First look: 'Classics' aims to kindle iPhone reading surge

[AppleInsider]

E-books are just beginning to gain traction with consumers today, a phenomenon that seemed to start quietly with offerings from Sony, then taking another large step with Amazon's Kindle. However, the iPhone -- a device not meant for dedicated reading -- is increasingly turning people on to digital reading.

Steve Jobs may have been dismissive in January when asked about the Kindle (in-depth review), claiming that "it doesn’t matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don’t read anymore."

But when the App Store launched this summer, there was a section dedicated to Books, which has since seen a steady addition of apps like Stanza (free, App Store) eReader (free, App Store), as well as a raft of single books and comics wrapped up as apps. The latter serve as poor solutions, forcing users to maintain an icon on their home screens for each book while lacking a means to encouraged discovery of new content.

And while some of these apps look good or offer a gigantic library to choose from, they lack a certain level of polish associated with the highest tier of iPhone applications.

Classics is the newest e-book reader to make an attempt at solving this problem. While not yet offering an enormous library of content, the team behind Classics has opted to instead focus on enhancing the experience of reading a book on the iPhone, taking up books from Project Gutenberg, and placing them into an aesthetically pleasing wrapper. AppleInsider has managed to get a early first look into the fledgling app.



Opting out of navigation panes and lists, Classics instead goes the way of the visual metaphor, presenting you with a shelf full of books to choose from, which you can drag up and down. There are currently 12 books to choose from, ranging from Alice in Wonderland and The Jungle Book to Paradise Lost and Flatland, forming a healthy spectrum of tastes from which to choose. You won't find any Stephen King or J.K Rowling in there -- copyright of course prevents this -- but that's why it's called Classics. It's a particularly clever move to package well-established cultural items in a more tempting guise, and there's really no doubt that the books will appeal to a wide swath of users.



Graphically, no detail has gone ignored. Each book has an illustrated cover made especially for Classics by Daniel Goffin, David Lanham and Sebastiaan de With (who I've met before and is a pretty nice guy; check out his blog for a deeper look at the design of this app). The only problem with these covers at the moment is the absence of a view with larger detail, a feature which will be introduced in future versions. Some of the books have extra illustrations inside, such as Alice in Wonderland, which includes Sir John Tenniel's original and wondrous woodcut illustrations (unfortunately also unavailable in higher detail in this version of the app).



The process of reading introduces Classic's main gimmick: simulated page turning, with page turning sound effects. If it sounds like overkill, you grossly underestimate the power such novelties have upon the unsuspecting App Store browser. It looks great and has a solid feel. It's only natural that one would want to turn a page with one's finger, or at least something a little more heart-warming than pressing a "next page" button. There's also a nicely done Chapter navigation pane for skipping through texts more quickly. As for the reading itself, it is a huge relief to see black on white abandoned for the more subdued brown-and-beige scheme, evoking the feelings of real books. The formatting of the text has been completely redesigned for the app, right down to the typography. This lead me to turn page after page and willingly experience the odd sensation of reading a book on a phone.



As it stands, Classics looks to be a compelling purchase. It's all there: the good looks, usability, and the classic literature. With the promise of free updates providing new books, interface improvements, and more, Classics promises to stand out amongst a growing breed of iPhone apps. Classics is expected to be priced at $2.99 when it's released in the coming weeks.

Developers who would like to submit interesting new application ideas to AppleInsider for advance coverage consideration should contact Sam at sam (at) appleinsider (dot) com.

[ View this article at AppleInsider.com ]

[Fotek2001]

Looks very nice but it's worth pointing out that this is another Phil (My Dream App) Ryu creation... Looks all snazzy and cool now but will it still be with us in three months time once the cash is in the bank? After My Dream App and other disasters, I'm skeptical...

If it's cheap enough I'll probably, somewhat hypocritically, give it a whirl anyway though...

[kim kap sol]

Originally Posted by Fotek2001

Looks very nice but it's worth pointing out that this is another Phil (My Dream App) Ryu creation... Looks all snazzy and cool now but will it still be with us in three months time once the cash is in the bank? After My Dream App and other disasters, I'm skeptical...

Indeed. It would be wise to wait and see if books actually do get added after its release to make sure Phil isn't up to his old dirty tricks.

[YTV]

The people who made this have as much of a clue as Steve Jobs as to the mindset of a reader.

They don't want all that glitz and eye candy and a you would be lucky to get 4 hours of battery life with the backlight constantly on.

