iPad: Bringing Comics To Life Again

Posted by on Dec 5, 2011 in iPad, iPad App | 0 comments

During my childhood and teenage years comics were a big thing for me and if the truth were to be told it is still a big thing today. Just as my wife who constantly complains about the boxes of old comics in the garage.

Even though comic book publishers have been trying to enter the digital market for some time the bloated technology options made it almost impossible. Today, with the iPad and other tablet devices comic fans like me can once again relive the joy of reading comics.

I know I’m not alone because the sales of iPad apps for comic books reveal that thousands plan to enjoy their comics on their iPad too. Developer comiXology developed and Comics app which comes preloaded in the Kindle Fire. Readers can easily scroll from panel to panel if there are viewing from a smaller screen. You can also purchase new issues with the app. From sappy back in the day favorite, Archie, to detective Chew the titles over a wide range that will make it easy to find something you’ll love.

Comic developers believe that the majority of the app’s users are “old timers” like me who are looking to experience the comics we love in a new way but new comers and getting on board too. As the sales continue to increase more and more titles are being added and publishers are trying to make the issues available for every platform.

Marvel, a publisher of Spider-Man, X-Men and others are taking a leap in the right direction by printing codes in the physical copies so that purchasers can download a digital copy for free. The plan to do the reverse – when you purchase a digital copy you’ll get a coupon for the physical copy – in the near future.

What’s left for the future of comics? It seems that some multimedia effects like video may be something we’ll see sometime soon. Digital comics have been welcomed with open arms and that is a plus especially to publishers old and new. They can test out new titles and see how well they’re accepted before taking to publishing.

I have embraced digital and I hope that I never have to go back but many still prefer leafing through their paper comics. I can back this statement. Just ask the teens down the road who were only too happy to take ownership of the boxes of comics in my garage.

Here is a list of top comic apps:

Comics by comiXology

They offer a good selection which includes some of the biggest and best in addition to exclusive DC releases. The panel to panel display makes viewing convenient for smaller screens.

Graphic.ly

They offer titles from smaller publishers with innovative titles. Although it takes some work to navigate through the storefront the community which provides a lot of reviews will point you in the right direction. Content: Look for lots of small publishers with edgy titles.

Comics+ by iVerse

They provide a much, much smaller selection of titles when compared to other apps. They do not provide panel to panel viewing so viewing is a bit backward.

Free Children’s Books For The iPad

Posted by on Jun 3, 2010 in Free ebooks for ipad, iPad, iPad Downloads | 0 comments

One of the joys of owning an ipad so far has been reading, not only for myself but for my three year old son. He just loves looking at the images on the ipad and the almost realistic appearance of turning each page like you would for a book. So far I have downloaded a lot of children’s books and comics, I don’t think we will ever be able to go through all the titles. At least we will never get bored

If you need a free service for getting all sorts of FREE children’s books, then I have good news for you. ePub Bud, a non-profit service, allows you to download all sorts of children’s book for free. More than that, if you have always dreamed of publishing books for children then you can upload your book to their database. They even promise to convert your books into epub format free of charge. How cool is that?

Whether you are looking for books to read bedtime stories, convert your files to epub format or get published, epub may be right for you. Go ahead and check them out.

Apple iBook Application

Posted by on May 27, 2010 in iPad, iPad Downloads | 1 comment

I have seen a few iPad “newbies” asking questions about the iBook application. To clear things up, the app is not included with the iPad but can be downloaded for free from the iTunes store and to get you started a Winnie the Pooh book is included.

How To Use The iBook App?

Once downloaded you will use the app in two ways.  There are two icons, the one on the right will give you access to your personal library as you develop it. Currently, my selections can almost rival a small Barnes and Noble due to all my downloads from myPadMedia.  So this icon is like a shortcut to your selections.

The second icon, located on the left leads to the iBook store where you can pay for each book individually if you can afford to. More about the ibook store in a minute.

iPad As An ereader….

The views expressed are mine only, I have seen views that are contrary to mine and that is quite okay. I have never purchased a kindle but I do have an ipad. I have been asked time and time again if the iPad should be purchased instead of ereader. I would never advise purchasing an iPad just for use as an ereader since the iPad can do so much more. If an ereader is what you need then I advise that you purchase a Kindle or some other alternative.

Now, in order to fairly and without prejudice respond to questions about using the Kindle or iPad for reading I borrowed my best friend’s Kindle for a few days. I can honestly say that there are things that I love about both but if I had to choose just one I will go with the iPad.

I like that size of the iPad display, I like that I can view graphics in full color, especially my recipes. I love the almost 3d look and the way that pages flip, it still gives me good shivers. I like how I can change the display from portrait to landscape and how a light tap on the edge of the page flips each page. Mind you sometimes the slightest tap will turn the pages before you can get through with it! I am still working on that, it could be related to the sensitivity at which I set the display.

The iBookStore

From the ibook store you can get a few free downloads but all the very good books can be purchased at a cost of $12.00 – $15.00 per title. You can browse by category and pay and download the books directly. You can find a lot of bestsellers in there and students can find some textbooks, I imagine with time this will grow.

The iBook store really is enticing and I do browse from time to time just to see if there are any titles that I like.

My conclusing and final recommendations

If you plan to do light reading and will use your iPad for other purposes then by all means go ahead and get the iPad.