2010: The Year in Digital Comics

Robot 6 @ Comic Book Resources: "What a difference a year makes! A year ago today, the iPad not only didn’t exist, it hadn’t been officially announced yet. People read comics on their iPhones and iPod Touches, but the screens were too small for a good experience (and therefore, no one wanted to spend much money on them). The iPad changed all that, with a big, full-color screen that is just a tad smaller than a standard comics page (and a tad larger than a standard manga page), and publishers started taking digital comics seriously. The distribution was already in place, thanks to the iPhone—comiXology, iVerse, Panelfly—and now the publishers not only jumped on board with those platforms but also started developing their own apps. ... "

Apple Updates iBooks - Adds AirPrint, Collections

iPad Atlas - CNET Reviews: "Apple has updated its popular digital-book reader iOS App, iBooks, now version 1.2, to include support for AirPrint, PDF and notes printing, Collections, and new fully illustrated children's books and art books available for download in the iBookstore. Apple's iBooks allows you to download digital versions of your favorite books directly to your iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch. iBooks 1.2 includes the ability to print notes or PDFs using Apple's newly released AirPrint functionality. With everything going digital, it's nice to see you can still get your notes back on paper. iBooks 1.2 also includes new functionality (must have iOS 4.2.1 installed) to allow more words per page by automatically hyphenating text."

Jouve Group Announces Direct Online eBook Conversion for Apple’s iBookstore

Press Release via Business Wire: "PARIS--As the global leader in digital eBook conversion, Jouve has developed an innovative online client platform for Apple’s iBookstore, making its industrial conversion solutions available to publishers of all sizes. A high-performance digital conversion process that’s personalized and 100% compliant with Apple specifications. Jouve now offers publishers an easy way to directly convert their catalog to standard or enhanced eBooks for the iBookstore. The iBookstore is included with the free iBooks app available for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch. This simple solution fits the digital needs of all types of publishers, with production costs starting from just $19.99 per book. ..."

Kindle's Secret Sibling: Amazon's Android Tablet

Jason Perlow, ZDNet: "Amazon is building its own App Store, but for what device? We think we have a good idea — a secret Android Tablet. Yesterday, in my piece about the lack of successful Android-based competitors to the iPod Touch, I touched a little bit upon what companies actually had the potential to launch an actual iPod Touch competitor that might actually resonate with consumers. One of the ones I mentioned was Amazon, which as we all know is kicking ass and taking names in the ebook and e-reader market. Amazon has all the value-added services that would be necessary in order to launch a mass-market Android device — be it a media player like the iPod Touch, a 7-inch slate like the Samsung Galaxy Tab, or even a full-sized 10-inch tablet like the iPad."

And Now, iBooks Audio and Video Support

From Mac Observer:

Along with iTunes 9.2.1, Apple released iBooks 1.1.1 for the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch late on Monday. The update for Apple’s ebook reader app added support for ebooks that include audio and video content.

Version 1.1.1 also added the ability to double-tap images to zoom in, improved performance when reading PDF documents, added the ability to look up English word definitions in books that don’t include a specified language, and improved overall stability and performance.

"Green Eggs and Ham" eBook for iPhone and iPad Released as the 100th App From Oceanhouse Media

Press Release:

Oceanhouse Media, Inc. today announced the release of three new Dr. Seuss eBooks for the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch. The best-selling children’s classic Green Eggs and Ham, and early reader favorite Hop on Pop are both now available in the App Store for $3.99 each. In addition, Oceanhouse Media released the Dr. Seuss short-story Gertrude McFuzz, available for only $1.99. All Dr. Seuss eBooks are designed as universal apps that can be used on the iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch for no additional charge. These apps also include special high-resolution graphics for the iPhone 4 Retina display. ...

Oceanhouse Media, creators of the award-winning Dr. Seuss apps, reached the milestone of publishing their 100th app with the release of Green Eggs and Ham. “We love developing for these mobile platforms” said Michel Kripalani, President of Oceanhouse Media. “We are incredibly excited about the rate of iPad acceptance and what that means to the future of learning.”

The Cat in the Hat was recently awarded the Parent’s Choice Silver Medal for Mobile Apps, and four Dr. Seuss apps received Editor’s Choice picks from Children’s Technology Review in June 2010. Over 300,000 Dr. Seuss apps have been sold since the release of the first app, Grinchmas!, in November of 2009. ...