Apple has released a major update for its iBooks app for iOS. There’s a new full-screen mode that lets you read without viewing your status bar, a new night theme with a dark background and light text for reading at night, and new font selections.

There are also new covers for public domain books, support for pop-up footnotes, and performance improvements in iBooks 1.5.

Honestly, most of these features are already available in third party eBook apps such as Amazon’s Kindle or Stanza apps for iOS. But it’s nice to see Apple playing catch up.

Thanks to changes Apple made to its rules for third party apps this year, iBooks is also the only digital book app for the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad that includes an integrated bookstore. You need to use a web-based bookstore to purchase titles for the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble NOOK, or Kobo apps.

You can download iBooks 1.5 for free from the App Store.

Apple iBooks gets night theme, full-screen mode is a post from: mobiputing

It looks like the reports of Stanza’s death have been somewhat exaggerated. Today Amazon and Lexcycle released the first update to the popular iOS eBook app since February.

The update doesn’t add any new features, but it does fix one glaring problem: the previous version of Stanza didn’t work with iOS 5. The new version does.

Stanza has long been one of the most versatile eBook apps available for the iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad.

The free app makes it easy to download free eBooks from popular digital book marketplaces including Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks, and SmashWords. You can also add custom catalogs, or import books from a computer using iTunes or simply by emailing EPUB files to yourself and opening them in Stanza on your mobile device.

Stanza’s reading view provides more customization options than nearly any other eBook app I’ve used. You can choose from a variety of themes, have day and night themes, or create custom color schemes. The app lets you adjust sizes and fonts, and set up custom line and paragraph spacing, margins, or tweak the page turn effects and settings.

While Bluefire Reader offers a few features that you don’t get from Stanza, including support for Adobe DRM, Bluefire isn’t nearly as customizeable – and since upgrading from iOS 4.3 to iOS 5 I’ve noticed that Bluefire is also less responsive than it used to be.

Stanza is available as a free download from the App Store.

Update: OK, the reports of Stanza’s death were premature… but not completely wrong. Amazon tells MacWorld that today’s update will be Stanza’s last. That’s a shame, because it really does providing a better reading experience than any other eBook app I’ve used.

Stanza returns from the dead (best eBook app for iOS 5) is a post from: mobiputing

For a few year ab app called Stanza was the undisputed champ of eBook readers for iOS. Stanza allowed iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad readers to download and read eBooks from a number of digital book marketplaces or copy books from a computer. The app did a great job of organizing books, and offered a number of options for viewing your books by changing font sizes, background colors, and other features.

All that changes if you upgrade to iOS 5. While the Stanza app is still available as a free download from the App Store, the app hasn’t been updated to support Apple’s latest operating system.

The first time I tried to open Stanza after upgrading to iOS 5 I experienced a series of crashes. A few days later I gave it another try, and while the app loads the last book I was reading, I can’t flip pages — and it crashes if I try to return to the library view.

Stanza simply doesn’t work with iOS 5.

The app probably won’t be updated anytime soon either. The company that produces Stanza was acquired by Amazon a few years ago, and Amazon kind of has its own eBook apps to focus on. Stanza hasn’t been updated since February.

Unfortunately the official Amazon Kindle apps don’t support EPUB books. You can convert any DRM-free EPUB books to MOBI files supported by Kindle software, but it’s kind of a pain.

There are a number of other eBook apps ready to take Stanza’s place. Bluefire is probably one of the best. It supports EPUB files including books that use Adobe DRM and even digital books from public libraries that use the OverDrive system.

But I’m still kind of sad to see Stanza go. We’ve been good friends for the last year or two as I fell in love with reading eBooks on my iPod touch.

Update 11/10/2011: Apparently Stanza’s not dead yet… it’s just almost dead. A new version has been released, complete with support for iOS 5.0. Unfortunately, this will be the last time Stanza is updated.

Stanza eBook app doesn’t work with iOS 5 is a post from: mobiputing

One of the coolest features you get with an Amazon Kindle is Whispersync. You can start reading a book on an Kindle eReader and pick up right where you left off by firing up the Kindle app on your iPad, Android phone, BlackBerry, or other device. That’s because Amazon stores your data on a remote server and can keep your book list, bookmarks, and last read pages synchronized.

But what if you want to read a book that’s not available for Kindle? If you have an Android phone or tablet you can use a new free app called Aldiko Sync.

As the name suggests, Aldiko Sync is meant to work with the Aldiko eBook reader. You’ll also need a rooted phone and/or tablet, and a Dropbox account.

In other words, this solution isn’t going to work for everyone. But if you meet the requirements, here’ show it works. You install Aldiko on your phone, tablet, or other devices. Then you install the Aldiko Sync app and it will copy your books and bookmarks between devices. You can also use it to synchronize your position in books so you can pick up reading where you left off no matter which device you’re using.

The Aldiko Sync app comes in Free and Pro versions. The Pro version costs 99 cents and offers automatic synchronization and the ability to work with external apps such as Tasker for automated jobs.

Aldiko Sync for Android keeps your books synchronized across devices is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon is expected to launch a 7 inch tablet later this year running a highly modified version of Google Android with a focus on eBooks, music, movies, and apps that you can acquire from Amazon’s digital media stores. But the company hasn’t abandoned its apps for other Android phones and tablets. Amazon recently launched a major update to its Kindle app for Android.

The Kindle 3.1 app includes a new home page which offers quick access to books you’ve purchased, books on your device, and to the online Kindle Store — something Apple has prohibited the company from doing with its iOS app. There are also recommended titles at the bottom of the screen and tabs

The new Kindle app also offers in-app notifications when there are upgrades available.

Amazon Kindle for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market.

