Updated to bring you an in-depth guide to the Mac App Store and more, The Mac Book 6 Revised Edition is on sale now. With an in-depth section showing you how to set up and personalise your Mac, there are then easily-to-follow guides to the entire iLife suite. With a section that then takes you beyond iLife and into applications such as Safari, Mail and more, this is the perfect book for anyone looking to become a Mac expert. With a range of new tutorials and a feature to show you how to share your iLife projects online, anyone who owns a Mac will find this book a great companion.

Editor in Chief Aaron Asadi said: “This new edition of The Mac Book 6 brings Mac owners up-to-date with all the newest additions from Apple. With a complete guide to the Mac App Store and other new tutorials and features suitable for all Mac users, this is a great update. The new edition is also much easier to follow and has been completely reworked to make the book more accessible for users of all experiences. And with a free disc including templates and apps, it’s great value for money.”

The Mac Book 6 Revised Edition is available from www.imaginebookshop.co.uk and all good newsagents priced £12.99.

The Imagine Publishing eShop has announced an impressive January sale on its book and eMag titles.

Available now at www.imagineshop.co.uk a selection of books and discs are discounted by as much as 50%.

iCreate’s MacBook Volumes 2-5 and the iLife Genius Guide book see 10% off the normal retail price, selling for £11.70 while the iPhone App Directory volumes 1 and 2 have been reduced by 50% to an incredible £4.99 each.

Other discounted titles include the iCreate eMag for £17.99, the iPhone Games Directory book at just £4.99 and a selection of Web Designer books and eMags starting at £8.98

These discounts are available while stocks last so make sure you head to www.imagineshop.co.uk and grab yourself a bargain today.

Developer: BeamItDown Software LLC
Category: Books
Price: Free

Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected and penned a number of folk tales that had been handed down from generation to generation, all of which can be yours to read on your iPhone or iPod Touch. ‘Sleeping Beauty’, ‘Hansel and Gretel’ and ‘Rapunzel’ are some of the best known of the tales written by the Brothers Grimm, and others include ‘The Golden Goose’, ‘The Three Brothers’ and ‘The Brave Little Sailor’. As well as over 200 classic tales that will keep your children entertained for many hours, you also benefit from the iFlow Reader. This works like a Teleprompter; the text automatically scrolls as you tilt your device, and reading really is a breeze.

Longevity: 9.0
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 9.0

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.5

Developer: BeamItDown Software LLC
Category: Books
Price: Free

Structurally, it is told as a series of diary entries and letters. One of the real benefits of this classic book is the approach to reading that it has adopted. The majority of reader apps display text on individual pages. However, the publisher’s iFlow Reader uses a different approach and autoscrolling enables you to sit back, relax and read. The speed is controlled by tilts of your iPhone or iPod Touch and you can even customise the text size and colour, great for enhancing readability.

Longevity: 8.0
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 5.0
Value For Money: 9

Kung Fu Verdict: 8.0

People are talking about Apple muscling in on Nintendo’s portable gaming territory, but its biggest competitor of late has been Amazon. You know, the one with all the books? Apple’s got your ears, but now it’s started fighting for your eyes too.

Follow this: a couple months ago Amazon – out of nowhere – released Kindle for the iPhone. A little, free program, the Kindle app lets you read electronic books purchased on Amazon’s e-book reader. A month later, Amazon announced the Kindle DX, a big version of its Kindle reader, formatted for newspapers, magazines and other periodicals – things that we have been reading on the iPhone for the past two years.
It is doubtful that, even without Amazon’s cock-blocking, the small-ass iPhone would ever overtake the book, magazine or newspaper industries. However, power moves like the Wall Street Journal’s new polished iPhone app are making the iPhone the go-to place for news (and reading) on the go.

Damon Brown is author of “The Pocket Idiot’s Guide To The iPhone”. His latest book, “Porn & Pong: How Grand Theft Auto, Tomb Raider And Other Sexy Games Changed Our Culture”, is out now. Read his writing at www.damonbrown.net

Damon writes a fortnightly column for iPhone Kung Fu and also features in iCreate Magazine each month.

Developer: Cross Forward Consulting LLC
Category: Books
Price: £0.59

This app contains the full, unabridged version of the Art Of War and also contains an audio file of the book being read aloud. For this reason it’s larger than most apps so you’ll need Wi-Fi to get it on your iPhone, or just download it through iTunes. As the audio plays the book scrolls in time, so you can pick up at any time and continue reading or listening from where you left off. The narrative voice is very clear. The interface is clear and easy to use and the price is also a strong selling point. As the audio is contained in the app itself you don’t need an internet connection, so it’s perfect for plane and train travel.

Longevity: 5.6

Fun Factor: 4.7

Practicality: 7.7

Value For Money: 8.0

Kung Fu Verdict: 5.0

Developer: Cross Forward Consulting LLC
Category: Books
Price: Free

Audio books aren’t for everyone and it all really comes down to the quality of the reading. Sadly, this version of Tell Tale Heart isn’t brilliantly read. The app is well made and clever; it’ll remember your place and contains the entire audio file. But we’re just not feeling the reading at all. Like others in the series, the actual audio comes from the LibriVox project and has been licensed to be used here. Sadly it’s not up to scratch. As this is free we urge you to download it and prove us wrong by enjoying it! The highlight is the automatic scrolling of the text as the book is being read, but that’s all we can find of note worth praising.

Longevity: 5.6

Fun Factor: 4.7

Practicality: 6.8

Value For Money: 7.5

Kung Fu Verdict: 5.5

Developer: Lexcycle
Category: Books
Price: Free

Stanza is definitely one of the most advanced book readers on the iTunes Store. It’s a free download and comes loaded with H.G. Wells’ classic, The Time Machine. You can source more free books using the Online Catalogue option on the home screen, and you can also use this option to select paid books too. The customisation options when reading are very good, with a massive selection of font colours and background colours to choose from. You can also alter how the page turns occur. One of the highlights is the ability to browse your book collection using Cover Flow when the iPhone is horizontal. It’s no more efficient than the normal view, but it’s a nice touch. If you’re big book reader and want to add more and more titles to your library, rather than downloading odd apps with a few titles to their name, then this app is definitely worth a download.

Longevity: 8.9
Fun Factor: 8.0
Practicality: 6.7
Value For Money: 9.0
Kung Fu Verdict: 8.5