An e-reader is just for books, right?
That’s what e-readers are meant for, at the end of the day. It’s what they’re best at, and it’s the immediate use that most people would think of when you showed them one.
Sure, they’ve evolved in recent years, with color models being capable of reading comics more easily, and larger models like the Kindle Scribe leaning into document production, rather than consumption — but on the whole, yeah, e-readers are meant for reading. It’s in the name.
But I found an easily missed feature that means my Kobo Clara Colour can be used for far more than just reading plain ol’ e-books.
Whether it’s a reminder, or entirely new information, it’s definitely something all e-reader owners need to know about.
My to-read is a never-read
Like many of you, I rarely read everything I want to.
My job involves reading stuff on the internet, so it’s not uncommon for my interest to be piqued by a headline, open the article in a tab, and then fail to look at it ever again.
But at least those tabs get to rest in peace, as my open tabs are cleared every time I shut down my computer at the end of the day. Not so on my smartphone.
Sometimes I pity those poor, undead tabs that still linger in the background of my Chrome tab. Will they ever be opened again? Probably not. Will I ever close those tabs? Also, unlikely.
It would be great if I could just save those articles and read them later. Well, somewhere that isn’t my phone anyway. Because we all know that isn’t going to happen.
The ideal device would be an e-reader. It’s built for reading, and it lacks the many distractions that tend to mean I don’t get around to reading on my phone.
But surely getting them on there would be a massive pain, right? You’d have to copy the text, make a document, and then send that document to your e-reader. Sounds like a lot of work.
Thankfully, there are much cleverer people than me out there, and there’s a much easier way to read articles from the internet on your e-reader. And if you’re anything like me, then you need to know about it.
If you have a Kobo e-reader, then you’re in luck
I am referring to the “Send to” feature you can find on Kobo e-readers.
This feature links up with Instapaper, and it allows articles to be easily ported over to your e-reader of choice with the click of a button (or tap of an icon).
The process is fairly straightforward. First and foremost, you’ll need to sign up for an Instapaper account.
Then, on a Kobo device, from the home page, you’ll go to More > My Articles, and then Link to Instapaper. You’ll then scan a QR code or head to the web page posted.
If you have a Kindle e-reader, you can also benefit from this feature, but it’s a lot more complicated to set up, and essentially involves setting up an email relay using your Kindle’s email address.
Kobo e-readers are instead officially supported by Instapaper, which probably explains why the Send to Kindle feature is being placed behind a paywall in February 2026.
Simply put, it’s a more expensive process for Instapaper, so it has to be for the consumer too.
That’s a real shame, but at $6 a month, the cost isn’t exactly high, and many have found that the service is worth paying for.
I do feel a little bit smug that I get it for free on my Kobo Clara Colour though. Another good reason to move away from Amazon’s e-readers.
Catching up with blogs and articles has never been easier
E-ink will always be my favorite way to read from a screen.
It’s far gentler on your eyes than even the most expensive AMOLED displays, and while not really suitable for an everyday device, you can bet it’s my choice whenever I want to sit down and relax with a book, magazine, or, now, web article.
Combined with Instapaper’s Chrome addon, the process is incredibly painless.
Whenever I spot an article I’d like to read, I open it up, click the Instapaper icon in the upper-right corner, and know I can go back to it later when I have the time.
Is this actually a silver bullet for my article-hoarding, or just another place to build them up? Time will tell that verdict, but at the moment, I’m optimistic.
My e-reader has become something of a sanctuary space, free from the many digital distractions that dog me every waking hour, and adding my must-read articles to that has only made it better.
