_iPad App Review – Books

Like the previous reviews, the topic today is Books.  I will be looking at Alice in Wonderland, Disney Digital Books and Marvel Comics.

Alice in Wonderland

Here is another app that got a lot of hype.  You can read a story and move objects around.  Is that really ground breaking?  It is basically a picture book with areas that you can either swipe/drag or rotate and they move.  I think pop up books and scratch and sniff are more interactive then this.  From a layout and design perspective it is pretty cool.  Reading to your kids the book also is nice since they can interact with some objects.

Disney Digital Books

Every once in a while someone hits it out of the park.  Disney did just that.  The Toy Story version of the digital book is pure awesome.  Simple animation makes the book come alive.  Read along with highlighting the words helps the little ones read.  Ability to record my own voice so my kids can hear me read the book to them is awesome.  Add some games, have some of the pages ‘color-able’ and you got a great app!

Marvel Comics

I will say this first, I am a biased Marvel Comic fan.  With that said, this app is awesome.  The store is a simple lift from the Appstore (looks identical) but that is not the point you should care about.  Nor the ability to download a ton of old and new comics.  The point you need to pay attention to is once you start reading or I should say ‘living’ the comic.  The comic view provides a traditional read of the full page but you can also dive into each of the letter boxes and read the comic that way.  You eye is no longer jumping to the action box half way down the page but your involved in the intense story of the box.  Swipe and it animates to the next box.  Nice job.