They want something extremely simple that has virtually no options besides turning pages and adjusting font size. Oh yeah and a battery that lasts for 2 weeks too.

Kindle FTMFW!!!

[pardo]

[QUOTE=YTV;1332598]The people who made this have as much of a clue as Steve Jobs as to the mindset of a reader.

They don't want all that glitz and eye candy and a you would be lucky to get 4 hours of battery life with the backlight constantly on.

They want something extremely simple that has virtually no options besides turning pages and adjusting font size. Oh yeah and a battery that lasts for 2 weeks too.


I agree.
It might look good but it's not practical.
I read using stanza a far bit and I'm pretty sure having white text on a black backgound helps extend battery life.

[pixelcruncher]

For dedicated readers there is a rhythm and cadence to reading that requires more real estate than the iPhone offers. I think if the developers asked frequent readers what they wanted, they would prefer the pages in landscape view rather than the squashed, over-justified pages from the screenshots in this article. It would appear much closer to what one would see on a page.

[mactoid]

Originally Posted by pixelcruncher

For dedicated readers there is a rhythm and cadence to reading that requires more real estate than the iPhone offers. I think if the developers asked frequent readers what they wanted, they would prefer the pages in landscape view rather than the squashed, over-justified pages from the screenshots in this article. It would appear much closer to what one would see on a page.

I hate to promote a product without getting a paycheck from the company , but I would point out that eReader has a large available library, and does landscape (as well as portrait view) and has font options. Not as much eye-candy, but then you're looking at it for the content of the book.

Yes, Kindle has a larger format, may be easier to read, etc...but Kindle is yet another device to carry around. Most people have their iPhone in their pocket most of the time. Always there when you just miss the bus and have an extra 15 minutes to kill.

[pomo]

Originally Posted by mactoid

I hate to promote a product without getting a paycheck from the company , but I would point out that eReader has a large available library, and does landscape (as well as portrait view) and has font options. Not as much eye-candy, but then you're looking at it for the content of the book.

Yes, Kindle has a larger format, may be easier to read, etc...but Kindle is yet another device to carry around. Most people have their iPhone in their pocket most of the time. Always there when you just miss the bus and have an extra 15 minutes to kill.

I agree. Having to carry a Kindle is kind of cumbersome to me. Stanza has been such a great alternative. They have such a great free catalog available, plus, it has many options that make reading more enjoyable. My settings include 80% black type on ivory paper; it gives it a book-like feel. It also has a coverflowie book picker menu (ooooh).

I really don't care if I have to charge my phone as often as I already do, so I'm not really losing much. Plus, I've already read books that I would have not bothered reading without stanza.

[dgMac]

Originally Posted by pomo

I agree. Having to carry a Kindle is kind of cumbersome to me. Stanza has been such a great alternative. They have such a great free catalog available, plus, it has many options that make reading more enjoyable. My settings include 80% black type on ivory paper; it gives it a book-like feel. It also has a coverflowie book picker menu (ooooh).

I really don't care if I have to charge my phone as often as I already do, so I'm not really losing much. Plus, I've already read books that I would have not bothered reading without stanza.

The issue isn't so much that eReader has a large available library as that it SELLS new books, the same books one might purchase on amazon.com (it's just the Palm eReader format, that's been around for a few years now) and THEREBY are the direct competitor to the kindle.

The other readers are good with varying beneficial features, but what I'm most interested in terms of the "ebook war" is which one has the most potential to capture new ereaders away from the printed book market for newly published books.

[kresh]

Classics only reads the files that are inluded with it. They are formatted by hand to provide all this eye candy, and an AppStore update has to be done if and when the coder releases new titles. Even then they are public domain works of art that are avaable for free.

I much prefer "Bookz" since it reads Mac & Windows native text files and will even download titles through the app from Project Gutenberg with the built-in web browser, or any file from the built-In Apache server in Mac or built-in http server in Windows. It is the fastest book reader around! Plus All the others like Stanza or eReader use non computer editable formats like .pdb; which means you have to use a program like PordiBle to translate all your files before putting them on the iPhone or iPod touch and yes it IS a pain!

There is even a free version named "Bookz Demo" to try.

Without a doubt it is "Bookz" FTW!

[Ninja_Monkey]

This is the problem I have with eReaders:
1. There is absolutely no way to transfer the books you already have on the device itself.
3. It's nice being able to scan your hand across hundreds of books and find one that you may like.
4. Before purchasing a book to read it I flip through a few pages to make sure I like how it's written.
5. I like working to the lounge room and seeing my collection of books on the bookshelf.