Amazon overhauls Kindle app for Android is a post from: mobiputing

Microsoft is discontinuing its eBook platform. Long before EPUB and Amazon Kindle books had become the de facto standard, the Microsoft Reader .lit format was one of the most popular eBook formats around. I read some of my first digital books using Microsoft Reader for Pocket PC (back before Microsoft’s mobile operating system was rebranded as Windows Mobile and then Windows Phone).

The company has also offered Reader software for desktop and laptop computers as well as tablet-style devices.

Starting on November 8th, 2011 you won’t be able to purchase any new books in the .lit format, and Microosft will stop offering Reader software from its website on August 30th, 2012.

If you’ve already purchased eBooks using the .lit format, you can continue to read them using  Reader software or any other compatible client after that point.

You can use Calibre or other eBook software to convert DRM-free .lit files to EPUB or another format. If your books have DRM you’ll need to remove the copy-protection first using software such as ConvertLIT first.

via The Digital Reader

Microsoft Reader eBook software has a year left to live is a post from: mobiputing

This week Kobo, Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and a number of other companies updated their iOS apps to comply with Apple’s new rules for in-app payments. Basically if you’re not going to use Apple’s system for collecting payments, the company wants you to stop using the app to collect payments at all. Rather than give Apple a 30% cut of proceeds, these companies have taken the latter approach.

Now Kobo is planning on going a step further. The digital book provider is working on a new mobile app designed using web tools such as HTML5. When it’s ready, users will be able to use the Kobo app by visiting a web site in a web browser. If you’re using an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad you’ll be able to save the app to your home screen so that you can even synchronize your book collection with your mobile device. In other words, you’ll be able to read eBooks in the Kobo web app even if you don’t have an active internet connection — just as you would with a native app.

Of course, this approach could save Kobo a lot of money, but only if the company manages to convince people to install the web app. Part of the appeal of the App Store is that it’s designed to make app discovery easy. I guess we’ll find out soon whether Kobo has enough clout to convince people to install an app they didn’t discover in the App Store. At the very least, existing Kobo users trying to figure out how they’re supposed to purchase eBooks now that there’s no link to the web store in the mobile app will probably go to the web site to see what’s up.

As an added bonus, since the new app will be built with HTML5, it should work on any platform that supports the web standard. This means that the same app should work on iOS, Android, webOS, and other mobile operating systems.

Kobo to launch an HTML5 eBook Reader, circumvent the App Store is a post from: mobiputing

One of the biggest complaints early reviewers have had about the HP TouchPad tablet is the lack of high quality apps available for webOS 3.0. In fact, some of the apps HP had promised would be available at launch didn’t make the cut when the tablet started shipping earlier this month. Take the Amazon Kindle app for the TouchPad, for instance.

The TouchPad hit the streets on July 1st. Nearly three weeks later, Amazon released a beta version of its Kindle app for the tablet last night.

You can find the new app in the webOS App Catalog, but there’s no mention of it on Amazon’s web site yet. The eBook app is also geographically restricted right now — you can only download it if you’re in the United States.

The folks at PreCentral have put together a detailed hands-on review. In a nutshell, there are a few bugs that have to be worked out (for instance, many users are seeing multiple copies of the same book), but overall the app provides a good experience for reading eBooks. You can also search books, take notes, or highlight passages.

If you’ve already used the Amazon Kindle app on another platform, any books you’ve already purchased will be available to download and sync with the TouchPad.

While an Amazon Kindle app doesn’t really set the TouchPad apart from the competition (there are similar apps for iOS, Android, Windows Phone 7, and BlackBerry), it does help the new tablet compete.

Amazon Kindle app now available for the HP TouchPad is a post from: mobiputing

Google is introducing a new design for the smartphone version of the Android Market. The new interface looks a bit more like what we’ve come to expect from Google’s app store on the web and on Android tablets. It also brings features that had been tablet-only up until now, including support for purchasing eBooks and renting movies to stream or download to your device.

There’s a new home screen layout with featured content. Users can now view app lists as well, which means you can see the top free, top  paid, or top grossing apps or games.

App detail pages have also been redesigned so that screenshots now show up above the description. Developers that have added promotional videos will also see thumbnail icons for the videos on the description page.

Google is rolling out the new Market gradually to all devices running Android 2.2 and up. My Nexus One is still showing the old version, but you can check out the new Android Marke tin the demo video after the break.

The books and movies features are US-only for now.

Google overhauls the Android Market for smartphones, adds video rentals is a post from: mobiputing

OverDrive provides the platform used by most public libraries to loan eBooks to patrons. The company’s platform works with a number of dedicated eBook Readers including the Sony Reader and Barnes & Noble NOOK line, and OverDrive also offers apps for Android, BalckBerry, iOS, and Windows Mobile. Now you can also add Windows Phone 7 to the list.

The folks at OverDrive launched a WP7 app this week, and it might be the most attractive app from the company yet. It offers all the usual features including the ability to manage your book loans and read digital books or listen to audiobooks on your mobile device. You can also change the screen color and adjust font sizes.

But the menus are a lot more attractive, especially the library and recent areas where you can see large thumbnail icons with cover images for each book.

OverDrive for Windows Phone 7 is available as a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace. You can check out a demo video after the break.

OverDrive app brings free library eBook loans to Windows Phone 7 is a post from: mobiputing

Apple has rolled out two major changes to its iBooks digital book platform this week. First the company added an iBooks section to iTunes, allowing you to purchase and download books from your computer the same way you would for apps, music, and movies. Second, the company has rolled out iBooks 1.3 for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. It’s available as a free download from the App Store.

The big changes in iBooks 1.3 include a read-aloud feature in selected children’s books and the ability to automatically play audio or video included with enhanced eBooks. I’m not sure that last one is a feature rather than a bug.

iBooks 1.3 also fixes a bug that caused some books to show the same page twice and Apple says the app is now more responsive when opening long books.

