Evernote Takes On Web Reading With Clearly

Evernote, an application that has gained momentum by providing an easy way for people to quickly capture things they want to remember, is determined to branch out past its humble note-taking origins.

First, the company bought Skitch, a drawing application, to improve the image-capturing and editing capabilities of the service. Then it built Peek, a flash-cards app designed to be a study aide for Evernote users. The company unveiled its latest addition: Clearly, a browser extension that aims to simplify online reading by stripping away links, advertisements and other clutter from Web articles. “It’s really about setting the right mood and environment online for reading,” said Phil Libin, the chief executive of Evernote. Users can also save articles to their Evernote accounts. Mr. Libin acknowledged the existence of well-established similar services, like Instapaper and Read It Later, but he thinks Clearly will find an audience. “The opportunity is in the 99 percent of people who haven’t already tried anything similar,” he said.