Classics2Go is a very similar app to Classics. It does some things better, and some not as well. Both apps are good for those who want inexpensive libraries of cleaned up classic books in a preloaded package on their iPhone or iPod. You wouldn’t want both though, as they draw from the same pool of public domain titles and offer similar packages.
Classics2Go has a bigger library (currently 47 to Classics’s 23). The cover art isn’t quite as nice as that of Classics, as all the art looks similar and slightly amateurish, though it’s still a welcome feature. Rather than a rearrangable bookshelf, Classics2Go features two rows: a sliding, navigable bottom row containing all the available titles, as well as an upper My Books row that allows you to set aside books for easier access. The touch detection is a little off for this, which can be momentarily annoying. … Continue reading »
Iceberg Reader isn’t a standalone reader app, such as Stanza or eReader, but rather a licensed architecture, such as TouchBooks, that provides the framework for single book downloads from the app store. I’m the type that likes to manage my own library, so this isn’t quite in my wheelhouse, but for those who want to download a book, read it, and be done with it (and reclaim the homescreen space and memory it occupies) appbooks with Iceberg may be the best option for you. … Continue reading »
Xcerpts is an app that shares a lot of similarities with the IndieBound app. It’s not so much a reader app as a way to browse different books out there and search for new titles that may be of interest to you. Xcerpts main feature is, perhaps obviously, to allow you to read samples (usually the first few pages) of the available books.
The organization is pretty intuitive, and there is a surprisingly large array of categories. Each book’s entry contains a picture of the cover, basic publisher info, and some helpful links allowing you to email the book’s info to a friend or jump to the book’s page on Amazon or Barnes & Noble. There is also the option to save selections to a “shelf” for future perusal. The book excerpts are what separates this app from the pack, and it handles it well. … Continue reading »
I’m not very versed in comics. I never really read them when I was a kid, and though I’ll occasionally read a graphic novel, serialized comics just aren’t something I can get into, mostly because I don’t know where to start. So maybe it’s no surprise that ClickWheel Comics app has a whole bunch of titles I’ve never heard of before, and a couple of which I have. It’s a free download that gets right down to business: a menu offers the available series and then you select the issue within each header, then the format (or more to the point the provider) and you’re off. … Continue reading »
Shortcovers is a sort of cross between the Kindle app and Wattpad. Like Wattpad everything is online, customization and formatting are limited, and a degree of user conectivity has been implemented (via sharing chapters via email or twitter, and posting comments). That it is web-based is really the main letdown, as it was with Wattpad, since users are left with little security in their purchases (there’s very little free content) because they are unable to download them, and need web access to read them. And if Shortcovers goes belly up, poof goes your library. … Continue reading »
In what could be terrible news, Lexcycle, the producer of the best (by far) reader app for the iPhone, Stanza, has announced their sale to Amazon. If Amazon uses this move to try and strangle the market and push their proprietary Kindle format on mobile devices, this could be very bad news indeed and indicate a big step backwards for mobile device ereading. If however, they stick to their claim to leave Stanza unchanged, or better yet, they open Stanza to the Kindle format without locking out other formats, it could be a step forward. We’ll have to wait and see, but don’t hold your breath.
I’m finding it pretty hard to understand why people are still churning out clearly sub-par reader apps for the iPhone, and harder to believe that they’re seeing any sort of profit from these programs. Wattpad brings one innovation to the mix, but its humdrum presentation and centralized online library prevent it from being close to a contender for the go-to reader app.
Wattpad’s innovation is the ability to share. You can tag books you like which will in turn recommend it to readers with similar tags and libraries as you. … Continue reading »
Frotz isn’t exactly an ereader app–so I can’t compare it to the other apps–as it’s a program that runs interactive fiction (IF) rather than ebooks. IF is a niche within a niche, sort of a cross between Choose Your Own Adventure books and old point and click computer games like Monkey Island, King’s Quest, and Maniac Mansion; akin to the hypertext literature championed by Robert Coover. It’s a form of entertainment that’s been around since the 1970s, when computers didn’t have graphics, and it’s nice to see that it still hold up so well on an iPhone app almost 40 years since the first (called Colossal Cave Adventure).
