Apps

Adobe has upgraded its digital publishing toolkit to include  a content viewer for iPhone, as well as social sharing features.

This means that publishers can use the software to make apps that are optimized for the iPhone and iPod Touch devices. (The tool already works for publishers developing content on the iPad, Kindle Fire and Android tablets).

The Adobe blog has some tips for how to make content for the iPhone versus the iPad. Here is one thing to keep in mind: “The smaller screen on iPhone is going to strongly influence how developers design navigation and interactivity on these devices. Consider how people hold the iPhone: typically in one hand, and they frequently use a thumb to interact with content. Likewise, consider how people hold their phone for reading: I think a vertical orientation will prove to be a more popular orientation for these devices. So this leads to a couple of ideas for how to design both your publication for iPhone and where interactivity is found.”

Via TechCrunch.

Launch a social media campaign that will build your brand and deliver results in our online Social Media Marketing Boot Camp starting June 7. Speakers include Abigail Cusick (Bravo Digital), Gregory Galant (Sawhorse Media), Alex Leo (Thomson Reuters Digital), Jim Tobin (Ignite Social Media), and many more. Read the reviews.

Journalists, novelists, screenwriters, bloggers and all other kinds of writers have one thing in common: we spend way, way, way too much time hunched in front of a computer.

A recent study in Australia discovered that sitting for long periods of time can actually kill you, even if you regularly exercise. The Washington Post had more: “In people 45 years and older, sitting for 11 or more hours a day led to an increased risk of death (from all causes) by about 40 percent over four years, compared to the risk of death in people who sat just four to eight hours a day, the study found. People plopped on their behinds for eight to 11 hours daily had about a 15 percent increase in risk of death.”

To help our readers fight this health problem, we rounded up Five Free Fitness & Workout Apps for your Android or Apple smartphone. Using these simple tools, you can schedule daily alerts to move, stretch and even have a short workout in your office.

CampusExplorer.com a website dedicated to college planning and connecting alumni has launched a new Facebook app called Connections.

AppNewser has more: “The app gives students a map of where their Facebook friends are in college or went to college. The idea is to help high school kids find out  details about the schools they are thinking of attending from their personal social network, as well as to let current attendees and graduates share their stories and experiences.”

Author Walter G. Meyer explained to the Campus Explorer blog why it is important to keep in touch after the university: “I have many good friends from college. Some I worked with on the college newspaper – the Daily Collegian – at Penn State are now editors at major newspapers and magazines and they frequently hire me to write some freelance articles for them. … I trust some of them to read and critique early drafts of my books, and I do the same for them.”

Odyl, a New York-based company that works with publishers to create Facebook campaigns for books, has built a new social discovery tool for books called Riffle.

Riffle, which is currently in beta, lets readers share and discover books with friends. Though details about the tool are limited, the website has sign-up details: “Riffle is about books. Get inspired and read more.” To get an invite, follow this link.

AppNewser has more about Odyl: “Odyl has created a number of Facebook campaigns for books including Confessions of a Guidette photo contest which Simon & Schuster used to promote Snooki’s book, as well as a Facebook page for HarperCollins’ Vampire Diaries books.”

The digital publishing start-up The Atavist has landed a $1.5 million investment from a prominent slate of Silicon Valley investors.

According to The New York Times, the digital publisher will soon release a free version of its publishing app: “people who sign up can begin building children’s books or travelogues or whatever else they fancy, some of which will become part of its online marketplace. Using the so-called freemium model, The Atavist may charge people fees for additional features — like the ability to create an app that could be sold by Apple — and will be making money by taking a cut of sales.”

Currently, Atavist stories are available through iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch Atavist app; through through Amazon’s new Kindle Singles collection; and on the Nook.

Read more

As if readings weren’t stressful enough, these days authors have to remember to take photos and videos and post them on their social networking pages afterwards.

A new app called StoryMark aims to make it a little easier. The new iPhone app lets users record audio tracks to go with photos and then share them directly to social networks.

So if you’ve got a publicist, friend or even reader in the audience, get them to take some photos of you on stage and then record a section of your reading or Q&A along with one of the videos, press share and the marketing is done before you go to dinner. Check out AppNewser to find out more about the app.

Read more

The question and answer social network Quora has raised $50 million in new funding to help the company grow.

What do you think–is the site worth this massive valuation? Over at AppNewser, we have more details about how many people use the mobile and Facebook apps for the site. Below, we’ve rounded up some literary material from the site.

Here’s more from The Wall Street Journal: “Quora Inc., a question-and-answer site started by two of Facebook’s earliest employees, Adam D’Angelo and Charlie Cheever, has raised $50 million in a new financing that values it at $400 million, up from a valuation of around $86 million two years ago, said people familiar with the matter.”

Read more

Facebook is getting into the app business by opening up its own app store called the App Center, which will include apps for free as well as for sale.

AppNewser has more: “The App Center will feature all kinds of apps, including iOS, Android, web and mobile web apps.”

To create an app for the App Center, developers are required to create an detail page. Here is more from the Facebook developer’s blog: “You can create an app detail page in the App Center section of the Developer App. There you can upload images, provide additional details, and configure the permissions your app requires. Learn more about setting up your app. Before creating your app detail page, read the guidelines to ensure your page does not get removed. App detail pages that are eligible for the App Center will be reviewed prior to being listed and priority will be given to those apps that submit before May 18.”

Fans of The Avengers, Iron Man, Captain America, Spider-Man and Wolverine, have something to be excited about. Marvel has launched a new digital comics store called Marvel Comics Shop.

Here is more about the what the shop has to offer from Marvel.com:

-Thousands of single issue titles including classic series such as AMAZING SPIDER-MAN and recent releases like CIVIL WAR, NEW AVENGERS, and ASTONISHING X-MEN.

-Hundreds of collections that bundle your favorite storylines like The DARK PHOENIX SAGA

-Availability of our Marvel Comics 99 cent sales every Monday and Friday!

The shop is powered by comiXology, the company that powers the Marvel apps, and comes out of a new exclusive agreement between the two companies. AppNewser has more: “Marvel has inked a deal with digital comics platform comiXology, giving them the exclusive right to distribute single issue English-language digital comics for the publisher worldwide.”

The writing and note-taking company Evernote has acquired Penultimate, the makers of a handwriting app for the iPad–preparing for a world when more writers use tablet computers instead of paper.

To help our readers find the best stylus, AppNewser rounded up six highly recommended styluses that work on all devices with “capacitive touch screens.” These work on everything from iPhones to Android tablets to iPads. Do you have a favorite stylus?

Above, we’ve embedded an image of the Boxwave stylus, a $15 tool for your device.