Chapter 9. Books and Huge-ish Documents
The Skim
Commercial Books
Yes, indeed, Apple has missed the boat. It could not have possibly missed the boat any worse if it were standing at a bus stop. In a city where there's no bus system. Y'see, a book reader is every bit as key to the iPhone and iPod Touch experience as almost any other kind of media reader. Yet there's no built-in support for it.
The iPhone is designed to be the computer and the media library that you carry with you when you don't think you'll need 'em. Is Apple suggesting that America's transportation system is now running at such stellar peak efficiency that we're never stuck somewhere waiting for either (a) a departure announcement or (b) the cold, sweet kiss of death, whichever comes first?
(In case someone from Apple is reading I should make it clear: this is most assuredly not the case.)
The iPhone has a brilliant big crisp screen and the ability to turn pages with just a flick of the finger. It's a natural for reading books. True, if I'm going to be reading for a few hours, I'd rather curl up on the sofa with a thick paperback than a slim iPhone. But when I have 20 minutes to kill in a dentist's waiting room, or I want to proofread a long report on the train ride to work, the iPhone is an ideal tool.
Well, Apple might not be interested in making money by selling books for the iPhone. But others are certainly eager to ...
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