Paper App Downloaded 1.5 Million Times In Just Two Weeks

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At 1.5 million downloads in just two weeks, Paper is a clear success for simplicity
At 1.5 million downloads in just two weeks, Paper is a clear success for simplicity

Paper, the ultra-simple app that turns your iPad into a piece of paper, has been downloaded 1.5 million times in just two weeks. What’s more, users have created seven million pages in that time. Not bad for an app that is distinguihed more by a lack of features than anything else.

I love Paper. I have better and more powerful drawing apps on my iPad, but paper is the only one that feels like, well, paper. I can sit listening to a podcast, say, or on an “important” phone call, and doodle away as if with real paper. I don’t know if it’s because the brushes and pencils are so like their physical counterparts, or if it’s the responsiveness of the app, or even just the new iPad’s Retina Display, but it is really relaxing to use.

And clearly 1,499,999 other people feel the same way. Paper is of course free, but as extra stationery costs $2 a pop, and the kind of people who would download paper are also likely the kind of people who love to buy real pens and notebooks, I’d bet that the Developer, FiftyThree, has made more than a few bucks out of this.

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