The only positive thing I feel about eReaders are that you don't need to carry huge text books around to class. But then there is the cost. $300-$400 on the device itself than the cost of purchasing said text books. It just doesn't make financial sense. Unless a laptop doubles as an eReader I just don't see eBooks as a huge market.

[Ireland]

Google it. You flick left or right with your hand and the page flips just like this. But if you say flicked with four fingers four pages would flip all at once. Making it easy to quickly jump back 10, 20 or more pages without the need complex file menus.

[Virgil-TB2]

Well, as a book reader, book collector and writer I can't believe everyone here is so certain that they know the minds of all other readers of books.

For starters, anyone who really appreciates books, *doesn't* (IMO of course), want a simple e-reader with no options and adjustable fonts. This application is the first book reader application I have seen that actually feels like reading a book, and there is much more to a book than just the text.

Sad to learn the guy is some kind of a scam artist (if that is even true), but a lot of people will love this application and all those who think they speak for "all book readers" are full of sh*t if you ask me.

[EdipisReks]

Originally Posted by pixelcruncher

For dedicated readers there is a rhythm and cadence to reading that requires more real estate than the iPhone offers. I think if the developers asked frequent readers what they wanted, they would prefer the pages in landscape view rather than the squashed, over-justified pages from the screenshots in this article. It would appear much closer to what one would see on a page.

i read about 100 books a year, and i love using Stanza (which has a landscape mode, but i almost always use portrait, as i find holding and flicking the pages easier that way, when used one handed). i just wish i could buy lots of new books off Amazon, or something.

[kbsbeme]

I'm a publisher ( iPulpFiction.com ) who chose the AppEngines eReader concept to publish our stories. Here's why:

Although we gave away one public domain title to introduce readers to pulp fiction, iPulp publishes original fiction by active, award-winning writers. (13 titles so far.) We aren't drawing on Project Gutenberg for our material like Stanza and the others. This means I need to pay royalties and protect our intellectual property rights. By packaging each volume as a separate easy-to-use application, AppEngines protects our product better than an eReader that pulls in any old external file that that can be easily pirated. The only improvement I would like to see in the appEngines reader is full text justification and a limited selection of font choices.

Also, the original article complained about the number of icons this requires. That is true, but those icons - your library - sit on the shelf in iTunes. think of your iPhone/iPod as your book bag. Do you keep the entire library in your book bag? Simply "check out' the book you are currently reading to your iPhone/iPod book bag and remove it when you're done.

The high resolution iPhone/iPod screen actually presents remarkably clear type and reading is rather enjoyable. I am on the iPod/iPhone now to be in a better position when these apps can be delivered to the larger touch-screen mobile devices that are on the horizon.

[lidofido]

Originally Posted by Virgil-TB2

Well, as a book reader, book collector and writer I can't believe everyone here is so certain that they know the minds of all other readers of books.

For starters, anyone who really appreciates books, *doesn't* (IMO of course), want a simple e-reader with no options and adjustable fonts. This application is the first book reader application I have seen that actually feels like reading a book, and there is much more to a book than just the text.

Sad to learn the guy is some kind of a scam artist (if that is even true), but a lot of people will love this application and all those who think they speak for "all book readers" are full of sh*t if you ask me.

Uh, yeah. Readers love 1) the text and 2) the feel of a good book. This fails on all sides as the length of text available before you have to scroll / turn a page is miniscule, it has a touch gimmick that does nothing to enhance the actual tactile sensation, and it burns through battery life like no tomorrow (backlight always on) meaning you can't actually USE it for very long.

I'm not sure where you're coming from, but a lack of options is exactly what most people want - they want a book, which gives you practically none! The optimal device would have the dpi of print, be as comfortable to use as a book, and as simple to use as a book. While I'm not really a kindle fan (the lack of kindle available books is what deters me), it does much better than this thing in terms of dpi, battery life, and comfort level. The only thing missing is the tactile nature of a book...

[esXXI]

I'm sure it'll be kept up to date with super support after launch. Just like MyDreamApp.

Pffffthaha!

[mcarling]

Amazon would be smart to transition out of the hardware business and make the kindle content available for the iPhone and iPod Touch using a similar business model. Using a finger to turn one pager and four fingers to turn four pages, cover art, etc. are great features that Kindle cannot offer. However, the biggest problem with Kindle is the need to carry another device.

