Penguin New Zealand has stepped up their production of e-book apps for the iPad with the release of two more QBook titles. Children's titles Wheelbarrow Wilbur and That's Not Junk are currently available from the App Store, and they have also been optimised for the iPad.
This follows the highly publicised presentation from Penguin Group CEO John Makinson which promoted the range of Penguin initiatives for the iPad and how the company is being proactive in maximising all the functions and features of the iPad to tell stories.
Jeff Atkinson, general manager, Publishing and Production Penguin Group, New Zealand, believes the time is right for publishers to push the boundaries and redefine the industry.
"The introduction of the iPad will change the way we see our world," says Mr Atkinson. "We cannot be a spectator sitting on the sidelines, publishers have to get on the pitch and get in the game. We owe it to our authors and to our readers to take maximum advantage of new ways to bring our content to life.
"The objective with Penguin was to achieve easy entry into the digital arena and be fully prepared for the iPad. We quickly established a business model that was relatively low risk, but with the potential of significant financial returns for both parties," says Roger Shakes, VP Business Development, Kiwa Media.
"We wanted to offer the consumer an exciting and engaging experience with a product that is high quality. QBook has delivered all this and more. The partnership is working well and I see no reason why Penguin shouldn't have a range of interactive e-book apps on the iPad in a variety of genres in the months ahead."
The speed and quality of QBook production was achieved, in part, following the introduction of Kiwa Media's Content Interactive Tool which has significantly reduced production time and removed the need for a developer to be involved in the production of the book.
Recently released Penguin titles Wheelbarrow Wilbur and That's Not Junk are followed by two new QBooks from the Milly, Molly series; Milly, Molly And Alf and Milly, Molly And Betelgeuse. The introduction of the Japanese language versions opens the way for more Asian character scripts for release in future QBook titles. The unique spelling functionality of the QBook opens up very exciting possibilities for Asian languages.