Apple just pushed out iBooks 1.2, a modest update to their universal e-reader app for iOS which lets you organize your e-books into Collections, print PDF documents and notes directly from the app via AirPrint and more. Here’s a look at what’s new!
Amazon may be most synonymous with e-books, but that isn’t stopping Apple from continuing to improve their own iBooks offering. On Wednesday, Cupertino released iBooks 1.2, and as rumored in recent weeks, there are a few handy features in an otherwise modest update, so let’s tackle them one at a time.
iBooks now features Collections, which let you group books or PDFs into any category you wish (think of it like iOS 4 Folders, only from within iBooks). iBooks already includes two Collections by default: Books and PDFs, and these Collections can’t be removed or otherwise edited.
To move between Collections, simply swipe left or right -- there’s no more Books or PDF button at the top to move between them, since everything has been nicely incorporated into the Collections button. You can also tap on the Collections button and select which one you’d like to open, if you’re not much of a swiper.
To create a Collection, tap the Collections button at the top of the screen and then tap the New button. Now you’ll be prompted to name your new Collection, then tap Done to make it official. At this point, you can create more new Collections, edit existing ones (but only the ones you’ve added yourself) or move on to actually adding your files to a new Collection.
Now you can move any book or PDF into your own personal Collections. Swipe to the screen with the file you want to move, then tap Edit in the upper right corner. Now you can choose everything on that page with the Select All button, or tap individual books or PDFs that you want to move. Tap the Move button, then select the Collection you want as their new home and you’ll see them fly from one to another, just like magic. If you’d rather just remove a book or PDF, tap Edit, select the files you want to get rid of and tap Delete instead.
Last but not least, if you decide that you don’t want a particular Collection after all, simply tap the Collections button, then swipe across the one you’d like to remove. Tap the Delete button that appears next to it and you’ll be asked what you want to do with any books in your deleted Collection. Tapping “Remove” will purge the books/PDFs as well as the Collection, while tapping “Don’t Remove” will wipe the Collection but move the files back to their original destination (Books or PDFs, depending on what type of file it is).
With AirPrint now firmly entrenched in iOS 4.2, Apple has added the ability to print from iBooks, although only with PDF files or notes that you’ve added to your e-books -- you can’t print the actual e-books themselves.
To get your printing mojo on, open a PDF file and tap the familiar right-facing arrow button, which will drop down an option to either e-mail the file or print it. Tap Print and you’ll be greeted with the familiar AirPrint dialog box, where you can select your compatible printer, how many copies you want and hit Print.
To print any notes that you’ve made in e-books, open the book in question and tap the Table of Contents icon; now you’ll see the right-facing arrow in the upper left corner, and when tapped, you’ll get the option either e-mail or print your notes for that book.
Keep in mind that AirPrint still requires a compatible printer, which at this writing means one of only a dozen models from HP. You can get around this limitation by using third-party software on the Mac such as Ecamm’s $9.99 Printopia, which allows you to AirPrint to any printer hooked to your computer.
iBooks 1.2 isn’t just about Collections or printing -- Apple has also added fully illustrated books into the mix, ranging from children’s picture books to beautifully designed art works which are now available to download in the iBookstore.
Last but not least, iOS 4.2-equipped devices will get even more words per page with iBooks 1.2 thanks to the update automatically hyphenating text, which is a nice minor improvement.
As always, iBooks 1.2 is a free, universal app for the best possible experience on the iPhone, iPod touch or iPad; the 15.2MB download requires iOS 3.2 or later and is now available for one and all.
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