Until I opened an email this morning from a publicist at the Penguin Group (USA), who'd sent me a press release about the company's newest so-called "creativity app," The Pocket Scavenger, I was under the impression that I was at least somewhat tuned in to the world of Android apps. But apparently, not so much. Penguin, it seems, has been busy releasing quite an impressive suite of creativity apps lately, and like their latest, The Pocket Scavenger, many are based on the books of author, illustrator and self-described guerrilla artist Keri Smith. Smith writes books that are not only about creativity, but that actually encourage it...

As you’ve probably guessed from previous posts, I’m a big fan of Pocket Informant for task and calendar management. But sometimes an app like Informant is just too much. Or perhaps you want to keep track of certain tasks separately. I’ve found Astrid Tasks to be a good option for those times. It has many features of a full-function task manager, but it can also be used for the simple things. Besides, who can resist the cute octopus? I use it for grocery lists, meal lists and packing lists for camping. Sure, there are apps out there for all of those, but I’m comfortable with task...

Now that Amazon is buying Goodreads, I'm guessing lots more people are going to be using the site, so it seemed to make sense to write a review of the app. Goodreads has an app for both iOS and Android. It's also available in the Amazon Appstore for the Kindle Fire. Oddly, that version is listed as not compatible for my Nexus 7. There doesn't seem to be an app for Windows 8 or Blackberry. Both versions are easy to use and fairly self-explanatory. I have a mild preference for the iOS version, but because I do most of my reading on...

I’m sure you’ve experienced this. You go to the doctor or dentist, and you’re informed that “someone will be with you in a minute.” Yeah, right. Knowing you’ll really have a lengthy wait, you try to find a magazine to read. Hmm. People from three months ago. Time from one month ago. Conde Nast Traveler's fall edition. Why aren’t there any current magazines? Foli aims to fix that problem. Instead of ancient, dog-eared periodicals, Foli offers businesses a way to offer current magazine content to their customers through an iPad app. I was fortunate enough to have my home temporarily transformed into a Foli spot, so I could...

* Note: Click here to read Mobile Magazines, Part I — Google Play Magazines Yesterday, we were talking about magazines in the Android world with Google Play Magazines. Today, let's switch to the iOS world and talk about Newsstand. One of the things I really like in Play Magazines is the 'Library' view, which has a scrolling cover view. Newsstand is more utilitarian and just ... less cool, in my opinion. However, it is functional.  As you would expect from a digital magazine, navigation is simple. You can tap through to articles from the Table of Contents. Or you can access a page-by-page view...

Last week The New York Times gave me an offer I couldn't refuse: 12 weeks of digital access for $5. No, that's not $5 per week. That's $5 for the entire 12-week period. See why I couldn't refuse? I'd been reading the Times' Top News on Flipboard for months, and I knew I liked it in that format. Now that I have access to the entire paper for a few months, I decided to try out the native Android and iOS apps and see which I liked better. Note that I purchased Tablet access, so I didn't test this out on my...

By Dr. Frank Lowney This past weekend, Dr. Frank Lowney, an occasional TeleRead contributor, brought to our attention an online archive of free, Creative Commons licensed university textbooks known as the Flatworld Knowledge Book Archive. We heard from Dr. Lowney again yesterday; he told us that "another, larger source of free e-textbooks can actually be found on iTunes U. But that story, he said, is a bit more complicated." His explanation follows: Educational providers, such as institutions of higher education, can get a public iTunes U site from Apple at zero cost. Those public sites contain both "collections" and "courses." A collection can...

Flipboard made my list of great productivity apps in a previous post I wrote for GadgeTell (one of TeleRead's sister sites), but until today I only used it on my iPad. Why? Because the New York Times was only available in the iOS version. Not only that, but previously, if you logged into Flipboard on Android, you lost Times access on your iOS device. No longer! As of today, you can get the Times in the Android and Kindle Fire versions as well. I just downloaded it and tested it out. The articles look great on my Nexus 7. Flipping is smooth. In fact, I think I like it better on Android. The Times in the iOS...

eBooks vs Web Apps for Interactive Content (Good e-Reader) New Update to iOS Kindle App Suggests Amazon Values Apps Over Hardware (The Digital Reader) Why Plain Text Books Are Here to Stay (Tidbits) High Stakes if Apple eBooks Antotrust Case Goes to Trial (Reuters) Kindle Daily Deals: Swan Song by Robert R. McCammon (and 3 others)...

Maybe it's just me, but it seems like I've been hearing about more and more companies lately—some of them new, and some that have been around for awhile—that are putting together large and (presumably) expensive teams of designers and developers to create digitally-enhanced "electronic reading experiences," as they're often called. The latest such organization I've heard of is Byook, a French company that was founded in 2009 by three friends who worked in the video game and digital entertainment industries, and they refer to their product as "a new reading experience." That might be a bit of a stretch, given the...

I posted earlier this year about my first impressions of the iPad Mini, and since then, I've remained on the fence about whether or not I would get one. I use my devices so much, and I really welcomed something smaller and lighter and nimbler. On the other hand, the price point horrified me a little, and I was having trouble justifying the purchase. Then I got a gift card to a mall I wouldn't otherwise shop at, and it was time to cash in the tech jar, and there was nothing else I especially wanted... ...and so I bit. And after two...

A Kindle Fire-usable version of the OverDrive e-library app has now reached the Amazon app store. That could give the app’s Android version a nice boost—the Fire is essentially an Android machine turned into an Amazon cash register. Fire owners earlier had to go to the OverDrive site to download the app unofficially. But for me personally, the big news is optional all-text bolding in the OverDrive app for iPads, iPhones and Touches. So many library fans have their own wish lists of accessibility features, and full bolding led mine, since I cherish an extra-high-contrast view for reading e-books, even on LCD displays. Earlier in 2012 OverDrive obliged with optional...