An apple a day, is keeping foreign language ePubs away!

Apple as of August 2010 supports English, French, German, Dutch, Italian, Russian, Spanish, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese and Swedish. 

Don’t see your language listed? As of March 2011, the iBookstore does not support the following languages-

Persian, Old (ca.600-400 B.C.), Persian, Samaritan Aramaic, Amharic, Arabic, Official Aramaic (700-300 BCE), Imperial Aramaic (700-300 BCE), Burmese, Chinese, Hebrew, Japanese, Judeo-Persian, Judeo-Arabic, Central Khmer, Lao, Mon-Khmer.

Just because the iBookstore does not support the above mentioned languages, doesn’t mean that iBooks itself does not support them. iBooks renders exceptional foreign language support in ePub 2 and ePub 3. Japanese looks great being displayed vertically and rendered in a right to left orientation. Arabic flows right to left. Chinese characters are flawless using the ruby tag. 

Confused? Me too. This raises another big red flag in the market. How are publishers to sell books in foreign languages to Apple users?

AEL Data has devised a solution that will enable you as a publisher to reach out to Apple users with foreign language content without selling the books via iBookstore. 

“I don’t understand the reasoning behind Apple’s thought process in regards to not supporting foreign language in the iBookstore. Nevertheless, we are always there to provide solutions to our publishers to cope with such market anomalies,” says Mohammed Sadiq, V.P of AEL. 

The solution. Foreign language eBooks can be sold online via the web in the form of ePub 2 and ePub 3 and accompanied with a mobile app customized for individual publishers. In other words, the ebooks will be made available on an eCommerce platform and the purchases being made online through a credit card or a payment gateway. The customized reader app will be available for free on the iTunes store and once downloaded and installed on the local device memory, it is ready for use. The reader boasts of a “Cloud Sync” option with a local bookshelf which will be made available offline as well. Once the purchase is completed on the web, there is an option to sync the web account with the reader and Voila! the ePubs are now made available on the reader. On the iPad, or the iPhone.

Presently, the reader offered by AEL is called the “Lektz” reader and is available for free on the Apple App store as well as Google Play store. Lektz is being used to make AEL’s process more consistent along the way, but Sadiq confirms that the SaaS model will be available to clients. 

Visit us next week for an in-depth analysis of the Lektz reader. 

To know more about the solution visit www.aeldata.com or contact us at info@aeldata.com.

64TH Frankfurt Book Fair - AEL Data

The Frankfurt Book Fair (FBF) is the most largest, significant and innovative event for book publishing industry across the world. Through its world-wide reputation it draws attention of large publishing giants to small and medium scale publishers.  With over 7,000 exhibitors and nearly 300,000 visitors every year FBF has its own flair in the literary world.  We can find over 400,000 titles being promoted and sold in FBF and technical service providers launching and promoting new digital products to address the digital publishing needs in the industry. Book publishers and creative service partners related to book publishing industry will be present in FBF on October 10th to 14th.


AEL Data is happy to be a part of FBF 2012 and hope to receive a good quality response for its digital line of services and solutions this year similar to years before. AEL Data provides end to end epublishing solutions and services to publishing industry and this year we are launching our XML first workflow and complete technological eBusiness solutions for publishers at the fair.

Our Sr. Vice President Dr. M.S.Mohammed Sadiq says “For AEL Data, FBF has always been one of the successful events every yea, we expect the same success and response for our digital services and solutions this year too! To fix an appointment or to meet us in person, drop a visit to our stall at Hall 4.0, B1327”

About AEL Data:
 AEL Data specializes in digitization, ePublishing and the design and development of software solutions for web and mobile platforms. We leverage our deep understanding of publishing and education industries – their needs, trends, competitive environments, customers and stakeholders – to offer customized solutions and services. Through the years of working with various clients across the globe our R&D team has come up with business critical products for publishing and education such as Lektz – DRM with eBook reader and LearningClix – SaaS bases LMS respectively. To learn more visit: www.aeldata.com

Fixed Layout eBook Format

What is a fixed layout?

Fixed layout means that the content is fixed in the “page” of the reading application (e reader or a reading app). Fixed can mean specific to an area on a single page, either side of the layout (left or right), or even fixed in terms of screen resolution.

Fixed layouts work best for books in which the layout adds value to the content that would otherwise be lost in a dynamic/ reflowable format.

Well suited examples for fixed layouts are -

• Children’s books
• Graphic novels 
• Manga
• Coffee table books
• Scientific, technical, and medical textbooks
• Complex table-based math content

Fixed layouts are not suited for all reading devices. Smaller screens are too small for readers to comprehend the full context and value of fixed layout. In other words, you will not be able to tell a fixed layout from a reflowable epub if you are looking at it on a phone or on screen sizes smaller than the original document itself.

There are four major fixed layouts in the market currently – Apple, Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Kobo, although these major vendors do not all follow the same format. In response to this device and format wars, the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) released the EPUB 3 Fixed layout specification on March 13, 2012.

Every other vendor save for Amazon, based their fixed layouts on XHTML. There are similarities between all the fixed layouts although the standardization process is still not clear because EPUB 3 specs contain HTML 5 and CSS 3. This mark-up language will not be stable till 2014, so you get the idea.
Visit us next week for an inside take on Apple’s Fixed layout format and its supported features.

