One of the most common reasons many book lovers have continued to resist taking their libraries into the digital age has to do with the physicality of books. While paper can be burned as easily as a file can be deleted, many readers still appreciate the tactile nature of actual books. Beyond the smell and feel of an old edition, some readers enjoy being able to dog ear their favorite pages or underline their favorite passages. While apps like iBooks work hard to recreate the look and feel of actual books in digital form, even allowing readers to take notes and highlight text, you can’t exactly get your eBook signed by your favorite author. Until now.
iSigned, an app for iOS, allows authors to sign their fans’ eBooks while preserving the DRM of those files. The color and thickness of the pen could be adjusted to customize signatures. Moreover these signatures can be saved for future use.
Users can also record and import video messages into the epub files, giving the whole thing an even more personal, not to mention future-looking, edge. Apps like this one will certainly play a key role in helping technologically inclined users transition into the Digital Age.
iSigned, for all its good intentions and originality, is poorly designed. I think this is the downside. Its drab aesthetic will certainly turn off users used to more sleek and modern apps. The background is gray and brown. The fonts and icons are dull and pixelated around the edges. I like to see an update with improvements in these key areas.
Now, every new idea must be tested in the market to be perfected. While iSigned is definitely a forward-thinking app that will doubtless inspire a slew of clones and competitors, the app still has a long way to go. If you’re a true book fan and want your eBooks signed badly enough, iSigned can impress you. This free app requires 4.2 or later. The “Try It” pack can be purchased for $0.99.