Archive for the ‘Reading apps’ Category
Nook for Android updated no comments
Barnes & Noble has updated its Nook for Android app. Besides bug fixes and performance improvements the new features include a couple of digital magazine items: “Top Free Newsstand Trials” is is a new feature in the Shop and the individual issues of the magazines you subscribe to now have a date label when displayed in the library. This is nice as it makes it easier to sort them.
The book and newspaper reader for tablets has been re-skinned and the search function improved. You can now (via the settings) opt to have the status bar hidden while reading.
It really is too bad that B&N did not add landscape mode for books to its recent Nook Color update — landscape is enabled in both the Android and iOS Nook apps.
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Blio for Android now available no comments
The Blio ereading app is now available in an Android version for smartphones and tablets running Android 2.2 or higher. Readers who have an existing Blio account will have access to their libraries once they log into their account from their device.
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Kno adds 3D and multimedia to etextbook app no comments
Kno has added 3D and multimedia to its Textbooks for iPad app. According to Kno the 3D feature “makes it easier for students to grasp difficult concepts by
instantly turning 2D figures into interactive 3D models that jump off the page.”
Initially the 3D feature (which is still a beta version) will be in chemistry textbooks. The 3D views should help students to better understand complex and abstract figures by allowing them to rotate and zoom 360-degree views of objects.
The Smart Links feature, which is also in beta, enables links in Kno’s digital textbooks to free educational videos and other material from Khan Academy, websites and links to related material in other digital textbooks.
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Microsoft discontinuing Microsoft Reader no comments
Microsoft has announced that it will be discontinuing its Microsoft Reader application as of Aug 30, 2012. Users will still be able to continue using the MS Reader application to access .lit files on their devices after that date, but Microsoft will no longer support the program or offer it for download. Retailers will no longer be offering new content in the .lit format after Nov 8, 2011.
This news probably won’t cause much grief. MS Reader was originally launched 11 years ago — about seven years before Amazon launched the first Kindle ereader. Microsoft has not updated the Reader app in a while, and support for it was not included in the Windows Phone 7 OS.
(via Techcrunch)
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Kno launches textbooks on Facebook & Web app no comments
Kno has begun making its selection of over 100,000 textbooks available on Facebook. Students can now access their etextbooks via Facebook and can choose to study alone or with their Facebook friends.
The digital textbook company has also launched the device-agnostic Kno for Web, which enables students to access their textbooks from any browser. This will make Kno usable on laptops, Android-based tablets and other devices.
Kno has also added two new features to its iPad app:
- Journal lets students create an easy to review digital notebook with images, annotations, stickies, text and media transferred from their textbooks.
- The new Quiz Me feature can turn any diagram into an instant multiple-choice quiz.
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Amazon launches Kindle Cloud Reader no comments
Amazon today announced the launch of the newest member of the Kindle reading app family. The new Kindle Cloud Reader is built from the ground up in HTML5 and allows you to read ebooks from your Kindle library whether online or offline.
The new app syncs your library as well as annotations and last page read with other Kindle apps and Kindle ereaders. You can choose to download ebooks from your library to your device to make them available for offline reading.
Currently Kindle Cloud Reader is available for Safari and Chrome, but versions are in the works for Internet Explorer, Firefox and other browsers. The Safari version of the Kindle Cloud Reader is optimized for use on the iPad and includes access to the Kindle Store — a feature the Kindle iPad app and other ereading apps had to remove recently to comply with Apple’s current App Store rules.
On the iPad Kindle Cloud Reader is very smooth and feels just like reading on the Kindle iPad app before the Kindle Store button was removed, except sometimes there is a very small amount of lag as you perform an action that requires web interaction. Once an ebook is downloaded it is just like reading on a normal app. You can even put an icon for Kindle Cloud Reader on the iPad’s homescreen by tapping the share button at the top of the screen when you first connect and selecting the appropriate option. After you do this you only need to tap the icon to launch Safari and go right into the app. I would say that this is a very elegant and effective response to having to remove the Kindle Store from Amazon’s iOS apps.
Amazon says it is developing versions of Kindle Cloud Reader for other mobile devices. This makes me wonder; might we one day have a version that works for the Nook Color? Of course what goes around comes around and we could see Amazon’s tablet, when released, greeted by an iBooks Cloud Reader and a Nook Cloud Reader. Sounds good to me.
To use Kindle Cloud Reader point your Safari or Chrome browser to www.amazon.com/cloudreader.
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Amazon removes Kindle Store button from its iOS app, adds digital magazine support no comments
Amazon is the latest to remove the ability to shop for ebooks from within its iPad/iPhone app rather than fork over 30 percent of any sales to Apple. Amazon released an update for its app today that is in compliance with Apple’s new rules.
Besides removing the in-app shopping, the new Kindle iOS app now supports digital magazines and newspapers from the Kindle Store. The Kindle newsstand at the moment features 88 magazines as compared to 157 titles at B&N’s newsstand.
Personally I prefer digital magazines from B&N or Zinioas they recreate the print magazine page for page. Magazines at the Kindle Store are optimized for reading on the Kindle ereaders, which is understandable, but when Amazon launches a tablet I hope they will also offer tablet editions that are faithful to the paper versions.
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Kobo removes store from iOS app no comments
Kobo has released a new updated version of its iPad/iPhone app that removes the ability to shop at Kobo’s ebookstore from within the app. This is to comply with Apple’s current rules. Otherwise Kobo would have had to give a 30 percent cut to Apple of any books sold through the app. Now you will need to fire up the browser and point it to Kobo.com to buy ebooks from your iDevice.
The update also adds a news feed that provides Kobo related news and promotions. There is now a small megaphone beside the Reading Life icon at the top of the library screen that you can tap to access this feature.
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Blio iOS app released no comments
Blio has made its ereading app available in a version for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. The app itself is free at iTunes and will sync to your existing Blio account. To purchase Blio ebooks from your device you will need to point your device’s browser to http://mobile.blioreader.com.
The app lets you make annotations and seems to have a robust search function. There are five font sizes, but the largest is not large enough to work for readers with visual impairments. There is a read aloud feature, but to enable it you will need to purchase a voice pack at iTunes; there are several voice packs available — at $10 each. If you lookup a word the app will open Wikipedia (by default — you can change this to Britannica) or Dictionary.com in a browser window.
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OverDrive releases new Windows Phone app no comments
OverDrive has released a new Windows Phone version of its OverDrive Media Console. The new app enables readers with popular phones such as the LG Quantum, Samsung Focus, HTC Trophy and others to download public library ebooks and audiobooks directly to their phone. Users can also search for their local library and browse its downloadable ebook and audiobook collections from within the app.
"With the launch of our new Windows Phone app, OverDrive now supports eBook and audiobook lending on every major mobile and desktop operating system," said David Burleigh, director of marketing for OverDrive.
The OverDrive app for Windows Phone is available at the Windows Phone Marketplace. To find a local library that sources their digital holdings from OverDrive use the OverDrive Search tool.
The video below from OverDrive demonstrates all of the features of the new Windows Phone app and serves as a quick tutorial.