How many iPhone + iPod Touch devices are in use? How many Kindle devices are in use? Even if we assume that only 1% of iPhone and iPod Touch users will buy eBooks from Amazon, I expect that's already a larger market than Kindle.

[johnqh]

The battery life issue is a good point. Nobody would want to read the iPhone/iTouch for two hours with the thing plugged in.

Does anyone know exactly how long iPhone would last with little activities (CPU almost idle) but backlight on at 100%?

[lidofido]

Originally Posted by mcarling

Amazon would be smart to transition out of the hardware business and make the kindle content available for the iPhone and iPod Touch using a similar business model. Using a finger to turn one pager and four fingers to turn four pages, cover art, etc. are great features that Kindle cannot offer. However, the biggest problem with Kindle is the need to carry another device.

How many iPhone + iPod Touch devices are in use? How many Kindle devices are in use? Even if we assume that only 1% of iPhone and iPod Touch users will buy eBooks from Amazon, I expect that's already a larger market than Kindle.

I don't think a lot of people here understand what makes the kindle so great, and pretty much everything else literally look terrible in comparison - its resolution, or more accurately, the DPI, which is 170 (this is pretty much the minimum DPI that matches print quality). Even modern monitors / LCDs don't even come close to that, let alone the piddly screen of an iPhone (or any handheld device for that matter). So placing the software onto an iPhone automatically negates one of the best aspects of the kindle - its screen. If you've never seen eInk in person, you have no idea how nice it looks, and how it makes reading on a PDA-esque screen or monitor painful.

When the iPhone (or another device) can match the appearance of print (which the kindle does), then you can bring up replacing the kindle/print/amazon licensing out the software.

[andrewkaz]

Hello all. I'm the co-creator and programmer behind Classics. Thank you for your interest in our app! I thought I'd drop in and answer some of your questions.

Originally Posted by johnqh

The battery life issue is a good point. Nobody would want to read the iPhone/iTouch for two hours with the thing plugged in.

Does anyone know exactly how long iPhone would last with little activities (CPU almost idle) but backlight on at 100%?

I don't have any numbers for you on that, but out of curiosity, why would one read with the backlight on at all? You'd probably enjoy reading on the device a lot more with the backlight completely off. That's how it is for me, at least.

Originally Posted by lidofido

I don't think a lot of people here understand what makes the kindle so great, and pretty much everything else literally look terrible in comparison - its resolution, or more accurately, the DPI, which is 170 (this is pretty much the minimum DPI that matches print quality). Even modern monitors / LCDs don't even come close to that, let alone the piddly screen of an iPhone (or any handheld device for that matter).

E-ink is nice, but for what it's worth, the iPhone's screen actually comes quite close to the Kindle in DPI -- it weighs in at 163 dpi versus Kindle's just slightly better 167.

[Shaun, UK]

I don't see the 'another device' argument as a major problem. Most people I know read at home or on holiday so they don't need a device small enough to carry around all the time.

I read a lot of books and have been eagerly awaiting the release of ebook readers in the UK. The Kindle is not available here yet but the Sony Reader was launched recently and it looks really good. They also have a tie in with one of the UK's largest booksellers (Waterstones) which means there is a good selection of ebooks to buy.

I can understand that many people prefer the look and feel of a real book which is why I don't think ebooks will ever dominate the market but personally I would be happy to do away with my bookshelf and have them all on an ebook reader.

I was hoping that Steve Jobs was bluffing when he dismissed ebooks in January and that Apple would release something with a larger screen (say a 5" or 6" iPod Touch) at MacWorld but if not I guess I will buy the Sony Reader.

[ByronVanArsdale]

Originally Posted by kbsbeme

I'm a publisher ( iPulpFiction.com ) who chose the AppEngines eReader concept to publish our stories. Here's why:

Although we gave away one public domain title to introduce readers to pulp fiction, iPulp publishes original fiction by active, award-winning writers. (13 titles so far.) We aren't drawing on Project Gutenberg for our material like Stanza and the others. This means I need to pay royalties and protect our intellectual property rights. By packaging each volume as a separate easy-to-use application, AppEngines protects our product better than an eReader that pulls in any old external file that that can be easily pirated. The only improvement I would like to see in the appEngines reader is full text justification and a limited selection of font choices.

Also, the original article complained about the number of icons this requires. That is true, but those icons - your library - sit on the shelf in iTunes. think of your iPhone/iPod as your book bag. Do you keep the entire library in your book bag? Simply "check out' the book you are currently reading to your iPhone/iPod book bag and remove it when you're done.

