Classics Review: Classic Novels in your Pocket!
-Beautiful interface
-Easy to use
-Cannot download new books
Over the past few years many eBook readers have been released. These have changed how some people read books. Instead of carrying around a heavy stack of books they can use a small device with hundreds of their favorite titles. What if you could read eBooks books without buying a new device? If you own an iPhone or iPod Touch, then you’re in luck.
Classics is a new book reader for the iPhone and iPod Touch that is meant exclusively for reading popular classic novels. Currently the application includes 14 different titles ranging from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea; but more are planned in future updates.
When you open the application you are greeted by a beautiful wooden bookshelf. Here you can slide up and down to view all the books, drag books organize them, or simply tap to start reading one. Books have nice, cream-colored pages which are very easy on the eyes. You can change pages by swiping, or simply tapping the right or left side of the screen. As you turn the page, the pages actually look like they are flipping, but if this annoys you you can turn it off in the options. If you want to skip to a different chapter, just tap the button in the top right to view a chapter list. You can also return to the main bookshelf by tapping the icon in the top left. As you return to the bookshelf a bookmark slides in onto the current page.
Although Classics is a great app, it still has it’s issues. First off, some people might not want just classic books, so this is not the application for them. Also, currently there isn’t a way to download extra books, and users will have to depend on the developer to release updates including more. If you love reading classic books and like a nice interface, then you might want to try out Classics. If not, you might want to try out Stanza, a free application that allows users to download hundreds of books. Stanza is also available in iTunes.
Classics is currently available in iTunes for $0.99.
I just got this yesterday, and so far I really like it. I love the interface, and the text is a good size for reading. The color and texture really does make it easy to read; I was afraid at first that it would be too stressing to read that much on my iPhone screen, but it’s not that bad. Definitely worth a buck! I am looking forward to seeing what other books come in the updates, though.
Looks very good. It would be a killer app if it could read pdb files or probably other electronic book formats.
I love this app. The text size and colour as well as the background colour make it very easy to read. As soon as I saw The Time Machine as one of the books I bought it straight away.
I would like to see the ability to add your own books so that Classics becomes the default e-book reader on the iPhone just because of it’s super simple and beautiful layout.
It gives you an illusion that you are actually reading a book and as such makes you forget you’re using an electronic device. I believe this app single handedly helps to destroy the stigma associated with e-book readers.
Whether or not someone “wants” to read classics is an issue in itself, but I’ll let that one slide.
Consider this: the unwilling may well be *required* to read the classics for high school or college classes. I’ll bet that the Mac-addicted among them would welcome a portable digital text. Can you say “youth demographic?”
Take a look at the name. The app is called CLASSICS implying that it is an app about something classic of which all these books are.
Judging the app on the basis of something that it does not pertain to is like saying motor oil is crap because you can’t cook with it.
Judge the app on what it does not what you should think it does.