Daily Bits

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5 iPhone Apps that Let You Read and Download eBooks

A new research found out that book apps have taken over the lead as the most downloaded apps in the iTunes Apps Store over game apps. This means that more iPhone users are using their Apple device to read ebooks. If you would like to the do the same, you will need an eReader app.  We got five of the best of these eReader apps for the iPhone listed down.

eReader (free)  – This app has been in the Apps Store since 2008, and it could well be the most downloaded ereader app for the iPhone. It has around 100,000 ebooks on its catalog right now. The app has some exciting features as well including – cover flow, thumbnails, speed enhancements, improved access to other ebook sites and definitely more. (Itunes Link)

B&N eReader (free) – Before Barnes & Noble worked on its Nook ereader, there was the B&N eReader for the iPhone. This app works with B&N’s online ebook store, so you could purchase ebooks directly and download it to your iPhone. (iTunes Link)

Stanza (free) – This iPhone ereader gives you access to various sites offering both free and paid ebooks. It supports Project Gutenberg, Feedbooks and other sources of ebooks. It also allows you to purchase ebooks from Fictionwise eReader store and other online bookstores. Stanza has been the most favorited ereader app for the iPhone since its release in March 2009. (iTunes Link)

Classics ($2.99) – Don’t be discouraged by this app’s price because it’s features and the plethora of classic ebooks that it contains are definitely worth the bucks. Classics features 3D flipping of pages, bookmarking and other nifty features that mimics reading of a real-life book. (iTunes Link)

Kindle for iPhone (free) – Amazon’s Kindle iPhone app allows you to read Kindle books on your iPhone. It’s a pretty good app, however you can only purchase Kindle books from your Mac or PC and transfer it later to your iPhone.  It has loads of features as well with the pinch feature of the iPhone working while you are browsing pages of ebooks.  (iTunes Link)

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Barnes & Nobles Challenges Amazon’s Kindle Store

I’ve been closely watching the online buzz generated by Barnes & Nobles announcement regarding their eBookstore. When I first read about it, I never thought it would create that huge noise. But it did. And the reason of course is because of the fact that it is being touted as Amazon’s biggest rival yet. For one thing, B&N is one of the major players in the traditional book publishing/distribution market. [Read more…]

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Amazon Releases a Kindle iPhone App, But Why?

It was only a few days ago when the whole tech land was disturbed by the release of Amazon’s second generation e-book reader – the Kindle 2. Some of us may still be getting over the buzz created by the Kindle 2 and here comes Amazon again announcing the new Kindle for iPhone application.

The Kindle for the iPhone application tries to mimic what the Kindle does. By installing the application on your iPhone, you can practically purchase kindle electronic files (books, magazines, and newspapers) from the Amazon Kindle Store and have it directly sent to your iPhone. But that is not without any limitation. The process works only if you are within the coverage area of the Kindle’s Whispernet.

Now, that may be appalling for some especially since the iPhone unlike the Kindle is available worldwide. But of course, there is always a walk around. Like if you own a Kindle but you’re outside the Whispernet coverage area, you can always purchase Kindle materials from Amazon and have it downloaded to your PC. This issue is true only for those outside the Whispernet area. But for those within the coverage area, the beauty of the Kindle for the iPhone application is the fact that if you subscribe to a blogs or newspapers, updates and new contents can be automatically push to your iPhone. I don’t know about you, but for me that is absolutely awesome, right?

But the reason for the question in this post’s title has nothing to do with the coverage area but rather on a larger perspective. Is there really a need for a Kindle application for the iPhone? Have Amazon thought about this? What would be the implication of the Kindle iPhone application to the sales of the Amazon Kindle? What is Amazon really promoting, it’s catalog of paid electronic publications or the Kindle.

Certainly, those who are contemplating about getting a Kindle to use it for reading e-books might be having second thoughts now. I mean, what’s the use of getting a Kindle if you can read Kindle books, magazines and other materials on your iPhone?

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Free Linux eBooks

A couple of months ago I made the switch from Windows to Linux, and I doubt I will ever look back. Sure, sometimes business endeavors force you to use Windows applications, but other than that Linux gets the job perfectly done.

If you are considering to migrate to Linux as well, or if you have already been using it for a while but want to improve your knowledge, you might want to check the free Linux eBooks library on Homelinux.org.

You will find pretty much everything you need, from tuning the performance to shell scripts and kernel programming. Below you will find my favorite ones: