Shelf Control: Get To 'Reading-List Zero' One Article At A Time With Readtime
May 13, 2013
Saving stuff for reading later is easy. But actually getting to read all of those articles you've saved for later is another matter entirely. More often than not, we simply feel that we don't have enough time to read most, if not all, of them. Well, that's where the Readtime app for iPhone and iPod touch comes in.
To be sure, Readtime, which is the featured app for this week's Shelf Control, doesn't aim to help you arrive at "reading-list zero" (a variation on "inbox zero") in one fell swoop. Rather, it can help you get there gradually, article by article, minute by minute.
To begin using Readtime, you must first sign in to your reading list either on Pocket or on Readability.
Then, set the time for your reading session. It can be anywhere from one minute to 30 minutes. This period could correspond to your idle time during your lunch break, train ride, or wait at the bills payment center.
Just specify how many minutes you have to spare and hit the button at the center. But before you do, you can also specify whether you want Readtime to pick from all of the articles in your reading list or just from the short ones.
Having presumably analyzed the length of each article in your reading list, Readtime queues up the right number of articles to fill the remaining time in your reading session.
After you're finished reading an article, just swipe to the left to archive it and move on to the next article. Note that each article can be shared and added to your favorites and that any link within an article can be shared and added to your reading list.
And that's it. Read one article after another until your reading session is through, and then go back to Readtime for your reading session.
In my view, Readtime is already a neat app as it is. But I do like to see some improvements in its upcoming updates, namely, Instapaper support, iPad optimization, font adjustment options, and night mode.
Optimized for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 5.0.1 or later, Readtime is available in the App Store for $1.99.
As always, if you have suggestions for Shelf Control, please feel free to email me at aldrin@appadvice.com or simply leave a comment below.
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