iPhone Readers: Frotz

frotzFrotz 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


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Google and Amazon Canoodling on Mobile Devices

Releasing an iPhone optimized version of their expansive if frustrating Book Search service might not be enough for Google in their push for digital ubiquity. Google has announced (via currentworldnews.net) that they will team up with Amazon to create ebook distribution software for mobile devices. That Amazon is involved may not bode so well with those not keen on the Kindle’s distribution model, but the fact that it is aimed at more devices than just the Kindle might mean this is a (hopefully not the only) first step toward an easily accessible and user-friendly approach to ebook distribution–though it probably means accessing the whispernet through Android. Let’s just hope it doesn’t fragment things further.

Read our full review of Google Book Search for iPhone later this week.

Google Book Search on iPhone and Android Devices

Google has optimized (sort of) their Book Search feature for iPhone and phones packed with Android.  While it’s certainly nice to have free access on mobile devices, Google Book Search is not without its flaws.  Check out our full review of Book Search on iPhone later this week.
UPDATE: Not to be forgotten, the ambitious Project Gutenberg has also been working for mobile optimization.