The increasing prevalence of eBooks has brought with it a host of new solutions for creating, publishing, and promoting them. One of the latest, announced late last week, is Web-e-PUB, a solution that not only handles publication, but also distribution, allowing for co-hosting or separate management, and even allowing for software licensing setups on a branded website.
Web-e-PUB uses HTML5 Web architecture to ensure that the documents created are ready to be read immediately regardless of the platform the device that will be reading them operates under. Better yet, this approach allows for something of a device-agnostic approach to things, allowing Web-e-PUB to bypass the traditional, proprietary applications functions of individual readers and making eBooks accessible on a variety of platforms.
Not only does Web-e-PUB offer a variety of features designed toward getting eBooks put together and made available on a variety of devices, but it also has several extra features for bookstores, including a back-end system related tools to help manage prices and any relevant updates to the books themselves.
Perhaps one of the few things keeping eBooks from truly taking off is the issue of devices. While some devices are appropriately suited to eBook reading–especially the ultra-portable devices–there is so much diversity among devices that it’s hard to get them in a format that any device can handle. eBook publishing almost requires a book to be released in several formats based on the device that will be handling it; a separate version for Kindle, a separate version for Nook, and then for iOS and Android (News – Alert) devices and the like. Sure, a smartphone is the best platform around for eBooks–they go most anywhere and are already on hand for those times when people want a little break–but publishing those eBooks for those devices isn’t the easiest thing. An HTML5 approach, which Web-e-PUB looks to bring into play, is a great way to get eBooks onto more devices without having to worry about just what platform it is they’re operating under.
By taking one of the main issues of ePublishing at least partially out of the equation, Web-e-PUB represents a big step forward for ePublishing itself as well as for HTML5 itself, proving the significant potential that this platform has for improving devices’ capabilities and bringing more functions to more people.
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Edited by
Rachel Ramsey