Cross-platform e-mail application

Newton is an email management application for iOS, Android, MacOS, Windows and ChromeOS developed by CloudMagic, Inc. The application is known for its searching capabilities, cross-platform abilities and user interface. It has been referred to as an email client better than Gmail's native app. As from September 15, 2016, CloudMagic has been renamed to Newton Mail with premium services, adding a host of new features and functions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Firefox Focus</span> Free and open-source privacy-focused web browser by Mozilla

Firefox Focus is a free and open-source privacy-focused mobile browser based on Firefox from Mozilla, available for Android and iOS smartphones and tablets. Firefox Focus was initially a tracker-blocking application for mobile iOS devices, released in December 2015. It was developed into a minimalistic web browser shortly afterwards. However, it can still work solely as a tracking-blocker in the background of the Safari browser on Apple devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mozilla VPN</span> Virtual private network service

Mozilla VPN is an open-source virtual private network web browser extension, desktop application, and mobile application developed by Mozilla. It launched in beta as Firefox Private Network on September 10, 2019, and officially launched on July 15, 2020, as Mozilla VPN.

References

  1. ↑ "Pocket Applications". getpocket.com. Archived from the original on 6 May 2016. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  2. ↑ Nagappan, Ramu (June 11, 2010). "Read It Later app now available for iPad". Macworld. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  3. 1 2 "Pocket Operating System Compatibility". getpocket.com. Archived from the original on May 6, 2016. Retrieved July 30, 2013.
  4. ↑ Weiner, Nate, Read it Later—Firefox Extension, archived from the original on 2012-02-16, retrieved 2015-07-17
  5. 1 2 3 Kincaid, Jason (July 26, 2011). "Read It Later Raises $2.5 Million, Wants To Become The Dropbox Of Content". Techcrunch. Archived from the original on November 26, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  6. 1 2 Newton, Casey (27 February 2017). "Mozilla acquires Pocket to gain a foothold on mobile devices". The Verge. Vox Media. Archived from the original on 12 November 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2017.
  7. ↑ Introducing Pocket Premium, Read It Later Inc., May 28, 2014, archived from the original on February 14, 2015, retrieved January 19, 2015
  8. ↑ "Hacker News". ycombinator.com. Archived from the original on August 6, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  9. 1 2 Protalinski, Emil (June 9, 2015). "Mozilla responds to Firefox user backlash over Pocket integration". venturebeat. Archived from the original on November 17, 2015. Retrieved November 3, 2015.
  10. ↑ "Mozilla has 'no plans' to offer Firefox without Pocket". VentureBeat. 13 November 2015. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  11. ↑ "Mozilla acquires read-it-later app Pocket, will open-source the code". VentureBeat. 2017-02-27. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  12. ↑ Downer, Tyler (2017-10-21). "Mozilla, Pocket and open-source". Reddit. Archived from the original on 2017-12-26. Retrieved 2018-09-23. we have plans to make it entirely open source
  13. ↑ "Mozilla Acquires Pocket – The Mozilla Blog". The Mozilla Blog. Archived from the original on 2018-09-23. Retrieved 2018-09-23.
  14. ↑ "open-pocket/open-pocket: Building a 'clean room' open-source implementation of Pocket". GitHub. 2017-02-27. Retrieved 2023-09-07.
  15. ↑ "Pocket Source Code". Mozilla Discourse. 2020-06-08. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  16. ↑ "Pocket". GitHub. Retrieved 2023-05-05.
  17. ↑ "Pocket built a save button for the internet — what's next?". The Verge. September 8, 2015. Archived from the original on September 8, 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2015.
  18. ↑ "1 Billion Saves to Pocket!". Read It Later Inc. May 15, 2014. Archived from the original on February 25, 2015. Retrieved January 19, 2015.
  19. ↑ Newman, Jared (July 1, 2013). "50 Best Android Apps for 2013". TIME. Archived from the original on July 4, 2013. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  20. ↑ German, Kent (July 11, 2011). "Kent's 10 favorite Android apps (CNET 100)". CNET. Archived from the original on November 6, 2012. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
  21. ↑ Zukerman, Erez. "Read It Later Pro". PC World. Archived from the original on September 10, 2012. Retrieved December 4, 2011.
  22. ↑ Barol, Bill (December 16, 2010). "Instapaper vs. Read It Later: The power of pretty". Forbes. Archived from the original on December 14, 2011. Retrieved December 5, 2011.
  23. ↑ Fulcher, Rich (2015). "Material Design Awards". Google Design . Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
  24. ↑ Raphael, J. R. (May 29, 2015). "Material Design, 1 year later: How Pocket and Pocket Casts conquered Google's vision". Computerworld . Archived from the original on October 7, 2015. Retrieved October 6, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.