QBook, a new app line for the iPhone and iPad, looks to fill the void left by Apple’s decidedly ordinary ebook offering, by offering interactive stories for children. It’s got a major publisher backing it, so read on to see why this could beat iBooks for kids.
Publishing giant Penguin has got together with Kiwi Media to back QBook, a series of apps for iPhone, iPod touch and iPad, with Windows 7, Symbian and Android versions due in May.
iBooks: Apple iPad gets an ebook store
The QBook iPhone apps let kids swipe to turn over pages, touch words and phrases to hear them read out loud, and colour in pictures and play games dotted throughout the ebooks.
QBook is currently offering two titles, Sebastian’s Tail and Milly, Molly and the Tree Hut, but more than 50 more titles are planned, and Kiwi Media is in discussion with other publishers, including HarperCollins and Random House, which could prove controversial since the former is a partner for Apple’s own iBooks store.
It’s a nice idea on an iPhone, but we can see QBook really standing out on the larger iPad: the iBooks shown at Apple’s press event last week weren’t exactly interactive, so we can easily see QBook filling in for young’uns with short attention spans.
The first two QBook iPhone apps are available on the App Store now.
Out TBC | £TBC | Kiwi Media