Apple adds iBooks to iTunes, release iBooks 1.3 for mobile devices is a post from: mobiputing

Kobo provides eBook readers for iPhone, BlackBerry, webOS, and Android, allowing you to download paid or free eBooks and read them on a wide range of devices. The company has also been offering social features for the iPhone and iPad letting you unlock awards as you read and share your achievements with your friends. Now the company is bringing its “Reading Life” social features to Android phones and tablets with Kobo 3.0 for Android.

For instance, you unlock your first award just for installing the app and clicking the Reading Life Tab, but there are also awards for starting a new book, finishing a book, or taking notes in a book. More advanced awards including The Twain Award for reading everyday for two weeks or the Witching Hour award for reading after midnight.

The Android app doesn’t yet have all the Reading Life features available for iOS. You can’t yet synchronize your reading statistics with other Kobo devices, and you don’t get the pretty charts showing your reading stats and habits, but both of those features are in the works.

Kobo 3.0 for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market.

Kobo 3.0 for Android adds Reading Life social features is a post from: mobiputing

Barnes & Noble has updated its NOOK app for Android phones and tablets, giving virtually any Android tablet much of the same functionality you’d expect if you purchased a NOOK Color device.

NOOK 2.6.1 for Android can run on any device with Android 2.1 and up, but you get a few special features if you install the app on an Android tablet with a high resolution display, including the ability to purchase magazine subscriptions or individual issues.

Barnes & Noble offers 140 magazines and newspapers, including National Geographic, The Economist, Rolling Stone and PC Magazine, as well as a good selection of the titles you’d normally find in the grocery store checkout such as Cosmo, US Weekly and Star. You can get a 14-day free trial of any newspaper or magazine. Unfortunately there doesn’t seem to be any way to cancel a subscription from within the app. You’ll have to login to the Barnes & Noble web site and view your account settings to do that.

You can read magazines in landscape or portrait mode, and use an ArticleView settings to strip most images from an article and view the text. This doesn’t sound all that impressive until you download a magazine such as National Geographic and realize just how much of the magazine is filled with advertisements which you can skip past by using the ArticleView setting.

Tablet users also get a new grid-style layout for their content library and better book margins and line spacing.

Magazines and newspapers aren’t available for Android smartphones, but the latest version of the app does contain some bug fixes.

NOOK for Android is available as a free download from the Android Market.

Barnes & Noble NOOK app for Android adds magazines, better tablet support is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has released a new version of its Kindle app for Android, bringing improved support for tablets running Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb. Appropriately, the new app is Kindle 3.0 for Android.

There are two key areas where the app has been redesigned. The first is the new grid view for your library which lets you see thumbnail icons of all your books instead of a the default list view which Amazon’s Kindle apps for smartphones uses. The new grid view option is also available on smartphones now, but it looks much better on a big-screen tablet such as the Motorola XOOM.

The other major change is the in-app Kindle Store, which has a much more app-store like feel.

When you visit the store, you’ll see a list of personalized recommendations at the top, a list of categories to the left, and links for the top 100 paid and free books in the center. There are also featured titles to the right.

You can purchase and download books in the app without using an external web browser.

The one thing Amazon didn’t tweak for tablets is the actual reading view. There’s still no two-pane viewing mode, which means that if you hold a tablet like the XOOM in landscape mode, much of the 1280 x 800 pixel screen is wasted. Unfortunately, I find it much easier to hold the XOOM in landscape than portrait mode most of the time, which makes reading an eBook using the new Kindle app a less than stellar experience.

Kindle 3.0 also adds support for the German language, a new layout for newspapers and magazines, and the ability to pause and resume content downloads.

via Engadget

Amazon Kindle 3.0 app adds support for Android 3.0 tablets is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has announced plans to launch Kindle Library Lending later this year, allowing Kindle users to borrow digital books from more than 11,000 US libraries. The feature will be available both on physical Kindle eBook readers and on the company’s mobile apps for iOS, Android, BlackBerry, and other mobile and desktop computer platforms.

A number of other eBook readers have been offering access to digital library books for a while, but Amazon’s system has a few things that make it stand out:

• Users will be able to check out Kindle books on one device and continue reading where they left off on another.
• Your annotations, bookmarks, and other data will be saved so that if you check out a book a second time they’re all accessible. You can also access this data if you later purchase the same book from Amazon.

Amazon is working with OverDrive on the Kindle Library Lending feature. OverDrive powers the digital book and audiobook lending systems for most public libraries in the US. Most OverDrive titles are currently available as PDF or EPUB files. Amazon Kindle eBooks use a proprietary format, so it’s not entirely clear at the moment whether all books that are currently available for other platforms such as the Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble NOOK, or Bluefire app will be available for Kindle when the service launches later this year.

Library book loans coming to Amazon Kindle (and mobile apps) is a post from: mobiputing

OverDrive is a company that powers library eBook and digital audio book loans for thousands of public libraries. OverDrive Media Console software is available for iPhone and Android devices, letting you check out media from your local library on your phone or tablet. But up until recently the company’s BlackBerry app only supported MP3 audio books. Now OverDrive has released a new version that adds support for eBooks as well.

OverDrive Media Console 2.1 for BlackBerry supports EPUB books. The app is designed for touchscreen phones running BlackBerry OS 4.7 and up or non-touch phones with BB OS 4.5 and up.

The app will be available in the Blackberry App World soon, but for now you can download it for free from OverDrive or from MobiHand. You’ll need a library card for a public library that uses the OverDrive service to check out books.

via eBookNewser

OverDrive for Blackberry adds support for EPUB library books is a post from: mobiputing

Kobo has rolled out a new version of its iPhone app which offers new social reading tools. The Kobo eBook reader still lets you download, ourchase, and read books from the Kobo store. But now you can also see real-time updates when your friends share books, quotes, or other data.

You can also receive notifications when friends comment on your own message. Kobo 4.3 also lets you updated your Facebook status from the activity feed, so you can let your Facebook friends know when you start or finish a book or make another milestone.

