Watchlater Is Instapaper for Video on Your iPad

Even if you have a 3G-capable iPad and a mobile data plan, you might not always have access to a stable connection. Thats a situation Watchlater, a new iPad app that caches online video for later viewing, is hoping to make more bearable.

Watchlater isnt just about caching, though. You can use the app to bookmark video from a variety of sites, either using your iPads Safari browser or from any desktop computer using a javascript bookmarklet. Once you do that, the video will be available for viewing from the Watchlater iPad app, with an option to cache depending on the site. Some sites, like YouTube, prohibit caching, and Watchlater cant provide the functionality without risking expulsion from the App Store.

Even without caching, Watchlater is a good way to manage your online video queue. Say you see a trailer or review that you want to watch, but youre at work or about to head to a meeting. With Watchlater, you can add clips youre interested in to the app for viewing when you have more time later. The app also provides AirPlay support for bookmarked content, and automatically converts videos from sites which arent available for native iPad playback.

Watchlater currently supports over 20 video platforms, according to the apps developers, including blip.tv, TED talks, Break.com and Vimeo. In my own tests, I ran into problems with some other sites, like FunnyOrDie and CollegeHumor. I also couldnt get the Watchlater bookmarklet to work with broadcast TV sites here in Canada. Still, when Watchlater does work, which is most! ly in th e area of dedicated online content, it works well. For instance, I was able to line up a string of video tutorials from YouTube within a folder, which is a lot easier than hunting them down individually for viewing.

Watchlater has a $2.99 price tag when you download it from Apples App Store, but actually uses an in-app credit model in order to use its caching feature. Its an interesting business model, and one that could not only make Watchlaters model more sustainable than most, but might also pave the way for licensing deals with content partners in the future. Users buy caching time in 300 minute blocks, each of which costs $2.99 through Apples in-app purchasing system. Note that once you use some of your time to download a video, it cant be reclaimed by clearing that clip from the cache, but you can re-cache videos youd deleted for free if youve done it once. Some may find this a steep price to pay, but if Watchlaters unique functionality is what youre looking for, then the cost might be more than justified.

This app may not be a slam dunk, but its been designed with care and the developers are working on legitimate workaround for sites that dont yet allow caching. Watchlater is definitely an app to watch when it comes to online video.

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