Pearltrees (a former consulting client) this week introduced the 2.0 version of its popular web page curation tool built completely with HTML 5.0 and with a completely different user interface and metaphor.

The tool now represents web pages as a series of rectangles in a "dynamic grid" allowing users to quickly organize and share their web collections. The prior interface was based on circles, or "pearls" connected in a molecular pattern to other "pearls." Sometimes new users thought it looked complicated and the user interface change simplifies people's first impressions.

Patrice Lamothe, CEO and co-founder of Pearltrees (above) said the new interface in the latest version makes the tool more powerful and useful because of the drag and drop features, improved sharing, and content discovery technologies.

He says that Pearltrees' current nearly 2 million users will be able to still use the old interface for a few months but it will be turned off later this year.

It's quite a risk for any web based service to make such a radical change in its user interface. Lamothe said that Pearltrees has consulted with its most active users and it believes nearly everyone will accept the new format as a major improvement. The new user interface is also reflected in the iPhone and iPad Pearltrees apps.

Moving away from Adobe's Flash platform has been a long standing goal at Pearltrees but it had to wait for the HTML 5.0 standard to become more widely supported. 

Pearltrees offers a free account and several paid versions that allow users to keep their collections of web pages private. Lamothe was initially against keeping collections private because he believes that a human curated web has great benefits for all. But he says we don't live in a perfect world and the addition of private pearl collections reflects the imperfection of our online worlds.

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About Pearltrees

Pearltrees is a free, visual and collaborative library that lets you organize web pages, files, photos and notes to retrieve and share them anywhere easily. Leverage Pearltrees' community to discover amazing stuff related to your interests and enrich your account. Retrieve anything you keep in Pearltrees from your computer, mobile and tablet.
What makes Pearltrees unique ?

- Have everything you like at your fingertips all the time
- Access your pearltrees from anywhere: computers, mobiles and tablets
- Keep everything you like: web pages, files, photos and notes
- Browse your favorite things blazingly fast
- Discover interesting new stuff in your areas of interest
- Collaborate on your favorite topics
- Share all of this!