Kindle for iPad adds children's books, comics, graphic novels

Posted:
in iPad edited January 2014
Amazon on Thursday updated its Kindle application for iPad, adding support for children's books, comic books and graphic novels purchased for the Kindle platform.

The new support was also added to Amazon's Kindle Cloud Reader, and Kindle for Android application. The free updated iOS software is now available on the App Store as a 19.9-megabyte download that requires iOS 4.2 or later.

Children's books, comic books and graphics novels on the iPad are presented in full color. Over a thousand children's titles are available, including "Brown Bear" and "Curious George," in addition to popular comics like Superman and Batman from DC.

"Children's books come to life with brilliant images, fixed layouts, and Kindle Text Pop-Up for supported titles to magnify text for easy reading on any size screen," Amazon's description reads. "Comics and graphic novels are presented in Kindle Panel View for supported titles, showcasing the artwork in a panel by panel experience that reads as the author intended."

The iPad application now also has a cleaner reading experience, thanks to smaller margins on the page.

Kindle


In addition, version 3.1 of Kindle for iOS also adds new features for iPhone and iPod touch users, as well as those on iPad. Users can now quickly search for content by title or author, and an issue that prevented the lookup of words on Google or Wikipedia has been addressed.

Comic books, graphic novels and children's books first debuted on the Kindle platform late last year, with the launch of the Kindle Fire touchscreen tablet and its color display. Thursday's update extends that functionality to the iPad, and expands the availability of Kindle platform content on iOS devices.

Because Amazon doesn't comply with Apple's rules for in-app purchases, in which Apple receives a 30 percent cut of all content sold through iOS applications, the new content cannot be purchased directly through the Kindle application. Users must instead visit the Amazon website to buy the content, and can then download it through their account in the Kindle for iOS app.

Amazon is expected to expand its Kindle Fire lineup with a new 10-inch device this year that will compete more directly with Apple's 9.7-inch iPad.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 11
    macvictamacvicta Posts: 346member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post



    Amazon is expected to expand its Kindle Fire lineup with a new 10-inch device this year that will compete more directly with Apple's 9.7-inch iPad.


     


     


    Wish Apple would return the favor and compete more directly with Amazon by releasing an ultra lightweight e-ink iOS ereader.  Call it the iBook.  The iPad gets too damn heavy at times.

  • Reply 2 of 11
    tallest skiltallest skil Posts: 43,388member
    macvicta wrote: »
    The iPad gets too damn heavy at times.

    You can't hold 1.5lbs? Books are far heavier.
  • Reply 3 of 11
    ahmlcoahmlco Posts: 432member

    I absolutely, positively HATE the new margins and line spacing. Books read in the previous version had a light and open look and feel. Now I'm left with an uninviting, unappealing solid mass of text. 


     


    Also, books read in portrait mode are no longer easily scannable, as killing the margins increased the line width to the point where you have to deliberately shift your focal point in order to read the entire line. (This is why newspapers and magazines don't print articles in a single overly wide column.)


     


    Changing the font size doesn't help, as going from 2 to 3 results in a comic doubling of the font size. (Note, this sucks too. Use the Apple smaller/larger method for changing font size. That allows for more increments than a mere 6 predetermined sizes.)


     


    Amazon bought Stanza, and Stanza allowed for user-definable margins and spacing. They need to change the margins and spacing back to the way they were, or give me control over therm so I can set things up to suit me and MY reading style.


     


    Fix it. Or I swear, I'll switch to iBooks. And I don't care if I have to replace the hundred or so Kindle books I own to do it.
  • Reply 4 of 11
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member


    I think you'll do better by writing to [email protected].

  • Reply 5 of 11


    Fix it. Or I swear, I'll switch to iBooks. And I don't care if I have to replace the hundred or so Kindle books I own to do it.


     


    Neither does anyone else, man.

  • Reply 6 of 11
    al_bundyal_bundy Posts: 1,525member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacVicta View Post


     


     


    Wish Apple would return the favor and compete more directly with Amazon by releasing an ultra lightweight e-ink iOS ereader.  Call it the iBook.  The iPad gets too damn heavy at times.



    not even that


     


    kindle has a desktop app


    i can email books to my ipad/iphone kindle apps. for iOS i need to add them through itunes and sync

  • Reply 7 of 11
    razorpitrazorpit Posts: 1,796member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by al_bundy View Post


    not even that


     


    kindle has a desktop app


    i can email books to my ipad/iphone kindle apps. for iOS i need to add them through itunes and sync



    RIght on the money there.  The Amazon model is device agnostic.  The fact that I can't access an iBook on my Mac (let alone any other non Apple device), is the main reason I look to Amazon first when I want to buy a new book.

