iTunes 7.7 provides ebooks for the iPhone and iTouch
By Susan Wilson
Many People scoff at ebooks. They argue that no one reads anymore (cough*Steve Jobs* cough), and that no one will give up paper books for electronic versions. So why is iTunes 7.7 offering ebooks and ebook readers for the iPhone and iTouch?
According to MobileRead, you need firmware 2.0 in order to get ebooks on your iTouch or iPhone. Then, using the App Store in iTunes 7.7, you can download books in eReader format from Fictionwise or eReader, which is owned by Fictionwise. If you prefer to get eReader directly from eReader, you can get it here.
Fictionwise and eReader of two of the largest and oldest ebook stores on the web. Both stores carry extensive titles in fiction, nonfiction, sci-fi, and fantasy. Free ebooks are also available at both sites.
Another ebook reader for the iPhone comes from AppEngines. Rather than download the reading software and then different books to read, AppEngines approach has you downloading both the software and book each time you want to read one of their books.
Future ereaders that should be available for the iPhone and iTouch are MobiRead and stanza. MobiRead has already stated that their iPhone version is not ready yet.
With AppEngines, your books will show up as applications on your screen, which makes library management a pain. MobiRead and eReader have library functions that allow you to sort your books in a variety of ways.
Now the major problem with getting the reader apps and books is trying to download iTunes 7.7. Going to the download page is currently not working, although my current iTunes version says 7.7 is available for upgrade. Funny, but the Apple download site doesn’t seem to have new version to download.
Contrary to popular opinion, there are some of us that like reading, and reading ebooks in particular. Being able to shift from one book to another easily without carrying around multiple paperbacks is a plus. Going on vacation no longer requires dragging along 20 pounds of books and documents for reading at the beach or in the mountains.
Ebooks on the iPhone are said to be very easy to read especially with the large size of the iPhone screen.
I don’t have an iPhone because my Blackberry offers all the features I need plus the ereader apps that I use frequently. Now the increased screen size for reading would be a plus. Hmm.
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July 11th, 2008
I love my ebooks. I used to have a wall of books 10ft high and 10ft wide with just my sf novels. It’s now down to just one shelf of books that I can’t get as ebooks. When I go traveling, reading ebooks is what I prefer to do. I currently use a palm tx to do this, with a 4gb card stuffed to the gills with books, with each book taking up a meg each, that’s a lot of books. If I ever find myself waiting, I’m never without some form of entertainment and to me, books are the best.
July 11th, 2008
I love my ebooks. I used to have a wall of books 10ft high and 10ft wide with just my sf novels. It’s now down to just one shelf of books that I can’t get as ebooks. When I go traveling, reading ebooks is what I prefer to do. I currently use a palm tx to do this, with a 4gb card stuffed to the gills with books, with each book taking up a meg each, that’s a lot of books. If I ever find myself waiting, I’m never without some form of entertainment and to me, books are the best.
July 11th, 2008
I love my ebooks. I used to have a wall of books 10ft high and 10ft wide with just my sf novels. It’s now down to just one shelf of books that I can’t get as ebooks. When I go traveling, reading ebooks is what I prefer to do. I currently use a palm tx to do this, with a 4gb card stuffed to the gills with books, with each book taking up a meg each, that’s a lot of books. If I ever find myself waiting, I’m never without some form of entertainment and to me, books are the best.
August 24th, 2008
Having taught myself to read at 4 I have never in my life left home without a book. At 35 my personal library consisted of almost 500 books. Then I discovered eBooks. My personal library is now something over 25,000 books and I never leave home without at least 1500 of them in my handbag on a 1gb card on my pda. How did I ever survive without eBooks? (Also really handy for boring meetings.)