Application is really needed for your event

Events are nothing but engagement, but extending that engagement beyond the event is quite a challenge for many event planners, marketers and conference organizers. Many event organizers have started to think about mobile applications.

It is a good step forward for event technology, and a positive sign that the event industry is moving forward, especially in the business environment, use smartphones and printed brochures are losing their popularity.

Find why you should provide an event application for your attendees:

Everything in a single device:  Attendees always prefer an engaging and interactive format of materials. Let them easily access an event schedule, view sessions and sponsors info.
Map not to get lost: Insure delegates know all the venue details. Help your guests getting to the right place in time.
Plus for sponsors: Connect your sponsors to a much targeted audience and increase their interaction. Also, mobile app is a good way to share special offerings.
No paper trash and harm to nature: Making last minute changes in program is very tempting – with a mobile application it is easy. Care about nature - the app is more environmentally friendly.
Not to depend on the Internet: Native mobile app works efficiently in any case and no need to worry about the connection speed as well.
Simplified version of the website: Thinking about a small copy of your home page? Mobile app can contain all the information from the website and much more.
Prestige and modern: Information will be stored directly on your attendees' mobile devices allowing them to navigate, interact and engage with your affair effectively. The event will be associated with doing something cool and progressive, while at the same time providing a useful service to participants.
Marketing tool: Attendees can download personalized application well in advance and share it with their colleagues and friends. Recommendations are the best advertisement for your affair.
Great for multiple events:  For multiple and/or annual events this tool is a must-have. Showcase your company logos, images and more to intended audience. Provide delegates with the info about next event in time.

With a growing number of people going mobile and printed event guides becoming less desirable — creating a mobile app for the conference, event, forum or meeting is a necessity.

Delegates expect nothing less. Giving them an engaging, easy-to-use tool will create a better experience and place your event well above the competition.

Contact us today and we will find the best solution for your event together!
Gopal Singh
gopalsingh@aeldata.com

Create interactive eBooks for iPad using iBooks Author

iBooks Author is an application for authors and publishers to create iPad - optimized textbooks. Apple hopes that its textbooks will replace the physical textbooks which are heavy, expensive, non portable, non durable, and not interactive.  With the introduction of iBooks Author, Apple has targeted mainly schools that follow the traditional way of textbook teaching.

iBooks Author include appealing pre-designed templates in several page layouts to create textbooks. Featuring an easy-to-use drag and drop interface, the app allows users to quickly build books with interactive photo galleries, movies, keynote presentations, 3D objects and multi-touch widgets.

The iBooks can be viewed in the landscape or portrait mode. In the portrait mode the text in the book becomes the focus and the widgets are displayed as thumbnails at the left side. The iBooks can be published in a variety of formats in the iBooks store or iTunes using the export option. The iBooks app is free to download from the iTunes store and it has been exclusively designed to be viewed in iPad.

We at AEL Data develop textbooks using iBooks Author application for various publishers and organisations across the globe. AEL Data has expertise and experience in creating textbooks according to the requirements & specifications of the clients.

Top Mobile Apps across the Globe

There has been a drastic increase in the number of apps being developed each day. According to a report published by Emma Barnett, a total of 255,922 apps were launched during 2011 in the British version of App store, thus taking the average number of apps being launched per day to 701. Out of the total apps launched worldwide, 33 percent were designed for ipad and 67 percent was for iPhone.

Based on a research conducted by Gartner firm, there are 10 different categories based on which people tend to be attracted to the apps. The list includes:

• Sending or Transferring Money
• Location-Based Services
• Mobile Search
• Mobile Browsing
• Mobile Health Monitoring
• Mobile Payments
• Near Field Communications
• Mobile Advertising
• Mobile Instant Messaging
• Mobile Music

Though this list shows the different categories based on people views, there is no such particular app which is the only one preferred by people. So, it actually depends on the type of apps being launched into the market based on individual customer or user perspective.

AEL Data provides the blend of creativity and technical expertise in mobile apps development to position itself as the preferred mobile apps developer in the market. We develop mobile apps for various industries such as publishing, education, healthcare, gaming, banking and manufacturing.

For more details visit http://www.aeldata.com/mobile-solutions

Sneak Peek of Lektz Android Reader

eBook lovers can now engage themselves in the enlightening user experience of Lektz. Because Lektz is now available in the Google Play for free download at: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=aeldata.lektz

Come and experience the magic of reading books with our Lektz reader android app. With Lektz, users can obtain the best reading experience available on Android devices. Through Lektz:

• Shop the free and paid eBooks from Lektz portal or Add eBooks to the Lektz app from your SD Card
• Login to the Lektz reader to access the purchased eBooks
• Read both Lektz DRM protected books as well as other eBooks
• Engage yourself in the pleasant look and feel of Lektz and enchanting features such as TOC, Chapter navigation, Page navigation, Book shelf, Bookmark, Ease of Access, Page effect, etc.
• Customize your reading experience by choosing the background color, font size, and either portrait or landscape format.
• Simply tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages

To know more about Lektz visit: http://www.lektz.com/