ReadKit 2.3

Webin has updated the RSS client and read-later app ReadKit to version 2.3 with a number of requested features and bug fixes. In my original review (see “ReadKit for Mac Is Almost the Perfect Reading App,” 8 July 2013), I complained about how two of the most popular read-later services, Instapaper and Pocket, were absent from ReadKit’s share menu. Instead, you had to drag and drop articles into those services, which, in the case of Instapaper, required a premium subscription. Developer Balazs Varkonyi has responded, adding Instapaper, Pocket, Readability, Pinboard, and Delicious to the share menu. All five services have their own keyboard shortcuts for fast sharing, and ReadKit no longer requires a premium Instapaper account for sharing.

Another requested feature implemented in ReadKit 2.3 is the capability to group articles by date or source. You can set a default for sorting, and you can set individual preferences in each smart folder.

ReadKit 2.3 makes major improvements in handling network connectivity. In the previous version, I had constant notifications that ReadKit couldn’t connect to one service or another, even if the problem was only momentary. Now, ReadKit is much more tolerant of outages, and even allows you to archive, star, and delete articles while offline.

The update also brings a number of fixes for bugs related to searching in smart folders, handling of Fever feeds that belong to multiple folders, and fetching starred items from Feed Wrangler and NewsBlur. ($4.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 3.8 MB, release notes)