Lexcycle

12.16.11        For those new to the world of the iPhone, the discovery that you can easily and comfortably read on that little screen is a bit of a revelation. Suddenly, you can carry entire volumes of prose in your pocket, as easily as your contacts list. App developers are keen to this, and so the iTunes App Store is flooded with e-readers and e-books. Some are better than others. Read on to discover the very best of bunch. Stanza is an e-book reader app so good, Amazon snatched it up before it could pose a threat to their Kindle iPhone app. Thankfully, you can still download Stanza for free and use it to read Kindle files, or any other e-book files, for that matter. Stanza has a gorgeous, easy-to-use library view, access to online book repositories like Project Gutenberg, and a clean, distraction-free interface for reading. You can also annotate chapters, dog-ear pages, and get word definitions without ever leaving the app. For indie literature aficionados, McSweeney’s needs no introduction. For everyone else, McSweeney’s is the brainchild of award-winning author Dave Eggers: an empire which includes a publishing house, quarterly journal, magazine, and a free website for daily doses of humorous lists and irreverent essays. The McSweeney's app brings it all together. Read free dispatches, advance stories from Believer or the Quarterly Concern, even purchase or read e-books that have been beautifully typset specially for the iPhone. If you’re into comic books (and maybe if you're not), Comic Zeal is an app that is not to be missed. Comic Zeal makes uploading, organizing and reading comic books on the iPhone not just easy, but fun. The library view automatically places comics from a series into their own "boxes," and the reading screen has a clever touch-to-zoom interface. Comic Zeal can handle the common CBR, CBZ and PDF filetypes. And, if you don’t have any comics in your collection yet, you can also download some from right within the app. Anyone who has tried to listen to an audiobook with the native iPod app knows it's an uphill battle. Books that are broken into smaller files often won't play in the right order, and if you take a break to listen to music it can be a hassle trying to resume playback where you left off. This is why the iPhone gods created Bookmark. This app will tidy up Read More

The once super-popular ebook reading Stanza app got its final update and is now compatible with iOS 5. Amazon, which acquired Stanza in May 2009, is pushing users toward the Kindle app, though Stanza still offers a wider array of document formats and more customization options. That said, we’re kinda sad to learn this is the last update Stanza will get. I guess I can understand Amazon for taking that route but then again I’m hoping they’ll expand the capability of its own Kindle app. So are you sad to learn that Stanza won’t get more updates? Or other solutions like iBookstore, Kindle and Nook work for you just as well? Drop us your two cents in the comments form below, will you? Dusan has been using smartphones since their introduction and is now following the latest trends in the industry. The "convergence" is what he's most excited about, and writing about it is the next logical thing to do. He thinks that using a smartphone is what everyone who cares about their time should do. In addition to his interests in mobile phones, Dusan also loves to experiment with the latest web and mobile 2.0 services. The idea of accessing and managing your information from any device no matter where you are simply amazes him. Whether it's an online to-do list, note taking service or a video sharing social network, he's there to try it out. He admits though, he's still searching for the ultimate web-based organizational tool, which "sings" perfectly with the mobile PIM application. Dusan used to run SymbianWatch.com which later became part of IntoMobile. He lives in Serbia, South-East Europe, from where he edits the site on a daily basis. Read More

Stanza was one of the first apps I downloaded when I got an iPhone. It pre-dated Amazon's release of the Kindle iOS app and Apple's own iBooks app, so for awhile Stanza was the best option out there for reading eBooks on an iPhone. Not long after it released the official Kindle app, Amazon bought Stanza. What's happened subsequently should come as no surprise; the app languished, going for as much as nine months between updates. Stanza has recently been updated for iOS 5 compatibility, but according to Macworld, Amazon has confirmed this will be Stanza's final update. This will be sad news for a subset of iOS users, because Stanza has always had support for a wider array of document formats and more customization options than either the Kindle app or iBooks. Amazon's official word on the matter tries to steer Stanza users toward the Kindle app instead, but not all users will find that a suitable substitute for the flexibility Stanza provided. Personally I haven't used Stanza for some time; the iBookstore has vastly improved the breadth of its offerings over time, and I've found iBooks suitable for the majority of my e-reading needs. Stanza was the first e-reader app I used on my iPhone, though, so it's a bit sad to see it going away. Read More

