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Posts tagged with "iBooks"

Children’s Picture Books Go Live In The iBookstore

With the release of iBooks 1.2, Apple added the possibility to display illustrated books in its ebook reading application. The illustrated books weren’t available in the Store on the iBooks 1.2 launch day, but they are now. And they’re featured in the homepage of the iBookstore with a series of banners that want you to notice the availability of the Children’s Picture Books.

Most of the books in the Store are sold at $9.99, but there are many ranging from $3.99 to $12.99. The format of illustrated books is different, and you’ll have to manually zoom in iBooks if you want to get a closer look at the details. I don’t get why the app doesn’t open them in full-screen by default. Anyway, go check on the iBookstore, as there are plenty of them.

[via Macgasm] Read more

Fast PDF 2.0 Offers A Solid Alternative To iBooks

When I reviewed the first version of Fast PDF (universal, $2.99) in late June, I called it “what iBooks for PDFs should be”. It was a few days after Apple released an updated version of iBooks with PDF support, which many – including us – didn’t really like. That version of iBooks (1.1) had poor PDF support as it didn’t let you highlight words, flip through pages or organize documents in collections. iBooks 1.2, released last week, still doesn’t let you highlight or flip through, but at least it’s got the long-requested collection feature. Plus, Apple optimized the engine to make opening large PDF files faster. I noticed that last week.

A few days ago the App Store saw the release of Fast PDF 2.0 as well. A major new version of the app I reviewed in June and used as the default PDF reader on my iPad for months. How does it compare to iBooks 1.2? What’s new? Read more

Apple Offering Free iOS Development iBooks

If you’re a Mac or iOS developer and happen to have an iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad running the iBooks app, go open the iBookstore and search for “apple developer”. As you can see, Apple is offering iOS / Mac development iBooks completely for free.

The six books, published by Apple Developer Publications, include “iOS Technology Overview”, “Cocoa Fundamentals Guide” and the popular “iOS Human Interface Guidelines”. Some books report a release date of “November 2010”, but Apple is making sure you’re running the latest iBooks version by writing in each description “This book displays best with iBooks 1.2 or later”.

Indeed the books are elegant and come with a lot of detailed graphics and screenshots. Sure they’re not illustrated books (supported in iBooks 1.2), but I can see why Apple is recommending the latest version of their ebook reading software. Read more

Apple Releases iBooks 1.2

iBooks 1.2 just showed up in iTunes. The new version features a new Collection functionality to organize books and PDFs, AirPrint support, possibility to experience fully illustrated books available in the iBookstore.

iBooks can now also fit more words per page using automatic hyphenation, although this feature is only available for iOS 4.2 users. Read more

iBooks Gift Cards Now On Sale in Apple Stores

iLounge noticed Apple is now selling iBooks gift cards in its retail stores. The cards were spotted in the Washington D.C. area Apple Store, and it’s an interesting move because regular iTunes Gift Cards worked just fine with the iBookStore.

I guess Apple wanted to make it clear that books can be bought with a gift card, and I assume those cards are going to be huge this holiday season. I still haven’t spotted them here in Italy, though.

iPad in the Dark→

iPad in the Dark

Then I discovered a feature of the Kindle app that the Apple iBook app lacks: reversed fonts – white type on black pages. This is a silly idea for paper books: hard to read and a colossal waste of ink. It is also a silly idea for ordinary Kindles that, like paper books, are read by reflected light. But with a self-lit, back-lit device like an iPad, it becomes a new way to experience books. Even with very low light levels, the contrast of the white letters against the black page is outstanding. In a dark room, it is very readable.

Funny how with all the advanced technology, all it takes is one tiny feature to change the experience: there is practically no excess light to bother other people.

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Walt Mossberg Reviews iPad e-Reader Apps

In his latest column for the WSJ, technology pundit Walt Mossberg has taken a look at three different eBook reader applications for the iPad: Apple’s own iBooks, Amazon’s Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s Nook app.

The verdict is interesting: according to Mossberg, they’re more similar than different. Read more