#1 Despite it’s miniscule screen size and questionable clarity and the horrid AT&T contracts the Apple iPhone & iPod Touch brought more people to the eBook market than any other eBook reader available.
Why you ask?
Options!
You can read your eBooks…
On The Kindle For iPhone App
or The Stanza App
or The Barnes & Noble Bookstore App
or The Fictionwise eReader App
Or my favorite where you stick all your non-DRM PDF eBooks in Google Docs and use MiGhtyDocs to access them in a cloud.
Options & Third Party Apps sell eBook Readers while proprietary DRM ridden formats and locked down unhackable equipment will always be a dead end. Which is why I expect most of the eInk devices including Kindle and Sony to be quickly dumped when Smart Tablets arrive. That will be a really expensive joke on the early adopters.
Stanza by LexCycle is a Desktop Application and an iPhone Application. Now I prefer Stanza only because it has superb iPhone App and Mac OSX Desktop specific functions. With the Stanza Desktop Application non-DRM Microsoft Lit eBooks and non-DRM Mobipocket eBooks are readable on the Mac OSX desktop which was not doable before. With the Stanza iPhone Application you can read and buy eBooks from tons of competing eBook Retailers. Woohoo! Stanza also does exactly what Calibre does but is geared for iPhones and Kindles in that you can translate and load files on to those devices.
Calibre is more for the eInk Reader crowd. It allows some of the best support for organizing and translating non-DRM eBooks and then loading them onto several eInk eBook Readers. I think both applications deserve top spots this year for making eBooks easier. Thanks guys!
#3 The Stanza iPhone App and/or The Aldiko Android App
Chocolate or Vanilla? iPhone or Android? Well it all depends on what Smart Phone you are using!
Yeah I know, Stanza again! Listen between the Desktop App and iPhone App it’s does a lot of things and some of them it does pretty dang well. Both these applications were out the door before Amazon or Barnes & Noble even thought about creating an eBook Reader App. Even though Amazon bought Stanza and Barnes & Noble bought Fictionwise eReader. I still say these two apps are important to keep on your Smart Phone especially since they provide excellent eBook reading options and the ability to purchase eBooks from several vendors.
#4 Scrivener or PageFour
Windows or Mac OSX? This is not about eBook Reading it’s about eBook Writing. Which as a reader is very important to me to try and help writers get more Gay Romance eBooks out there. You can read my writeups on Scrivener Here and PageFour Here.
Please writers do me a big favor and give me feedback on if these applications help you in your work or not. So far Scrivener (Which I have and tried out myself.) has been making friends and influencing various Gay Romance writers all over.
#5 Parallels
This one is for you Mac OSX folks out there. Word to the Apple! I switched completely to Mac this year. Because I like things like online shopping and banking and also “security” when doing my online shopping or banking and the “general lack of many” trojans or viruses I find on Mac OSX helps do that saferer, sanerer, and betterer. So sure, my fellow Internet Security Administrators out there and I can go on arguing for hours about if that is an “absolute statement” which I know it is not… BUT WHY SHOULD YOU? I will never buy or shop or bank on another version of Windows again and I don’t care if Microsoft throws in free beer and hookers. I am over lies and promises of safety and virus free computing on Windows that will NEVER HAPPEN.
So back to reality, Parallels lets me seamlessly run things like Convertlit and Microsoft Reader or EAC (Exact Audio Copy) or many programs from the Windows world that I have come to depend on using Windows XP without having to jump through a whole bunch of hoops to do it on my Mac OSX. Then when I am done Windows XP goes away and I can shop and bank online using Mac OSX back comfortable and safe in my land of Apple goodness. I am so not missing a damn thing Bill Gates!
Tags: eBook Commentary
Stuff. « Rain on the Roof wrote,
[...] you’re new to ebooks and don’t know the where, how or why? Then check this post out at The Naughty Bits. In fact, check out the whole blog. I think you can find more useful iphone [...]
Link | December 12th, 2009 at 1:57 pm
Shorts. « Rain on the Roof wrote,
[...] you’re new to ebooks, check this post out for instructions and apps Basically, if you’ve got an ipod touch or an iphone I suggest you go large and have a go. It [...]
Link | December 13th, 2009 at 1:06 am
Heidi Cullinan wrote,
I’ve used Scrivener for several years now, and while I could probably write without it, I would never choose to do so. I write faster and better with Scrivener because of how easily you can make and split files, move them around, rename chapters—it’s got everything I need and more stuff I didn’t even know I needed for formatting.
My other favorite feature of Scrivener is how I can import web files into the research folder and carry them with me wherever I go and reference them when necessary during copy edits or really anytime they’re called for. I’ve also inserted photos of scenes or characters beside the text in full screen view (by dragging the image into the notes section of the Inspector) and used the keywords feature to tag scenes I need to double check for accuracy later. I’ve used the export feature to customize drafts for my publisher and for beta readers and for submission material: really, it’s the best tool I have outside of my computer itself.
Link | December 13th, 2009 at 9:33 pm
Google Nexus One VS Apple iPhone ~ The Screen Test | The Naughty Bits wrote,
[...] Nexus One VS Apple iPhone The result: While the Nexus One might have a bright, eye-catching display, it also has lots of [...]
Link | February 22nd, 2010 at 6:12 pm