For such an old medium, there are a large amount of IF pieces still being programmed, and many are creative and well written. The genre is kept alive by a vibrant fan community, and you can find most any available IFs through their Interactive Fiction DataBase. Some of the writing reads a bit fan-fictional in quality, but much of it is surprisingly good. Awesomely, Frotz comes with 25 of the most popular IF titles preloaded. Plus, it can connect automatically and easily to the IFDB, allowing you to download and read/play on your device virtually ever IF title available
“The iPod of books” is a phrase I’m seeing tossed around more and more lately, either as and indication of what the industry needs, or praise of what the Kindle is. As I’ve already mentioned in my rather wandering and round-about posts, trying to make an ereader fit into the exact same business model as the iPod is not unlike shoving a square peg into a round hole, because the differences between books and music, in terms of portable devices, are many. Not to mention, while I’m tossing about clichés, Apple more or less caught lighting in a bottle with the iPod, and for a company to realistically assume to replicate the staggering numbers Apple has achieved in market share is like Saturn saying they’re going to best a Mercedes. It’s possible, but it takes actual work and R&D, not just advertising and a bunch of crude oil stock backing up a half-assed vehicle that’s still a poopy Saturn on the inside, and just looks like a Mercedes on the exterior.
Now I’m not a market analyst, and I won’t pretend to know how things will work or what companies are thinking as far as business tactics in the publishing space. But I do know that le dame Fortuna’s a rather fickle broad, and she doesn’t tend to help out those who just point at the rich guy next to him and say I want what he’s got. … Continue reading »
BookShelf is functional but not all that friendly. The ad-free version costs $10 $6, which is pretty steep, especially because this program really only does the most basic of things. In fact, the welcome letter from the programmer says this is purposeful stating: “BookShelf is fundamentally a very simple program. It displays books on your screen so you can read them. Whistles & bells just distract you from your book.” That’s all well and good, but to pony up more money than for the any of the other available ereader programs, I expect a whistle or two. There is a free, ad supported lite version, and that is what I will be reviewing here. Besides the ads (which take up precious screen real estate), the two versions are essentially the same.
BookShelf has the basics covered as far as features go. Landscape is supported (and there is a button like in eReader that locks your accelerometer), text and background can be modified, and bookmarking is supported. Most filetypes besides PDF are supported, and its programmer claims it can handle files 10 MB and larger quickly. BookShelf doesn’t connect to as many websites as eReader and Stanza, at least not as easily since most sites aren’t preloaded. There is a companion program you can run from their website that sets up a local server for you to wirelessly transmit files from your computer to your iPhone. It’s handy and it works pretty well, though it’s a bit complicated and not nearly as easy as Stanza’s open and load technique. I can see it being a turnoff for those who aren’t very computer savvy.
BookShelf is basically in the same boat as Bookz. It’s functional, and it’s not bad. But it’s not good either, and certainly not worth spending money on when there are better programs available for free. This is especially true now that Stanza handles PDFs.
[As you can see here, the server set up is handy, but more complicated than it ought to be.]
Classics2Go is a very similar app to Classics. It does some things better, and some not as well. Both apps are good for those who want inexpensive libraries of cleaned up classic books in a preloaded package on their iPhone or iPod. You wouldn’t want both though, as they draw from the same pool of public domain titles and offer similar packages.
Iceberg Reader isn’t a standalone reader app, such as 
Xcerpts is an app that shares a lot of similarities with the 
I’m not very versed in comics. I never really read them when I was a kid, and though I’ll occasionally read a graphic novel, serialized comics just aren’t something I can get into, mostly because I don’t know where to start. So maybe it’s no surprise that ClickWheel Comics app has a whole bunch of titles I’ve never heard of before, and a couple of which I have. It’s a free download that gets right down to business: a menu offers the available series and then you select the issue within each header, then the format (or more to the point the provider) and you’re off. 
Shortcovers is a sort of cross between the 
I’m finding it pretty hard to understand why people are still churning out clearly sub-par reader apps for the iPhone, and harder to believe that they’re seeing any sort of profit from these programs. Wattpad brings one innovation to the mix, but its humdrum presentation and centralized online library prevent it from being close to a contender for the go-to reader app.
Frotz isn’t exactly an ereader app–so I can’t compare it to the other apps–as it’s a program that runs interactive fiction (IF) rather than ebooks. IF is a niche within a niche, sort of a cross between Choose Your Own Adventure books and old point and click computer games like 
BookShelf is functional but not all that friendly. The ad-free version costs 