The high resolution iPhone/iPod screen actually presents remarkably clear type and reading is rather enjoyable. I am on the iPod/iPhone now to be in a better position when these apps can be delivered to the larger touch-screen mobile devices that are on the horizon.

Thank you. As an upcoming author (business book although some would say communication via conference call and virtual meetings really is fiction! ) I appreciate your input. e-books are an important part of my business plan and your insight helped me to refine my strategy.

I like the feel of a book and that just comes with being a baby boomer. That said, I'm finding that reading via my iPhone (blogs, websites) is acceptable, especially when I have that extra 15 minutes. Perhaps the iPhone will be what attracts more and more people used to reading physical books to the digital format.

[lidofido]

Originally Posted by andrewkaz

E-ink is nice, but for what it's worth, the iPhone's screen actually comes quite close to the Kindle in DPI -- it weighs in at 163 dpi versus Kindle's just slightly better 167.

Well if that's true, that's definitely a step in the right direction. However, it's still missing the quality advantage eInk has, unless there's something comparable on the iPhone or it can somehow generate an eInk lookalike in the future.

The other big thing is just physical size - while certain texts are ok to read on the go or have a lot of value hanging around as a mobile reference, reading a really great and long novel on a screen barely larger than a coaster is not really going to fly with a lot of people. I would say this is the second biggest stumbling block for etexts in general, and why it's been so hard to get people to even try them before the kindle and ereader arrived. Since functional compactness is a goal for most phones/pda-type devices, it naturally goes at odds with what feels comfortable for reading, and something that will be difficult to reconcile.

[Virgil-TB2]

Originally Posted by lidofido

Uh, yeah. Readers love 1) the text and 2) the feel of a good book. This fails on all sides as the length of text available before you have to scroll / turn a page is miniscule, it has a touch gimmick that does nothing to enhance the actual tactile sensation, and it burns through battery life like no tomorrow (backlight always on) meaning you can't actually USE it for very long.

I'm not sure where you're coming from, but a lack of options is exactly what most people want - they want a book, which gives you practically none! The optimal device would have the dpi of print, be as comfortable to use as a book, and as simple to use as a book. While I'm not really a kindle fan (the lack of kindle available books is what deters me), it does much better than this thing in terms of dpi, battery life, and comfort level. The only thing missing is the tactile nature of a book...

My main point was the ridiculousness of people posting one line retorts that claim to know the mind of all book readers (as if we were all the same).

I agree with your criticism of the size of the pages, but to me that's the main problem with the other text based readers as well. The real solution for digital "books" is a device of the same form factor as a real-world book. The pocket book or mass market paperback is arguably the smallest size that the average human wants to deal with or is comfortable with and that is bigger than the iPhone.

If Apple, (or anyone really, but only Apple would do it well), comes out with a device that has a form-factor somewhere between the iPhone and the Kindle, ebooks will take off like a rocket and this application, running on such a device would be the one I would pick.

[nonstopdesign]

I love reading on my iPhone, just finished a novel last night using Stanza and on to my second one. Very handy as I can read when I'm waiting for the bus or whatever. I've never been bothered by reading off a screen, but it might not be for everyone. As for the Kindle, there's no way I'm going to carry one of those when an iPhone is a perfectly good e-reader.

[lidofido]

Originally Posted by nonstopdesign

I love reading on my iPhone, just finished a novel last night using Stanza and on to my second one. Very handy as I can read when I'm waiting for the bus or whatever. I've never been bothered by reading off a screen, but it might not be for everyone. As for the Kindle, there's no way I'm going to carry one of those when an iPhone is a perfectly good e-reader.

Ah, but there's the rub - a 'perfectly good e-reader' is different to everyone. However, I would venture to say that the majority of people that read regularly prefer certain basics mentioned above. The top three complaints about reading off PDA-ike devices I hear are the quality (this is the DPI thing), the size, and the strain. DPI was already touched on previously. Moving on, the size is just too small; you're scrolling/turning through the text at such a rapid rate that it's distracting. Increasing the font size has you flipping thorugh text even faster. Secondly, while backlighting can help in situations for reading, it's better to actually NOT use any kind of backlight in general. This is a leading cause of eye strain, compounded by, again, the size.

The kindle is really hitting a sweet spot in terms of size - it's just about the size (surface area) of an appointment book / day planner. It could stand to be a little thinner, but that'll happen eventually anyway... and the thing is, you don't want it to be TOO thin; if it is, they better design a way to make it fit comfortably in your hand (which it does right now).