The update also lets you open URLs linking to web sites from within a book you’re reading.

Kobo 4.3 is available as a free download from the App Store.

Kobo eBook app for iPhone adds more social features is a post from: mobiputing

The Bluefire Reader eBook app for iOS was one of the first mobile apps to support public library books using Adobe DRM. The app supports ePub and PDF formats and also features an integrated book store for purchasing digital books. Now the developers have started to show off an Android version of the app.

Like the iPhone and iPad version, Bluefire for Android will support library books as well as purchased titles.

The app features all the usual bells and whistles including the ability to resize fonts, adjust screen brightness, create bookmarks, and view information about books in your library.

The folks at eBook News in Germany got a chance to check out a pre-release copy running on the Samsung Galaxy Tab. The version they tested is a rebranded version of Bluefire called Libri. You can check out a hands-on video after the break.

via eBookNewser

Bluefire Reader eBook reader coming to Google Android is a post from: mobiputing

There’s a new eBook app for Windows Phone 7, but it appears that at the moment it’s only available for phones from Samsung. Mobility Digest has the details on the new Kobo Reader app which is available as a free download from the Windows Phone Marketplace — if you have a Samsung phone.

Like Kobo’s apps for iOS and Android, the Windows Phone app lets you purchase and download eBooks from the Kobo store and read them on your device. But the user interface has been tweaked for Windows Phone 7, providing multiple screens that you can swipe through to show your reading list, local library, and internet book store.

When reading a book you an place bookmarks, search for text, adjust the background color, or zoom.

As eBookNewer points out, there’s reason to believe this app may not be an official Kobo app — the way you login is quite different from other Kobo Reader apps. But it will let you access titles purchased from the Kobo eBook store, so it might be good enough to hold you over until an official Windows Phone 7 app is available.

Update: It’s official. The Kobo app for Windows Phone 7 uses the Kobo platform, but it wasn’t actually developed by Kobo.

In order to figure out how to actually find the app in the Marketplace, hit up Mobility Digest for instructions.

via WP Central

Kobo eBook app now available for Samsung Windows Phone 7 devices is a post from: mobiputing

I’m not generally a huge fan of DRM, because so-called digital rights management software basically limits what users can do with software, books, music, and movies they download. If you pay for an eBook or a movie you should really be able to access it on any device you choose, write in the margins, or do just about anything you would be able to do if you bought a physical copy of the book or movie.

But there are a few situations where DRM seems like a necessary evil. Streaming audio and video services like Netflix and Hulu probably wouldn’t exist without DRM, because content publishers would never license their material. And I’ve actually been really impressed with the way public libraries have used OverDrive‘s system of DRM-laden books to essentially replicate the experience of taking out a book from a library.

Essentially each library will have a limited number of licenses for a book. Users can check out those books and read them on supported devices, such as an iPhone or Android device using the OverDrive Media Console, Bluefire, Aldiko, or a similar app.

If the library has just one license, when you check out that book nobody else can check it out until you return it. If you check out a book for three weeks, your license will expire when your time is up and you won’t be able to read the book anymore. But now another reader can check out that title. And if you finish reading before your time is up, you can “return” the book. While it’s kind of annoying that the DRM prohibits you from using any eBook reader you choose (you need support for Adobe DRM), the system closely resembles that of walking into a library and checking out a book — but without leaving your house. I’ve read around 9 or 10 books this way in the last few months and now I’m reading more books than I have in years because of it.

But it turns out that book publishers aren’t as impressed with this system as I am.

Rather than allowing libraries to loan licensed books forever, publishers have put pressure on OverDrive to limit the number of times a title can be checked out. That’s partly because digital books don’t “wear out” and need to be replaced the same way that physical books do. That makes sense, I guess… but according to the Library Journal, HarperCollins has decided that eBooks can only be loaned out a total of 26 times. It’s not clear what kind of limits other publishers will put on their titles.

I’ll admit, I’m not an expert on wear and tear of library books. But given that I’m sometimes the 8th or 10th person on a waiting list to check out an ebook from the Philadelphia Free Library, I can’t help but wonder if this new restriction would mean the book will disappear before I make it to the front of the queue — or just as bad, a cash-strapped library might have to pay for another license for me to read the book for “free.”

OverDrive has to keep publishers happy or it won’t be able to provide any books to libraries, so it should come as no surprise that the company has added the self-destruct button to digital library books. But I can’t help but wonder if the move won’t severely limit the number of books available for check-out from public libraries across the US.

Update: Harper Collins has issued a response, which is basically what you’d expect: the company wants to make sure it can continue to offer some titles to libraries without hurting its eBook sales and spent a lot of time coming up with the 26 circulations rule. One point I hadn’t considered is that when libraries re-order books, the prices will likely be lower, since the price of a digital copy will likely be pegged to the paperback price rather than the hardcover price after an eBook is loaned 26 times.

Ultimately the problem is that there’s no equivalent of the First Sale Doctrine for digital books. While the US government has decided that publishers have no real rights over what happens to a physical book once it’s sold, they can continue to exert control over digital media even after it’s been paid for. And that means it’s entirely up to publishes such as Harper Collins to decide if they want to bother working with libraries at all. We’re kind of at their whim here.

via eBookNewser, Librarian by Day, and Atzblog

DRM rears its ugly head: Publishers insist on crippling public library eBook loans is a post from: mobiputing

Google has created a new Books section of the Android Market. The Books tab shows up if you’re running the Market app on a tablet with Google Android 3.0 Honeycomb (such as the Motorola XOOM which hit the streets today). But you can also browse the book listings in the web version of the Android Market by visiting market.android.com/books in a browser.

You don’t need an Android tablet to use the new books directory. You can select any title and click the “Get it Now” button to add it to your Google Books account. From there you can read the title on any computer with a web browser, or access the books from a mobile device running the Google Books app for Android or iOS. The Barnes & Noble NOOK and Sony Reader eBook readers also support Google Books.

