NZ books on Apple iPad
The iPad may not have come to New Zealand but two New Zealand companies - Huia Publishers and Kiwa Media, are taking New Zealand books to the Ipad.
Two of HUIA's popular children's books - Barnaby Bennett and Oh Hogwash Sweet Pea! - are now available through Apple's iTunes store for the iPhone, iPod and will soon be available on the newly-released iPad.
Auckland's Kiwa Media has developed the QBook - an interactive read-along digital colour picture book for young children and, together with HUIA, have adapted these two books to this new technology.
Not just an e-book reader and iPhone app, the QBook combines a narrator's voice with original picture illustrations and touchable text that is synchronised to highlight and sound off when the word is touched.
‘Barnaby Bennett and Oh Hogwash, Sweet Pea! make fantastic QBooks' says Rhonda Kite, President of Kiwa Media. ‘They're alive with great illustrations and super characters that parents and children can enjoy.'
Due to the huge demand for the iPad in the US, the delayed introduction of the iPad to New Zealand does not affect the introduction of Barnaby Bennett to the rest of the world.
‘By translating and adding Maori, Spanish and Japanese languages to their QBooks, Huia have expanded their market and can now reach 75 million people who own Apple devices. Being proactive has put them ahead of most publishers in New Zealand and with Barnaby Bennett it's given them one of the first Kiwi books on the iPad.'
Huia's Managing Director Robyn Bargh is optimistic about the future of the QBook. ‘Along with most publishers in New Zealand, we are keeping a watchful eye on the introduction of e-books and e-book readers. However, the recent launch of the iPad appears to go one step further and really bring Kiwa's QBook technology to life. Its very exciting that Barnaby Bennett gets to be one of the first Māori e-books available on the iPad'.
Kiwa Media will be showing off their new Qbook technology with Barnaby Bennett and the iPad at the London Book Fair starting on Monday 19 April 2010.