by Forget Sharpies and highlighters, the new back to school essentials this fall are apps for your iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. While cellphones used to be classroom contraband, the burgeoning market of educational apps means iOS devices are as welcome as loose leaf and pencils. This school year, free iOS apps can replace your pricey graphing calculator and clunky dictionary. Inexpensive planners will organize your homework, grades and finances. We’ve rounded up the essentials for the season, so you won’t go back to school unprepared. These 15 apps will keep your academic and extracurricular life on track. 1 of 15 Cost: Free Supported devices: iPhone and iPod touch Why you need it: No one likes to waste money on textbooks -- especially after putting your John Hancock on an increasingly fat tuition check. Amazon Student is here so you can avoid overpaying for your pile of books. Use the app to scan barcodes in the bookstore and compare your campus hub to Amazon.com's prices. Likewise, at the end of the term, exchange your used books, games, movies or gadgets for credit by scanning their barcodes. The icing on the cake? Free two-day shipping for college students. 1 Cost: Free Supported devices: iPad, iPhone and iPod touch (with limited functions) Why you need it: If you're headed to a new town to study, AroundMe is a great tool to help you get the lay of the land. The app finds the nearest banks, hospitals, bars, gas stations, hotels, coffee shops, restaurants, taxi companies, theaters and supermarkets. With AroundMe on your iOS device, you'll limit the perpetual U-turns and mistaken directions that come standard with learning a new city. 2 Cost: $2.99 Supported devices: iPad, iPhone and iPod touch Why you need it: Don't consider buying a dictionary for your dorm room with this app on the market. Without an Internet connection, this mobile dictionary and thesaurus gives you access to nearly 2,000,000 words. Turn on the popular Word of the Day notifications to improve your vocabulary. 3 Cost: $9.99 Supported devices: iPad and iPhone Why you need it: Create, edit and share Word (.doc, .docx), PowerPoint and PDF files from your iOS device with Documents To Go. Add last minute edits to your papers or takes notes on presentations without lugging around your laptop. The mobile app now includes intricate formatting options, so even work done from your iPhone can look Read More

Posted 07/23/2011 at 3:24pm | by Andrew Groen Even if you've never stepped foot in a comic book store in your life, you don't have to sit out on the action. Comic book readers for iOS let anyone indulge in stories of adventure and superheroes. In honor of Comic-Con, we found 10 of the best -- some are free apps that let you buy comics as in-app purchases, and others are paid library apps where you upload digital comics you already own. But at least one should suit every true believer's needs. 1 of 10 ComicsComics, more commonly referred to as Comixology after its developer, is notable for one specific reason: it's the only place where you can buy comics by DC along with publishers, which makes it a must-have for comic fans. The free, universal app may not be the best software for reading, but when you've got the weight of the world's finest comic book library in your download store, that becomes a bit less important. Panelfly Free iPhone app Panelfly isn't flashy, and doesn't have the biggest library, but it's dependable. You probably won't want Panelfly to be your only iOS comics reader, but its a great addition to any list of comic apps. Its reading experience is one of the best on iPhone, and it gets bonus points for being perhaps the speediest of the stores we tested. Graphic.ly Graphic.ly, free for iPhone and iPad, is all about community. Each book has its own forum, and readers can share comments specific to each issue. Whether you thought the artist dropped the ball on one specific page or you want to discuss conspiracy theories about what's coming next, you can share on Graphic.ly. IDW Comics Let's face it: you're never going to need or want 10 different comic book apps taking up space on your iPad or iPhone. That makes it tough for the indies to compete, but free, universal IDW manages to make it work, offering a vast library of independent books. IDW specializes in licensed properties like G.I. Joe, Star Trek, Transformers and more unique fare like Locke & Key and Zombies vs Robots. Star Trek Comics Quite a few standalone comic apps are available for specific series; IDW Publishing in particular puts out several, like free, universal Star Trek Comics. These are a great solution if you're a huge fan of a single series and Read More

Which eBook reader app is best? 148apps deliberates. Dedicated devices like the Kindle remain popular among book lovers—but did you know that you can get your eBook fix on your iPhone or iPod, too? There are a ton of great apps out there, most of them free, which put all that eReading power right at your fingertips. Which one to use, however? In this roundup, we take a look at some of the top eReader contenders on the App Store. Scroll to the bottom to see which app we like best! Please note that this roundup focuses on the iPhone and iPod, not the iPad, though many of these apps are universal. Kindle Amazon’s Kindle app has a lot going for it. First and foremost is the Kindle Store, which is probably the most robust of all eBook stores and has relatively good prices. Kindle owners should be happy to know that you can transfer any Kindle eBooks attached to your account straight to your iPhone with this app! Reading ebooks in the Kindle app is also a breeze—the app’s interface is clean and simple, with some customizability and quick response times. I particularly like the free sample chapters. Keep in mind that Kindle books have their own DRM, so you can’t transfer them to other eReaders. FREE! Released: 2009-03-04 :: Category: Books Stanza Stanza was arguably the first successful eReader in the App Store, and it remains a contender. Stanza allows you to import your own eBooks from a variety of formats and offers the most customization options out of all the eReaders. (It was the App Store pioneer of the reversed black-screen-white-text option, which is beloved by those reading at night.) Additionally, Stanza makes it easy to access Project Gutenberg’s archives of free classics as well as integrating with a number of partner stores. Alas, Stanza lacks the coherency of the Kindle or Nook book stores (and their lower prices!). But if you want total control over your eBook library, Stanza remains the way to go. Note that Amazon now owns Stanza, giving them two strong contenders in the eReader ring! FREE! Released: 2008-07-13 :: Category: Books NOOK Formerly the B&N eReader, Barnes and Nobles’ NOOK eBook app is similar to the Kindle app in that it comes tied to B&N’s preexisting eBook store. So, if you own a NOOK, you can access your full B&N library from your Read More