Google is expected to add music and movies sections to the Android Market eventually, but for now it looks like we’ll have to content ourselves with books.

The Market is divided into new arrivals, top selling eBooks, and top free books. You can also browser by category (biography, children’s, fiction, history, humor, etc) or view a list of New York Times Bestsellers.

via TechCrunch

Android Market now offers eBook downloads is a post from: mobiputing

There’s a new version of the OverDrive Media Console available for iOS which adds native support for the Apple iPad. OverDrive is the platform that most public libraries in the US use to loan eBooks and audio books for up to three weeks at a time. While you can also use some other apps such as Bluefire Reader for iOS to read these books, the OverDrive Media Console simplifies the process by letting you download books directly from a library website using the mobile Safari web browser and open them on your device without jumping through too many hoops.

In addition to native iPad support, the new version of OverDrive for iOS also supports hyperlinks in ePUB files, landscape and portrait orientaitons, and the ability to “delete all” expired titles at once.

OverDrive Media Console is available as a free download from the App Store.

OverDrive Media Console adds iPad support for library books, audio books is a post from: mobiputing

Kobo has rolled out a new version of its eBook app for iOS which brings the Reading Life social platform to the iPhone and iPod touch. Kobo introduced Reading Life for the iPad in December, allowing users to share book information and passages over Facebook, unlock “awards” of reading, and track your reading statistics including your reading speed and how much of your eBook library you’ve worked through. Now those features are available for all devices running iOS 3.1 and up.

Kobo 4.2 also now lets you synchronize your awards between the iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch if you have multiple devices. There’s also improved performance on the iPhone 3G, and bug fixes and stability improvements.

I have to say, I haven’t actually used the Kobo app for reading eBooks all that much, since I typically use Stanza and Bluefire… but the stats junkie in me kind of wants to start using Kobo more just so I can track my progress. I guess that’s kind of the point, although I’ve found that the GoodReads app for iOS also lets me keep track of books I’ve read and share progress with my friends whether I’m reading eBooks or old fashioned paper and ink books.

Kobo for iOS is available as a free download from the App Store.

Kobo eBook app for iPhone gets iPad-like social features is a post from: mobiputing

There are at least half a dozen great eBook apps for iOS which let you purchase, download, and read eBooks on your mobile device. And they all have one thing in common: you can’t actually use the apps to purchase books. Instead you’re dumped out to a mobile web site using the Safari web browser. That’s because Apple doesn’t allow anyone to distribute software in the App Store which lets you make in-app purchases without using iTunes.

So it really shouldn’t be all that surprising that Apple rejected Sony’s Reader app for iOS which included its own integrated book store. This isn’t just a case of Apple favoring its own iBooks service over Sony’s competing service. It’s Apple favoring its own payment service over everyone else’s.

That said, when the New York Times reported that Apple rejected the Sony Reader app (which is already available for Google Android devices), tech blogs including Engadget, TUAW, Business Insider, GottaBeMobile, and the Digital Reader were up in arms.

This really sounds like business as usual from Apple… which isn’t to say that it’s a good thing, but eBook app makers and other developers have been circumventing Apple’s rules with web-based bookstores for ages, so it sounds like Sony may have an easy solution.

On the other hand, The New York Times suggests that Apple also told Sony that developers can no longer “let customers have access to purchases they have made outside the App Store.” If that’s true, then it would mean that the web-based bookstore wouldn’t work — and it could be a sign that Apple might go after Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other companies which offer readers ways to purchase and download eBooks without using the iTunes service.

Update: It looks like there’s good news and bad news. The good news is that Apple hasn’t changed its official policy. The bad news is that the company is starting to enforce a rule that’s been there all along. Apps that allow users to purchase content through a third party web store must also let users purchase the content within the app — using Apple’s payment services. In other words, Apple wants to be able to get a cut of digital media sales. That’s not going to make Amazon and other third party eBook sellers happy… I wonder if they can submit apps that say “please don’t click here to purchase books, click here instead…”

Apple rejects Sony Reader app for iOS: blogosphere up in arms over business as usual is a post from: mobiputing

Sony has launched a mobile eBook Reader app for Google Android. It’s now available for download from the Android Market. The app supports Android 2.2 and up. An iOS version is expected soon.

Scan to download

Reader for Android can handle books in EPUB and PDF formats, as well as titles download from Sony’s Reader Store. The app is also one of the few mobile eBook readers that supports Adobe DRM. Unfortunately I haven’t found a way to import books from public libraries or other stores that use Adobe DRM. Inserting them into the Sony folder on the SD card doesn’t seem to work, nor does opening the .acsm file on the Android device.

The good news is the Sony Reader app is reasonably pleasant to use. You can easily adjust the font size and screen brightness from any book, jump to a page, search for text, or add bookmarks.

The home screen is divided into a few different sections including recent books at the top, a scrollable list of all your books in the middle, and favorites, bookmarks, and highlights below. There’s also a link the Sony Reader Store, which opens in your default web browser.

Probably the best reason to download the Sony Reader app is if you already use the Sony Reader Daily Edition (PRS-950SC), because you can synchronize your bookmarks, highlights, and reading position between the Android app and the Daily Edition so you can pick up reading on one device where you left off on the other.

If you’re not a Sony Reader user, there’s another good reason to give the app a try: It comes with 6 free eBooks including 3 classics and 3 newer titles.

