TextOnPhone: 20,000 eBooks on your iPhone, iPod Touch

I've been so busy reading eBooks on my UMPC of late that TextOnPhone somehow slipped past my radar. This web service is compatible with both the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch only, but sounds like it really leverages the Safari platform nicely. TextOnPhone offers over 20,000 texts for your reading pleasure, plus it offers advanced features like text search, personal notes and the ability to remember where you left off the last time you were reading with it. You can also read in either portrait or landscape, plus there's a one touch button for e-mailing a page to a friend. Presumably, most of the titles will be Public Domain content, but maybe the service will show Apple that people do indeed want to carry, read and enjoy eBooks. If it doesn't, I'm sure someone will take advantage of the existing iPhone SDK. *cough* Fictionwise *cough*

I spent about 15 minutes trying to connect to TextOnPhone, but the servers might be clogged because I'm getting time-outs on my iPhone. Could be due to the news that IntoMobile is reporting: TextOnPhone is enhancing their platform for authors, readers and publishers. I'm looking forward to giving this a try once they're done enhancing and get back to serving pages. ;)

Comments

[Alslayer]

You still haven't talked much about reading on the asus eeepc. How do you hold it when you read? How do you turn pages?

[Kevin C. Tofel]

My eReader experience on the Eee PC hasn't given me much to say. I definitely prefer to read books on my UMPC because the device is smaller, yet has the same screen size and resolution as the Eee. You can rotate the screen on the Eee, but I don't see much value in holding it like a book, so I read with it in the standard landscape mode.

Thanks to my recent moving (physically) and remapping of the Shift and arrow keys, I have an easy way to flip pages with one finger at the bottom right of the keyboard. Otherwise, I find the experience to be pretty much the same.

[J]

Thanks for the mention of TextOnPhone.

We do have a growing library of contemporary content, including a new partnership with the Int'l Thriller Writers to provide free works from their 600+ authors (check out Lee Child's story), and a new science fiction and fantasy section.

Sorry to hear you experienced connection issues, everything is running fine now. Might have been the launch of our new Facebook app :)

J

[Lorie Ghamy]

EBOOK FREE APP FOR IPHONE

On the iPhone (jailbroken), you can install the excellent Ebook app (free). Size of font, text black on white or reverse, slide bar or arrow to navigate... Really easy to use...

Some books can be transferred by Installer App, but with freewares like iBrick (an others), you can add ebooks from your hard drive.

HTMLDOC FOR SEPARATE HTML FILES

For slicing HTML books for easier use of iPhone Ebook App, you can use the free version of HTMLDOC. This appp for Windows is able to convert HTML file - or direct from URL Links - in separate HTML, or JPEG or PDF files...

HTMLDOC available here :

http://users.tpg.com.au/naffall/htmldoc.html

User guide here :

http://www.easysw.com/htmldoc/htmldoc.html

GUTENBERG PROJECT : WIDE FREE LIBRARY

And for a wide free library, go to Gutenberg Project

www.gutenberg.org

[Lorie Ghamy]

Just a mistake - I apologize ! - the app for iPhone is Book and not eBook. Available here :

http://code.google.com/p/iphoneebooks/wiki/Installation

A pic of the Book app :

http://mikecane.files.wordpress.com/2007/09/books.jpg