Save to Google tries to take on Pocket with new service

Google this week quietly introduced a new Chrome extension that lets users save links for later viewing. If you’re familiar with services like Pocket and Instapaper, “Save to Google” is designed to be a barebones competitor, providing a place on the internet where links and other content can be saved for all of eternity.

While the hub for these saved links is beautiful and easy to use, Save to Google isn’t quite as powerful as competing “read-it-later” services. Whether it’ll ever get the same features asPocket remains to be seen, but it’s certainly a good start, especially for folks who can’t quite get the hang of what read-it-later services have to offer.

For one thing, Save to Google doesn’t strip web page formatting for a plain-text reading experience. This might not be a huge deal for some, but the point of read-it-later services is their ability to focus on the text, not necessarily the design and style of a web page. You can, however, add tags and notes to links you save, giving users some control over organization.

It’s unclear what Google has planned for Save to Google. There is a myriad of read-it-later options already on the market, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Google’s new services become a core part of Chrome and Android, which could then tie-in with something like Google Now.