 | |
| Type of business | Limited company |
|---|---|
| Available in | Multilingual |
| Founded | London, 2004 |
| Headquarters | , |
| Area served | Worldwide |
| Founder(s) | Andre Parrie |
| URL | www.protopage.com |
| Launched | May 15, 2005 |
| Current status | Active |
Protopage is an RSS reader, virtual desktop, and Internet start page launched in London, United Kingdom, on 15 May 2005.[1]
The design offers color-coded tabs and categories to organize information, an audio and video podcast function, a news reader, the option to add cartoons, and a selection of widgets,[2] which can be dragged onto the desktop, arranged, and re-sized.[3] It is highly customizable and has been described as "simple to use."[4] One criticism is that it has only one mail widget, which requires connection via IMAP.[4]
Protopage has not taken venture capital and is debt-free.[5] Protopage outlasted Google's competitor service iGoogle,[6] which also launched in 2005 (just a few days after Protopage) but was shutdown in November 2013.[7]
In 2007, the site was named one of the top 10 best free web apps by PC Magazine.[8] In 2008, it scored 4.5 out of 5 stars in a review by About.com.[9] In 2013, Chris Pirillo called Protopage "the best designed AJAX portal".[10]
In August 2015, support for "Universal headline import" was announced,[11] which allows the service to import headlines from any web site regardless of whether that site supports RSS feeds or not.