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Last month, Instapaper founder Marco Arment revealed that he'd pulled the free version of his popular "read later" app from the App Store. There were few complaints and sales of the paid version remained strong. Arment's action seemed to challenge the prevailing notion that a free app (typically an ad-supported app) is necessary or a good idea.

That may hold true for Instapaper, which has no doubt developed a strong lead in this space - a well-established and well-respected brand. Users have found value in the service, and so they pay.

But that $4.99 might be a harder sell for a new, relatively unknown startup.

Our venture capital roundup for the day features a range of companies raising large and (relatively) small amounts of money. We've got software for school teachers to keep their classrooms organized and an app to make keyword advertising easier for small businesses, among several other useful technologies. We want to know which of these companies you'd like to keep tabs on. And as usual, we're announcing yesterday's poll winner.

Aro Mobile, a mobile communications startup backed by Microsoft's Paul Allen, made waves back in October when it emerged after three years in stealth as a suite of interconnected applications for Android smartphones. Installed as a single download from the Android Market, Aro places icons on user's homescreens: Phone, Email, Browser, Calendar, Contacts and Messaging. These are the core "PIM" (personal information manager) applications on mobile devices.

Because of Android's relative openness, Aro is able to completely integrate its PIM solution onto the Android mobile platform. But now, as the company prepares to launch its iPhone version, compromises had to be made. This begs the question: can innovation around core apps even work on iPhone?

Branded mobile apps - that is apps from companies like Starbucks, eBay or Nike - are now a standard fixture in mobile app stores, but a new survey that user interface design and app development agency EffectiveUI commissioned from Harris Interactive found that 38% of users today are not satisfied with these branded apps. That alone would be bad, but these users are also quite vocal about their experiences and 69% of respondents said that a bad experience with a branded mobile app resulted in a negative perception of the brand as a whole.

Mobile security and antivirus software maker Lookout is launching a premium version of its popular Android software on November 16th, via a solution called "Lookout Premium for Android."

The new system includes additional privacy controls, expanded data backup and restore capabilities, remote wipe and lock, priority customer support plus the features already available in its free program, like antivirus/anti-malware, firewall, "find my phone" functionality for lost devices, contacts backup and more.

Researchers at RMIT's School of Mathematical and Geospatial Sciences developed a method for integrating spatial coordinates into an SMS text message and released the technology for doing so as an open standard called GeoSMS. The standard has now been put to use in the first mainstream mobile application, an Android reference app called "I Am Here," available now in the Google Android Market for free.

Netflix has finally launched its highly anticipated free mobile application for the iPhone and iPod Touch and it's available now for download in the iTunes App Store. Like its iPad counterpart, the app lets subscribers stream TV shows and movies straight to a handheld device, either over Wi-Fi or 3G. Membership plans for Netflix start at $8.99/month, which is low enough, perhaps, to entice people to sign up, even if they only plan to use Netflix for mobile streaming.

A mobile application which connects Android phone owners to their representatives in the U.S. Congress has just been released by the non-profit, non-partisan organization Sunlight Labs, a group dedicated to government transparency. After months of public beta testing, the newly finished application is now a comprehensive toolset that helps you stay on top of congressional activity, voting records, new bills and laws, and more. It even provides one-touch access to your Congressional representatives, allowing to you to call their office directly from within the application, watch their YouTube videos or read their latest updates on the microblogging social network, Twitter.

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz announced this week that the Seattle-based coffee chain would soon be expanding its mobile payment program to more stores over the coming months. Launched in September of last year, Starbucks users with iPhones could pay for their purchases via their mobile device using a special Starbucks Card mobile application. The app was initially accepted at just 16 Seattle and Bay Area stores which were taking part in the pilot program. In March 2010, the company expanded the mobile program to include 1,000 Target stores across the U.S.

Now, Starbucks plans to expand it yet again. "We know believe that offering mobile payment and mobile gifting capabilities will result in a more efficient in-store experience," said Schultz.

Headed out to do some shopping and looking for a few good deals? Thanks to the proliferation of smartphones and their accompanying mobile applications, the ability to access geo-targeted coupons from nearby merchants on your handheld device is easier than ever.

Or is it?

In theory, you should be able to go into any store, launch an app and find a coupon for that business which could then be presented to the cashier. We have the technology - it is possible. In practice, however, this sort of mobilized "discount shopping" experience is still quite a ways off.