The bad news is that the Sony Reader Store doesn’t seem to have much in the way of free titles. When I looked for public domain titles by Mark Twain and Jane Austen which would be free from many other stores, the cheapest versions I could find in the Reader Store ran $0.95. The app is also a bit of a storage hog, eating up more than 8MB of storage, and that’s after moving the app to the SD card. That might not sound like a lot, but given how little storage space is available on many older (and some newer) Android phones, every megabyte counts.

via The Digital Reader

Sony Reader eBook app hits the Android Market is a post from: mobiputing

MegaReader is an eBook app for iOS that lets you read DRM-free ePUB books from Feedbooks, Project Guternberg and other free book stores. There’s nothing too special about that. Stanza and a dozen other apps will let you do the same thing. But there’s one new feature that sets MegaReader apart: a Heads Up Display option that lets you use a live feed from your iPhone camera as the background for any book.

In other words, you can read a book while seeing what’s behind the book. In real life, this is absolutely useless and probably very distracting. But in theory, you could use this to read while eating, walking, or doing far more dangerous things. Check out the demo video after the break to see a few examples.

MegaReader is available from the App Store for $1.99.

via Engadget

MegaReader eBook app for iOS adds “Heads Up Display” is a post from: mobiputing

Aldiko has rolled out a major update to its free eBook reader for Android. The company launched Aldiko Premium 2.0 a few weeks ago, but now most of the changes are also available in the free version of the popular eBook app.

Scan to download

The user interface has been overhauled, with a new home screen that lets you quickly access your personal book library in list or bookshelf view, visit online book stores, personal catalogs, or import books from an SD card. The book import feature has been improved, allowing users to choose individual files or select a folder on their SD cards. Previously you had to put all the books you wanted to import into a folder labeled “import.”

Aldiko 2.0 also adds support for PDF files in addition to EPUB files. There’s support for copy and paste, text selection, hyphenation, and improved font selection.

The thing I’ve been most excited about is support for Adobe DRM, which lets you read public library books or titles purchased from book stores that use Adobe’s digital rights management system — much as you can do with the Bluefire eBook Reader app for iOS. You have to jump through a few complicated steps to download books with Adobe DRM though. You can’t just copy them straight from your computer to an SD card to import as you would with DRM-free books.

1. Download the .acsm file for the book from your library or book store — this is not the book, but rather the key you need to download the full book.
2. Copy the .acsm file to your SD card.
3. Use a file manager such as ASTRO to locate the .acsm file on your SD card.
4. Tap the file, and if you’ve already entered your Adobe credentials in Aldiko 2.0, the book should automatically be downloaded and added to your book shelf.

I actually prefer the ES File Explorer app to ASTRO, since I think it has a more attractive user interface, but ES didn’t know what to do with the .acsm files I tried. ASTRO, which is a much more powerful file manager is clearly the way to go here, although other apps may work.

Overall Aldiko 2.0 appears to be a decent upgrade for existing Aldiko users. There are more customization options, and the Adobe DRM support could eliminate the need to install several other eBook apps on your phone, such as the OverDrive Media Console or NOOK app.  But the app feels a bit more sluggish than earlier versions times, especially when opening books.

Aldiko 2.0 is available as a free download from the Android Market.

thanks Pepekraft!

Aldiko eBook app for Android adds support for public library books is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has launched version 2.5 of its Kindle app for iOS with a few key new features. First, if you’re running iOS 4 you can now download books in the background while running other tasks. You still need to start your download from the Kindle Store, and to be honest, most eBook files are so small that they’re done downloading before you know it, but this is still a good feature to have for times when your internet connection slows to a crawl.

Kindle 2.5 also adds support for free, copyright-expired books from Project Gutenberg, the Internet Archive, and other sources. Just visit the web site, click the download button for the Kindle version, and on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad, select “Open with Kindle.” You can also use the File Sharing option in iTunes to transfer files from your computer.

Amazon has also made some bug fixes and improved image zooming.

The Amazon Kindle app for iOS is available as a free download from the App Store.

Kindle app for iOS adds Project Gutenberg books, background downloads is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has launched a Kindle app for Windows Phone 7. The app has all the usual features, allowing users to read books downloaded from the Amazon Kindle store — and to synchronize your data including bookmarks and last page read across all of your Kindle devices.

The app lets you buy books or download free titles, adjust fonts, colors and contrast, and supports portrait and landscape mode.

Kindle for Windows Phone 7 is available as a free download from the Marketplace.

via Download Squad

Amazon Kindle app for Windows Phone 7 now available is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon already offers Kindle apps for Windows and Android, allowing you to purchase and read eBooks on a PC or phone. But the company has announced plans for new Windows and Android apps specifically targeted at tablets.

Android tablets will likely have larger, higher resolution displays than a typical Android smartphone, which means a redesign is in order. Windows tablets, on the other hand may have lower resolution displays than many desktop and laptop computers. But more importantly, the way you interact with touchscreen tablets is very different from the way you interact with a keyboard-and-mouse computer, so a user interface overhaul could come in handy.

Like other Kindle apps and devices, users will be able to download content they’ve already purchased from the Kindle store and synchronize data between devices. So if you start reading a book on your tablet you can put it down and grab your phone or a Kindle DX, or an iPhone or another device to pick up where you left off.

Amazon already offers an iPad-specific Kindle app which offers two-column viewing and other features not available in the iPhone and iPod touch apps.

The new tablet-friendly apps are due out later this year.

Amazon plans to launch Kindle app for Android, Windows tablets is a post from: mobiputing

One of the coolest new features in the Barnes & Noble NOOKcolor is support for picture books and interactive content for children’s books — the kind of thing that’s hard to do on a typical E Ink eBook reader with a slow screen refresh rate. Now it looks like Barnes & Noble is making those features available to iPad users as well, with a new NOOKkids app for the iPad.

Like other eBook apps for the iPad, NOOKkids is both a book store and an interactive eBook reader. You can purchase and download hundreds of titles from the Barnes & Noble store, and read them on your iPad. You get two books for free when you download the app.

NOOKkids can read stories out loud to your kids (in case you’re too lazy to do that yourself), and lets you zoom in on words or text as you read.