By Rene Ritchie, Tuesday, Dec 28, 2010 | Have an iPad and curious which are the best, most must-have reading apps you need to check out? Want to really get the most out of that big 9.7-inch screen? Well read on for TiPb’s top 5 most recommended readings apps for your iPad. Note: Many of the reader apps are free but individual books, issues, etc. are available via in-app purchase. Those prices vary. Amazon’s Kindle eBook reader for iPad isn’t as good looking as Apple’s iBooks but simply has the largest library of titles and the most cross-platform support on the market. If you’re looking for a book chances are you’ll find it for the Kindle app, and if you buy it you’ll be able to read it on iPhone, iPad, Kindle devices, and other smartphones. Better still, if you stop reading it on one device, thanks to WhisperSync you can pick up right where you left off on another device. Universal app – download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link] Also check out: Since neither Apple nor anyone else has been able to provide a real, multi-publisher iTunes-like experience for magazines, it’s hard to pick one app as the best. Zinio at least comes close, with support for a wide variety of magazines across a wide array of devices. We’re still waiting for our next-generation iMags but this will hold traditionalists over until we get there. Universal app – download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link] Also check out: Press Reader is much like Zinio, an attempt to provide a one-stop shop, in this case for newspapers. It boasts 1700 international papers in its library. Again, we’re still waiting for Apple to pick up the subscription ball with an iNews-type solution, but in the meantime Press Reader gets the job done. Universal app – download once, use on iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad. [Free - iTunes link] Also check out: Comics by comixology is the closest thing to a unified comic books store on iOS. It helps that they also make the Marvel, DC, and Image apps using the same engine, but their own Comics apps is the only place to get stuff from all those publishers all in one place. The experience is the same across comics, Marvel, DC, and Image — browse or search for books, Read More

If you’ve been lucky enough to receive an iPhone 4 for Christmas, then you need to start downloading apps for it right now!  We’ve got two sets of 10 for you here, the first covering a general set of applications which every iPhone 4 owner would benefit from, and the second set suggesting ten apps for more specific needs. For All Users: Want Something Specific? Hopefully that has given new iPhone owners a few ideas!  If you’re an existing user and have an application you think a newcomer should download, then let us know in the comments! Read More

I’m a relative newcomer to iBooks (Free), but I already like it a lot more than Stanza on my iPhone 3GS. There’s something about the iBooks that just *feels* right, and the quality of the page turning animations always amazes me. I can’t say anything about the PDF and multimedia changes in this update because the books I read are in simple .epub format, but I do believe the app is just a little bit faster and more stable now. There used to be a very strange bug that would literally teleport me through my literature when I accidentally swiped the bottom of the screen (with the controls hidden — I’m not that stupid), but I haven’t encountered any of this madness in v1.1.1. One last note before I wrap this post up without a ribbon: if you had previously tried iBooks on an iPhone 3G or iPod Touch 2G and were disappointed by the incredible amount of lag, this newest version may be worth a shot. I fired it up on an iPod Touch 2G and felt at least comparable to the experience that Stanza offers. If you have more concrete information, please share it in the comments. Read More

Now that all the commercial e-book distributors have made their iPad apps available, it’s time for an overview of how each app performs, along with their pluses and minuses. One of my primary goals with the iPad was reducing the amount of paper clutter in my house. As a voracious reader, my home library was quickly approaching the need for a Dewey decimal system. While Andy Ihnatko is known for living a year of digital media last year, for a while now I’ve been trying to reach that goal myself. The good news is, the iPad makes it very easy to purchase and consume digital media. I’ve had no eye strain issues with the iPad, having read over 10 books on it since its launch. Neither have I found the weight of the device to be a big issue — however I usually keep it propped on something. Reading outdoors is a problem with the glare, though, and there’s no way I’d want to bring my iPad to a beach. The bad news is, there’s really not one app that’s perfect — especially if you have non-DRM e-books you also want to read in the same app with DRM’d content. Because each store’s content ranges from fantastic to abysmal, it can also be hard to find a single-stop app. However, if you are of the mind to strip the DRM yourself from books you’ve legally obtained, it is possible to get them all into iBooks. So, here’s how I found each app to hold up. While many of these apps also have iPhone versions, for this article I’m going to be focusing on the iPad. iBooks is Apple’s e-reader. It can read books purchased from the iBookstore, as well as non-DRMd epub-formatted books and PDFs. I found the app to be visually pleasing, and little touches like the page turning animation heightened my enjoyment of reading on the app — it’s trivial, I know, but the little touches add up. iBooks also keeps the PDF and e-books on separate bookshelves, which I found easy to find content with instead of hunting through a large selection. I did find the PDF reader to be slightly wonky, though. I did an initial sync of about 20 PDFs, but the first time I used the “open with” feature in iOS to open a PDF, it removed all the existing PDFs, leaving just the imported Read More