Amazon Kindle 2 is the Handheld Ebook Reader that everyone is talking about. The new release includes some great new features and enhancements, including a sleeker design and faster book downloads (for more details about Kindle 2 click here). Unfortunately, Kindle 2 is still only available in North America, but iPhone and iPod Touch owners should not despair, as there are a number of Kindle 2 alternatives for your Apple device.
There are quite a few decent ebook readers currently available for your iPhone, including eReader, Bookshelf and Wattpad, but my personal favourite is Stanza, by a company called Lexcycle.
Stanza on the iPhone 3G
Stanza lets you read electronic books (all major e-book file formats are accepted) through a sleek, intuitive interface.
You can either choose to download a book from a HUGE database of FREE books online, or you can transfer a book from your PC or Mac to your iPhone over Wi-Fi.
Downloading books really is a breeze, but I find the book transfer to be a little bit of a pain and hopefully this will be something that the developer will improve in a future release.
Once you have downloaded or transferred your choice of reading material to the iPhone, you are able to add a book cover, so that you can scroll through your library in a similar way to how you would scroll through your album covers on the iPod part of your phone. And then you are ready to start reading.
You turn pages in Stanza, by simply swiping your finger from right to left across the screen, as if you were flicking a page. Alternatively, you can tap on the right for the next page. And when you close down Stanza, it will automatically bookmark the last page you read, so that it is all ready for you the next time you open the application and read that book.
The fonts on Stanza are very good. You are able to read a book comfortably, without hurting your eyes and you are also able to turn on a “night interface”, which is basically white text on a black background.
Stanza is simple, but effective. It just works. Oh and did I mention that it is FREE! Go and get Stanza now, this is definitely a Must Have App for both the iPhone and iPod Touch.
Rednose Day 2009 falls on Friday 13th this year and is another chance for us all to raise money for charity through Comic Relief. So what are you waiting for, get over to the Rednose Day 2009 -- Do Something Funny For Money website and see how you can help out!
I grew up watching Comic Relief each year and remember our greatest comedians reporting on some of the saddest and most moving news ever seen on British Television. Perhaps the footage that always stands out for me is when the Big Yin, Billy Connelly, gave a report from Mozambique, in 1986.
As well as the serious issues reported on both at home and in Africa, there is also a lot of silliness, such as Dawn French’s infamous Hugh Grant kiss and Connelly dancing around Piccadilly Circus naked.
And of course there is comedy, lots of comedy! There have been some superb sketches over the years, and none better, in my opinion, than this superb piece of film by Ricky Gervais, from Comic Relief 2007.
So, don’t forget to watch Gervais, Tennant, French, Henry, Ross and co. on Friday 13th March, from 7pm on BBC1 and BBC2 and give some money to charity!
If there is one celebrity voice that I could never tire of listening to, then it must be that of Mr. Stephen Fry. Whether hosting the marvellous QI or recanting his humorous anecdotes, while being interviewed on countless chat shows, he is always worth a listen. So I was thrilled to discover Stephen’s website, The New Adventures of Mr. Stephen Fry, especially when I realised that there were free podcasts to subscribe to.
Now, Stephen Fry’s Podgrams are basically nothing more that the unscripted ramblings of the former Black Adder star, but boy are his ramblings worth listening to. I expected intelligent conversation, witticisms, Orwellian quotes, Apple Fanboyisms and of course comedy, which there is plenty of, but I was quite surprised at the openness and honesty of his podcasts.
Highlights of the Podgram series include Fry’s often moving story of when he broke his arm, while shooting a documentary in South America, and how a seemingly minor injury totally disrupted his life and busy schedule. On the occasion when the Podgrams are scripted, we are treated to gems such as the superb speech he gave about what the BBC should do with the revenue from the TV Licenses, and my personal favourite podcast, simply entitled Language.
So what are you waiting for? Go and subscribe to Stephen Fry’s Podcast – Podgrams, available for FREE on iTunes or direct from his website.