The NOOKkids app is available as a free download from the App Store.

via The Digital Reader

Barnes & Noble launches NOOKkids app for the iPad is a post from: mobiputing

Kobo has rolled out an updated version of its mobile eBook app for iPhone and iPod touch. While the update doesn’t bring all the social features that are in the latest iPad version of the Kobo Reader app, you can now login to your Facebook account to share passages via Facebook either by posting them to your wall or setting your Facebook status.

Kobo 4.1 for iOS also adds support for Instapaper on the iPad, iPod touch and iPhone. This lets you sign into your Instapaper acount and synchronize and read content on your mobile device.

Instapaper is a service that lets you bookmark any web site using a desktop browser so that you can read it later on a computer, iOS device or Amazon Kindle or other supported eBook reader.

Kobo 4.1 is available as a free download from the Android Market.

Kobo for iOS gets social, adds Instapaper sync is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has released a major update to its eBook app for Android. Probably the biggest change in Kindle for Android 2.0 is support for newspapers and magazines, with Amazon offering over 100 periodicals to choose from. But another nice touch is the fact that Amazon has finally integrated the Kindle Store directly into the app, which means you don’t have to flip back and forth between your web browser and Kindle app to purchase and read books.

Scan to download

Other changes include:

• Ability to share your reading progress via social networks, email, SMS, or other apps installed on your device
• Zoom on image and graphics
• Option to turn pages using volume keys
• Chapter titles now show up in the status bar
• You can move the app to your SD card on Android 2.2 and up.

With the new newspaper and magazine options, you can either purchase a subscription or pay for an individual episode. Subscriptions come with 14 day free trials.

Amazon Kindle for Android 2.0 is available as a free download from the Android Market.

You can find more screenshots after the break.

Amazon Kindle for Android adds newspapers, magazines, integrated store is a post from: mobiputing

Apple has rolled out a new version of its iBooks app for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. The update adds support for illustrated books including children’s piture books and art boks.

There’s also now support for “collections,” allowing you to organize your books. For example, I set up a “Classics” collection and added free titles I’d downloaded from authors including Mark Twain, Leo Tolstoy, and Arthur Conan Doyle. You can flip between your collections by flicking left or right on the library view.

Apple iBooks 1.2 also lets you print PDF documents or notes from iBooks using AirPrint, and if you’re using iOS 4.2 and up, iBooks now automatically hyphenates text, letting you fit more words on each page.

You can download the latest version of iBooks for free from the App Store.

Apple iBooks adds support for illustrations, collections is a post from: mobiputing

• Share info about the books you’re reading as well as passages over Facebook.
• See your reading stats (speed, how much of your library you’ve read, etc.).
• Unlock “awards” as you read.

In addition to posting passages to your wall, you can set short text passages as your Facebook status.

The Reading Stats menu is actually pretty slick looking, if a bit pointless. But really, isn’t that true for most infographics?

You can check out a few more screenshots as well as a demo video after the break.

Kobo 4.0 for the iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad is available as a free download from the App Store.

Kobo Introduces Reading Life from Kobo on Vimeo.

Kobo eBook app for iPad adds Reading Life social networking is a post from: mobiputing

OverDrive Media Console is a free app for Android and iOS that lets you download and listen to audio books from public libraries that use the OverDrive service. But OverDrive doesn’t just power the audio book lending services of most public libraries in the US, it also powers the digital eBook distribution for those libraries. Up until now, though, you couldn’t use the mobile app to read eBooks. It only worked with audio books. Until today.

This afternoon OverDrive pushed out new versions of its apps for Android and iOS which support library ePUB books. You can login to your public library website using the browser, and download eBooks directly to your device to be opened in the OverDrive Media Console app. When your loan period is up, the books will automatically be “returned.”

As an eBook reader, OverDrive is serviceable, but nothing to write home about. You can adjust text size and screen brightness within the app, hit a button to add bookmarks or view existing bookmarks, and view a table of contents for your book. That’s about it for the settings.

Page turns are sometimes much slower than on other smartphone eBook readers I’ve used, for example. Still, OverDrive is the first app available for Android which lets you read ePUBs from public libraries at all, so I’ll take what I can get for now.

You can check out some more screenshots after the break. OverDrive Media Console is available as a free download from the Android Market and the iTunes App Store.

Still, it’s not the only game in town. You can read library books on many dedicated eBook readers including the Barnes & Noble Nook and the Sony Reader line of eReaders. And recently a third party eBook reader for iOS called Bluefire added support for the Adobe DRM used by OverDrive, allowing users to take out library books and read them on an iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad. And the developers of the Android eBook reader Aldiko plan to add a similar feature soon.

via The Digital Reader

OverDrive app for Android, iOS adds support for ePUB books from public libraries is a post from: mobiputing

Google has launched a new online bookstore called Google eBooks, along with a series of applications allowing you to read digital books on Android, the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, or any computer with a web browser. Books from Google eBooks will also be available for download as ePUB files with Adobe DRM, which means you can read them on the Barnes & Noble NOOK, Sony Reader series, and a number of other devices.

Google has been working in the digital book space fro the last few years, scanning a huge selection of books and storing the data online. Google Books has allowed users to read free and public domain books for a while, as well as search for text within copyrighted books, which has led to a few lawsuits.

What’s new in today’s announcement is that you’ll be able to purchase eBooks from major publishers through Google eBooks and read them on a variety of devices using either the web reader or native apps.

The iOS app doesn’t appear to be available from the App Store just yet, but I downloaded the Android app and took it for a spin this morning. The first time you run the app you’re greeted by a screen asking you for your Google account, followed by a message asking if you’d like to synchronize your last page read, bookmarks, and other data online. This way you can stop reading a book on one device and pick up where you left off on another. You can also access any book you’ve purchased on one device on another, or find them on the web.

