Recently I bumped into PortalPanel a Startup from the UK backed by University graduates from Oxford and California Universities with specialization in IT, Marketing and International Law.
The initial core competency of PortalPanel is to offer an on line web bookmarking service that is combined with an RSS feed reader and aims to overtake iGoogle and Google reader which shutdown few days ago. Websites similar to iGoogle or Google reader are not few; Netvibes, Symbaloo, Protopage and Ustart are based on the ideas of iGoogle and website like Digg Reader has replicated Google Reader.
However PortalPanel moved away from that concept to an easier and simpler one that offers by far more options, functions and services all under one umbrella. At the end of the day who would not like to have a simple website where they can have access to their favourite bookmarked pages together with the latest developments on their social networking pages. To these competencies add online browsing history, note taking, calendar and an expanding library.
The Following Screenshots shows the organization of Widgets, Bookmarks, RSS Feeds, etc on PortalPanel Dashboard
Calendar – You can organize your schedule and also set Alerts for the same.
Library – It is more like Directory which contains Important Website links of all the Categories [Banks, Government, Car Rental etc] based on user Location (Country)
News Portal – Actually a RSS Reader, my favorite App which worked like a Charm when I added a few feeds. News Portal allows each user to create their own news stream, including the ability to customize the way they receive and consume the news. Users are able to enter their favorite RSS feeds or choose from a list of trending feeds recommended by the PortalPanel team.
Widgets – You can add Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin and Yahoo Weather Apps as Widgets on the Dashboard and use all the 4 platforms at one place.
BookMarks – PortalPanel stores, labels and helps organize bookmarks so they can be retrieved for later use any time on any device. The app boasts a unique link scanning feature that produces a picture thumbnail of each bookmarked page. Whether you have five bookmarks in your home folder or five hundred of them organized in fifty folders, nothing jogs memory better than a visual cue. This feature alone separates PortalPanel from all other online bookmarking apps and makes it truly stand out.
In addition to bookmarking webpages, PortalPanel allows bookmarking YouTube and Vimeo Videos. Just like with the regular bookmarks, video bookmarks can also be saved along with unique titles and brief descriptions. From favorite songs to entire concerts, PortalPanel can help you build an entire music collection available at your fingertips, neatly organized and featuring distinctive picture thumbnails.
The current version of this website is tablet and smart phone friendly as well. They are currently working on adding some new features to this website and once these new concepts are up and running and tested they’ll release optimized App for Tablet and SmartPhone. PortalPanel has a dedicated YouTube channel to help users gets started and going and is available here.
If you’re looking for a bookmarking tool that’s easy to use yet packs the power of multiple applications all bundled in one Internet based app, PortalPanel is definitely worth going for. The team can be reached for feedback and suggestions – info@portalpanel.com