Upgrade Released for iPhone E-book Software

By Calvin Reid -- Publishers Weekly, 8/13/2008 8:07:00 AM

When Apple released its new 3G iPhone and iPod Touch devices in early July, Fictionwise, an e-book retailer and technology developer, released the first version of a free e-book reader that allows users to read and store branded e-books on their iPhone devices. Fictionwise has now released eReader 1.1, the first of several upgrades of the eReader software for iPhone that will give the reader greater functionality.

Stephen Pendergast, cofounder of Fictionwise, told PW Daily that in the month since Apple released the new 3G iPhone on July 11, Fictionwise’s eReader software for the iPhone and iPod Touch has been installed on 130,000 devices. In addition, out of that group, about 35,000 have purchased e-books for the reader from Fictionwise.com. “That’s about one in four or five. We’re pleased,” said Pendergast.

Looking to capitalize on the iPhone’s multimedia capabilities (“the iPhone blows away all other digital reading devices,” said Pendergast), Fictionwise released a barebones version of the free software on July 11. The new eReader 1.1 upgrade will allow users to download books from any site that sells or offers e-books in the eReader format, rather than just from Fictionwise. The eReader’s PDB (Palm Database) format was originally developed for use on Palm devices, and the franchise was acquired by Fictionwise in early 2008. Fictionwise also offers e-books in every format available.

eReader format titles can be found at sites like Manybooks.net and Diesel-ebooks, which offer thousands of free public-domain and purchasable e-book titles optimized for the iPhone. Other new features of eReader 1.1 include reverse-video (white text on black background) for night reading; better sorting for the eReader library; the ability to lock screen orientation (for people who read in bed on their sides, said Pendergast); the ability to switch between “tap” and “swipe” page turning; uploading personal content in the PBD format; and other new features.

Pendergast said another free upgrade, eReader 1.2, will be released in about two weeks. The upgrade will also offer “new usability features," said Pendergast. "We’re getting great feedback and comments from iPhone users and the next upgrade will also offer lots of stuff to help people use their devices.”