Once that’s done, you’ll find a list of books in your library. You can hit the Get eBooks link to open up the Google eBooks store in a web browser. Any book you add to your library, whether free or paid will then be added to your library, at which point it’s available for download.

The reader itself is pretty basic. If you’re reading a book that’s been scanned, like the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, which you can see in the screenshot above, you’ll actually see the original pages. You an zoom by pinching, or adjust the screen brightness or choose day or night themes from the settings menu, and that’s about it.

But you can also convert the format to “Flowing Text,” which uses your device’s native fonts to display the text. At that point you can adjust the font, text size, line spacing, and justification.

Google’s eBook prices appear comparable to those of other major eBook sellers including Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks. Google has also partnered with third party booksellers, to power digital eBook stores for Powell’s Alibris, and others.

Overall, I’m not sure what the world needs is yet another way to purchase and download the same eBooks and access them in another eReader… but Google may have a few aces up its sleeve. First, the web reader really means that you’ll be able to access your books almost anywhere. Second, if you’re already tied into Google’s suite of services as a Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Checkout, and Android user, I can see the appeal of a Google eBooks service tied to your existing account. Third, and perhaps most importantly, because Google has spent a lot of time scanning books, the company has what’s possibly the largest library of free and paid books available, currently at about 3 million titles.

While that doesn’t necessarily mean that every book you’re looking for will be available, it’s a pretty good start.

Google eBooks is currently only available in the US, but Google says its working with publishers around the globe to widen the scope of the service.

You can check out more screenshots below.

Google eBooks brings free, paid books to Android, iOS, eReaders, web is a post from: mobiputing

Sony has announced plans to launch eBook apps for iOS and Android in December. The Sony Reader was one of the first big names in the eBook space, but over the past few years the Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble Nook, and similar eBook devices have grabbed most of the headlines.

By launching a Reader app for mobile, Sony might be able to drive up the use of the Sony Reader Store — and also the company’s hardware eBook devices. Once you’ve started purchasing books from the Reader Store for one device, there’s more incentive to continue using that store.

What I really like about using Android and iOS devices for reading digital books though, is that you can run multiple apps — so there’s nothing preventing you from installing apps from Amazon, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, and Sony so that you can download books from whichever store has the best price. It’s a bit of a hassle trying to remember which app you need to fire up to find the book you’re looking for though.

The Sony Reader apps will allow users to purchase books on a mobile device or to read books purchased using the PC software. You’ll be able to make bookmarks, take notes, adjust fonts, and highlight text.

There’s no word on whether the Sony Reader app will allow you to take out digital books from your local library, something you can currently do with the Sony Reader physical device. But now that Bluefire for iOS offers support for library books, iPhone users might not need another app with this feature. There’s currently no Android app that I’m aware of with support for library books — although Aldiko plans to add support soon.

via The Digital Reader

Sony Reader apps coming to Android, iOS is a post from: mobiputing

Here’s how it works.

First, you need to find out if your library offers digital books using Adobe DRM. If the answer is yes, then you need to download the Adobe Digital Editions software for your computer and follow these steps:

1. Install Bluefire Reader on your mobile device.
2. Login to your library site.
3. Follow the library’s steps do “take out” an eBook.
4. Download the .acsm files associated with each eBook.
5. Click on the .acsm file to download the book with Adobe Digital Editions.
6. Locate the folder where ADE stores your eBooks (On Windows, it’s probably in My Documents\My Digital Editions).

1. Launch iTunes.
2. Click on your mobile device.
3. Select the Apps Tab from the top of the screen.
4. Scroll down until you see the File Sharing section, and click on Bluefire in the Apps area.
5. Select “Add…” from the Bluefire Documents” section.
6. Browse to the folder where your ADE eBooks are stored and select the book you want to move to your iOS device.

That’s it. OK, it actually sounds like a lot of steps, but once you get the hang of it the whole thing is quite easy.

Bear in mind, when you download a DRMed eBook from your library, it’s a lot like taking out a physical book from your library. You have to read it within three weeks or so, or renew your loan. The Adobe DRM is in place so that when your time is up, you can’t read the book anymore. Each library likely has only a limited number of licenses for each eBook, so when your license expires, someone else can take out the book.

Generally I’m not a huge fan of this kind of DRM, but in this case I’ll make an exception since I am a big fan of public libraries and the opportunity to read books for free.

Bluefire is available as a free download from the App Store.

Update: It looks like there maybe a couple of other ways to get library books onto your device with Bluefire. One reader wrote in to let us know that she downloaded the ePUB using Adobe Digital Editions and emailed herself the file. When she opened the attachment on her iPhone, she was able to import it to Bluefire.

Download Squad‘s Jay Hathaway says he was able to download an .acsm file from his library and upload it to Dropbox. When he used the Dropbux app on his phone he was able to use the “Open With” menu to open the file in Bluefire, which downloaded the eBook.

You can find more screenshots below.

How to read public library eBooks with DRM on an iPhone is a post from: mobiputing

Amazon has announced plans to develop a Kindle eBook app for Windows Phone 7. That’s hardly surprising, since Amazon currently offers several physical Kindle devices,PC and Mac apps, and software for the iPhone, iPod touch, iPad, BlackBerry, and Android. Still, it’s nice to see that the company doesn’t plan to give up on the whole cross-platform thing anytime soon.

The Windows Phone 7 app will allow users to read books and synchronize their settings with other Kindle devices. That lets you download the same book on multiple devices and remember the last page read so you can start reading on your phone and finish reading on your iPad, for instance.

The app will also let users shop for eBooks without leaving the app — which is more than I can say for the Kindle apps on some other mobile platforms, which dump you out to the web browser when you want to browse for or purchase books. Kindle for Windows Phone 7 supports landscape and portrait mode, multiple font sizes and background colors, and personalized recommendations on your home screen.

The app is due out later this year.

Amazon Kindle app for Windows Phone 7 on the way is a post from: mobiputing