  • Reply 8 of 11
    trumptmantrumptman Posts: 16,464member

    Quote:

    Originally Posted by Tallest Skil View Post




    Quote:

    Originally Posted by MacVicta View Post



    The iPad gets too damn heavy at times.




    You can't hold 1.5lbs? Books are far heavier.


    I'm sure he can shuffle cards or move around tiles. That doesn't mean he wants to do those things to play games on his Mac or iOS device. My Kindle Touch is a joy.


     


    Quote:

    Originally Posted by ahmlco View Post




    I absolutely, positively HATE the new margins and line spacing. Books read in the previous version had a light and open look and feel. Now I'm left with an uninviting, unappealing solid mass of text. 


     


    Also, books read in portrait mode are no longer easily scannable, as killing the margins increased the line width to the point where you have to deliberately shift your focal point in order to read the entire line. (This is why newspapers and magazines don't print articles in a single overly wide column.)


     


    Changing the font size doesn't help, as going from 2 to 3 results in a comic doubling of the font size. (Note, this sucks too. Use the Apple smaller/larger method for changing font size. That allows for more increments than a mere 6 predetermined sizes.)


     


    Amazon bought Stanza, and Stanza allowed for user-definable margins and spacing. They need to change the margins and spacing back to the way they were, or give me control over therm so I can set things up to suit me and MY reading style.


     


    Fix it. Or I swear, I'll switch to iBooks. And I don't care if I have to replace the hundred or so Kindle books I own to do it.



     


    I can absolutely understand where you are coming from and I have to do the same thing at times. I don't understand what Amazon's deal is on this because the margins, line spacing and so forth are all customizable in the same fashion on the Android Kindle app. I own an iPhone, an Android phone to play with and a Kindle Touch. The only one that has issues is iOS. Perhaps they are subtly trying to move people over to other devices since Apple forced the removal of the link to their online store. I have the formerly awesome Stanza app right next to my Kindle app. Honestly though the iBook app isn't any better. It doesn't offer any margin control and the font controls feel just as clumsy. The least expensive route might be a nice e-ink Kindle. I have the touch and I love charging it once a month instead of once a day. Someone else noted it but you can also read Kindle books on your desktop or laptop or even through a web browser. I wish Apple would follow their lead on this.

  • Reply 9 of 11


    I hate the changes they've made such as the amount of white space around the pages, which is now smaller, making the pages look cramped and uncomfortable. Why save space on an electronic medium - it's not as if they are saving trees! The new dark grey overlapping interface elements are also far more obtrusive when accidentally called up that the old look. I wish there was a way to revert to the previous version. I now realise a drawback with buying books from Amazon Kindle (or indeed Apple iBooks) which is that you are at the mercy of the app developers, what was once a pleasurable experience can be made nasty by poor developers and suddenly your entire library becomes harder to read!

  • Reply 10 of 11
    dtinhidtinhi Posts: 1member


    Totally agree. It’s unreadable now and it even covers part of top line with the new upper menu. The complaints go on for pages and pages on the app store site. Thank God I’m not crashing like so many people. Kindle then recommends unregistering, deleting app, reinstalling, reregistering. Really?? I won’t download another book until another update. Tons of people are leaving for iBooks. I guess amazon wanted to lose customers. It's supposed to feel like reading a book, not a Word doc, not a blog. No book on the planet has lines of text this wide. And you can't even pinch screen to shorten them. Unbelievable decisions on all levels. (Btw, I am a publisher on kindle - it has ruined the look of our books, something we worked long and hard on to look good on all devices.)

  • Reply 11 of 11
    Generally speaking, kindle devices cannot read the books purchased from Apple APP. But there is a tutorial which can lead you to read kindle books on Ipad, Iphone, Ipod,etc.Apple device.If you are interested, why not check out this link. http://www.epubor.com/read-kindle-books-on-ipad.html
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