The iBooks app has been available for the iPad but was recently released for the iPhone and iPod Touch. I was kind of skeptical about book reading on an iPhone sized device. I could see it on the iPad but I thought the size of the phone would be an issue. After downloading and trying it out I’ve been pleasantly surprised by it’s functionality.
Apple was nice enough to start you off with a free book which to try it out with. It’s the ever charming Winnie the Pooh. The pages turn by sliding for finger from right to left as if your actually turning pages in a real book(go in reverse to go back). You do have bookmark feature of course.
You can also dim or brighten the display, which could come in handy for late night reading next to your significant other without waking them. One wierd quirk I found is that the dimmer also affects your wallpaper on the iPhone itself. Why I don’t know but I thought I’d pass that along. Some other features include customizing the font and also a search feature which would search your books, Google or Wikipedia.
Books are purchased through the “Store” button on the main page. I found the interface similar to the App Store. Books range from free to whatever the going price is. I filled up with some free ones to test the app out. I could see using this app to light reading but I’m not sure if it would actually replace a physical book. It’s too small and impersonal. I haven’t tried it on an iPad so it may be different with that due to it’s size. The app is free so I think it’s worth checking out if you like to read books. It can be found through App Store.
Disclaimer: The screenshots above are from a iPhone 3G. You screens may look different on a later iPhone, iPod or iPad.
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