ScrollMotion will be launching an e-book reader for the iPhone that is specifically targeted to children and teens. The company has already been successful in the adult market. Readers can look forward to Beverly Cleary, Stephanie Meyer, Christopher Paolini and Neil Gaiman among others.
I’ve been watching for an app like this, since the Kindle does not do colored pictures and often fails at providing images and words in the right combinations on a page. We will see what happens. Reading to children will continue to be done with books for a good long time.
Of course, I am completely biased towards the physical book. I do wonder how it can possibly be good for children’s reading to force individuals to purchase all the books their children read. I know families who literally read hundreds of picture books a month. How can those super-reading families ever afford to support that reading habit?
I also worry about families who do not have iPhones or other advanced phones or even computers in their homes. Where does our swiftly moving to Kindles and e-books leave them? Don’t we as parents and librarians need to make sure that everyone is reading? I refuse to give up on that part of my passion for books, that they are an equalizer, a force for community, and a pleasurable way to learn.
Waking Brain Cells 
I hate to admit it, but I have been reading the odd bedtime story to my kids from websites I surfed on my iPhone. It’s been a great way to fill in some gaps in my nursery rhyme and fable collections.
I think that the cost of smart phones will go down over time as adoption increases (I just hope the data plans will go down too). I think that in the future mini laptops and smart phones will be accessible to more people than now and as common place as cell phones are now.
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I think that’s great! Exactly how it should be with ebooks and paper books being used in convenient places. My problem is with people who see ebooks as replacing books in the near future. I just don’t see that happening. Though I am a librarian and definitely biased!
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I share the same sentiment about the importance of being able to read without going broke while trying to do so! (That’s why I created http://www.freechildrenstories.com, in fact — at least it covers people with internet access).
How exactly is this iPhone app targeted to children…is it just a difference of featured stories, or is the interface itself radically different?
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Congrats! I, for one, am working on adapting my own YA books as apps for the iPhone. Keep an eye out for The Prefab Four and Mick ‘n Josh – coming soon to an iPhone near you 🙂
FYI… even as a writer, I am a huge fan of the Kindle and Kindle iPhone app.
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I don’t think ebooks will replace paper any time soon. You just don’t get that same warm and cozy feeling when curling up with a Kindle or iphone!
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My wife turned 32 today – being the avid reader that she is I thought the Kindle would be the perfect gift. Boy was I right! To compliment the Kindle I got her the pebbled Fuschia cover – a perfect match! When she opened the package she wasn’t sure what the Kindle was or what it was all about. I knew she had an Amazon account so when she turned it on it immediately offers the tutoral or registration. She chose to register the Kindle – it took 30 seconds – so easy – so fast. A lifetime 3G subscription paid for by Amazon – no monthly fees and access to over 300,000 books and counting….a readers dream come true. All this and it’s packed into a light weight just the right size reader. Easy on the eyes, font size can be changed and the book will even read to you if you want it too! What she liked at first was you can sample books – she had been looking to purchase a book and looked it up. She was able to download the sample which is usually the first few pages of the book and read it. If you want to purchase from there it’s a click away. The power cable is pretty neat I have to say. Plug one end into the Kindle and plug the other either into a standard wall outlet or your computer. Both will charge the Kindle and when connected to the computer you can transfer information to the Kindle like PDF files or other content. There is an amber LED which turns green when charging is complete. No idea what battery life is like because I just gave it to her. Being a tech geek I was impressed – I am not much of a reader though I really should read more. However, my wife was so happy and amazed at the gift which was so cool and creative. Get it for your girl guys – if she likes to read she will love it. Doesn’t have to be books only – magazines, newspapers, blogs, etc are ALL here! The subscription prices and book prices are really good from what my wife tells me. I have read in other reviews the negatives – I guess if you owned a Kindle 1 it is hard to transfer content to this new one – this doesn’t apply to my wife. Most of the negatives just didn’t apply to us because they are negatives from previous Kindle owners. She can store up to 1500 books on this baby and Amazon stores copies for you on their server – you can’t go wrong here. I’m really impressed and happy with my purchase.
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