Comparison of e-book software

An ebooks software is basically what the term suggests – a software that facilitates the creation of ebooks. Besides ebooks, users typically also create electronic brochures, photomontages, scrapbooks, school year books, journals, catalogues, manuals, magazines, cards and more on such platforms. As nations emphasize the need to sustain the global environment and encourage their people to cut back on paper and ink, and with virtual publication being able to reach anyone from any point in the world, more people are taking their reading interests online. Books previously printed on paper are now available on computer screens, mobile phones and other ebook devices. One of the greatest benefits brought about by ebooks software is the ability for anyone to create professional ebooks without having to fork out thousands of dollars to design and publish a book. People can easily become authors overnight and earn income from selling online ebooks^[1]. The wide circulation, availability, and interactivity of ebooks have changed the way traditional print books are consumed by the market.

Ebooks software

(in alphabetical order)

Adobe Photoshop

Photoshop is a rich digital imaging software that allows users to draw, paint, blend, color, sharpen and create other advanced artistic effects for photos, graphics and develop attractive and well-designed ebook covers.

Flipalbum

Flipalbum provides users the ability to create page-flipping digital photo albums, and pages are flipped by clicking the mouse. Users can enhance album pages with themes and backgrounds to create a photo albums and distribute them online or on CDs. Flipalbum supports standard image, music and video formats and allow text, captions and multiple images to be inserted in one page.

Glogster

A ‘glog’ is an online poster web page where users combine text, pictures, graphics, video, and audio to create an interactive online poster. The glog can be embedded into a blog, school or class web site, or remain hosted by Glogster.

Kerpoof

Users draw, create pictures, cards, books, and movies using Kerpoof. There are tools available for users to create stories that can be printed out or movies that they write and direct. These files can be saved right on the website or saved locally so students can revisit their picture, story, or movie. Users can share their artwork online with the community.

KooBits

KooBits allows users to create multimedia ebooks complete with video, flash, animated text, image, audio and other elements. The author can add interactivity in the ebook by setting the controls of objects to react in response to a reader's behavior. Users can choose to work in the offline mode and then sync the completed project online when a connection is established, or work entirely online. The ebooks can be shared with the larger KooBits community in the KooBits Facebook widget.

Microsoft Word

The most widely used form of text-based ebook is Microsoft Word. It has all the features of a powerful word processor and works on Windows PC and Mac. Anyone with Microsoft Word can immediately edit content in a document. With the Microsoft Word 2007 version, users can save and convert the document in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Adobe Acrobat Reader needs to be installed to read PDF files.

Scrapblog

Scrapblog brings the traditional paper scrapbook into digital form, allowing users to mix photos, videos, audio and text into a scrapblog and publish creations online. Users beautify their projects with backgrounds, frames and stickers just like in a conventional scrapbook, but with the advantages of the internet.

Software and Features Matrix

Brand Name / Feature	Page Flip	e-Archive	Audio/Video	Software Installation	Publish/Share Online	Work Online	Work Offline
Adobe Photoshop	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Flipalbum	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Glogster	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
Kerpoof	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No
KooBits	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	Yes
Microsoft Word	No	No	No	Yes	No	No	Yes
Scrapblog	No	Yes	Yes	No	Yes	Yes	No

External Links

References

^ How ebooks are changing the printed world

[1] How ebooks are changing the printed world

[1]