Love my iPhone. I love the idea of convergence. But the proverbial "When the only tool you have is a hammer..." is very appropriate here. Let us not kill usability and replace it with something inferior. issues need to be worked out accordingly so that when pieces of technology DO converge, the result is better than the previous iteration, not a mediocre compromise.

[Mac-sochist]

Twelve titles from Project Gutenberg? I have about 3800 titles from PG, manybooks.net, Baen Free Library, Blackmask, PSUECS, Internet Archive, etc., etc. on my computer. They're in HTML, PDF, and DjVu formats. This is why the Kindle, or any proprietary e-book reader is a non-starter for me: I can't transfer these books to them, and couldn't read them if I did. The iPhone or something like it could someday deliver this kind of functionality, proprietary platforms: never.

[ZagMac]

Originally Posted by kbsbeme

I'm a publisher ( iPulpFiction.com ) who chose the AppEngines eReader concept to publish our stories. Here's why:

Although we gave away one public domain title to introduce readers to pulp fiction, iPulp publishes original fiction by active, award-winning writers. (13 titles so far.) We aren't drawing on Project Gutenberg for our material like Stanza and the others. This means I need to pay royalties and protect our intellectual property rights. By packaging each volume as a separate easy-to-use application, AppEngines protects our product better than an eReader that pulls in any old external file that that can be easily pirated. The only improvement I would like to see in the appEngines reader is full text justification and a limited selection of font choices.

Also, the original article complained about the number of icons this requires. That is true, but those icons - your library - sit on the shelf in iTunes. think of your iPhone/iPod as your book bag. Do you keep the entire library in your book bag? Simply "check out' the book you are currently reading to your iPhone/iPod book bag and remove it when you're done.

The high resolution iPhone/iPod screen actually presents remarkably clear type and reading is rather enjoyable. I am on the iPod/iPhone now to be in a better position when these apps can be delivered to the larger touch-screen mobile devices that are on the horizon.

Something about this post makes me feel good. Maybe it's the lack of claims to know what every other reader wants. Maybe it's my lack of exposure to Kindle and its bretheren so that this is first thought I've given to business model of eBooks. Maybe I'm drunk? I don't know, but I'm rooting for you.

But the book bag makes sense to me. I can't fit all my movies or music or tv on my Touch, so why would care if all my books were there?

[Ireland]

She's out! http://phobos.apple.com/WebObjects/M...294773236&mt=8

[MacGui]

Originally Posted by lidofido

Uh, yeah. Readers love...

<sigh>

AGAIN, somebody claims to speak for me with Universal Truth. What crap.

I like reading books; I like reading ebooks. My Tungsten T|3 has served up several books. But the iPhone is far superior. It's always close, and very handy during down time. No more shopping airport book stores, or carrying around a paperback.

When I'm home, a physical book is *usually* my choice. But there are a lot of times when it's just not practical, and my iPhone is.

So please don't tell me what I want. I know better than you.

And then there's the fact that a lot of kids are growing up in the digital age and a physical book will have far less prominence in their life. They will be far more comfortable with digital devices than you are.

If one prefers the physical over the digital exclusively, fine. There are those who won't buy CD's because they want "the vinyl experience". Again, fine. But they don't know what I want as a music listener any more then you know my reading circumstances/preferences/tastes.

[MacGui]

I like the visual metaphor.

Given the great screen of the iPhone, I don't want dowdy, plain Jane apps. The iPhone is a superior product, and I want apps that exploit its strengths.

That said, a developer should take care not to let the medium get in the way of the message. From the screenshots shown here, that doesn't seem to be a problem.

That this is a Ryu Production does give me pause. First it would be a shame if an app that starts out looking this good to get abandoned. That can happen with any app, but developers accrue track records which can offer some confidence for the purchaser. Or not.

I'm a fan of Delicious Library and would love to see a portable version for eBooks. Classics resembles DL very closely. So close, DL should jump in with their very own effort.

[Ireland]

Originally Posted by MacGui

I'm a fan of Delicious Library and would love to see a portable version for eBooks. Classics resembles DL very closely. So close, DL should jump in with their very own effort.

The shelf thing is the only similarity, and Delicious Library didn't invent that software metaphor. The real power of this app isn't the shelf, that's the gloss, the real power is the reader itself, when you go into a book, it's truly compelling, and you get how it all works, "instantly ". It's all done with taste, thought, and meticulous attention to detail. The UI was planned out and designed very very well.