Search 238980 apps   

App ReviewsiPad, iPod touch, & iPhone app reviews from our editors—and you!

A Masterpiece CollectionCurrent Version: 1.0.10

$0.99
GET IT

Review this app for a chance to win a $50 card to iTunes

"A luxurious reading experience." - MacWorld
Beautifully typeset using techniques used for quality printed books, this collection includes unabridged versions of some of the world's most loved novels, plays and short stories. Pages can be 'turned', their edges following your finger, mimicking real books.

• 3D animation lets you ‘turn’ pages, mimicking real books.
• Each title displayed on a custom-designed book spine
• Lovingly typeset using techniques for quality printed books
• Choice of three text sizes (via your iPhone’s Settings App)

This app is powered by Gizreader, created by and for lovers of books. See a video demo on the GizReader website. (www.gizreader.com)

The depth of each richly designed spine tells you whether a book is short, long or in-between.

Skim down the pile of books. Tap to choose. A highlight reminds you which title you were last reading.

Lose yourself almost instantly in the story. GizReader is quick. Its type is crisp and clear, beautifully set for reading pleasure. Each book’s formatting is checked and polished, compared where necessary against multiple sources.

Pages turn realistically, their edges following your finger, with a satisfying flip sound. (Unless you turn the sound off.) Alternatively, you can tap or swipe to turn pages instantly.

When you return to a book, GizReader remembers your place, even if you have resized the text. (Choose from three text sizes in your iPhone’s Settings App.) You can also see from the progress bar where you are in the story.

The app includes unabridged versions of some of the world’s most loved masterpieces. The collection grows over time, via free updates.

The titles are:

Novels:
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
• Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne
• The Call of the Wild by Jack London
• The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
• David Copperfield by Charles Dickens
• Emma by Jane Austen
• Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
• Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
• The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Invisible Man by H. G. Wells
• Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
• King Solomon's Mines by H. Rider Haggar
• Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
• The Lost World by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
• The Mysterious Affair at Styles by Agatha Christie
• North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell
• Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens
• Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
• The Prisoner of Zenda by Anthony Hope
• The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane
• The Return of Tarzan by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
• A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens
• Tarzan of the Apes by Edgar Rice Burroughs
• The Time Machine by H.G. Wells
• Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
• Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte

Plays:
• The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Short story collections (each contains a series of short stories):
• The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Return of Sherlock Holmes by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
• The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Other Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
• The Garden Party and Other Stories by Katherine Mansfield
• The Jungle Book by Rudyard Kipling
  •  

A Masterpiece Collection Screenshots


– Reviewed

A Masterpiece Collection Review

App is a worthy addition to the iPhone’s collection of solid e-readers

Classics by Andrew Kaz and Phill Ryu received critical acclaim and tremendous buzz when it first appeared in the App Store last autumn. The book application was even featured on one of Apple’s “There’s an app for that” spots. Classics is still a terrific app with a gorgeous interface. But it was always hobbled somewhat by a small collection of books, and undercut further by infrequent updates from the developers.

Critic Reviews of A Masterpiece Collection iPhone App

No critic reviews from around the web found


User Reviews of A Masterpiece Collection iPhone App

4 Macworld User Reviews
793 iTunes User Reviews View »

Our user review snapshot

  • 93.0%
  • 100.0%
  • 100.0%
  • 100.0%

Our user reviews IN DETAIL:

Great Classic Collection

When I first saw this app, I could hardly believe that a .99 app had 36 great classic novels. Since I bought it they have added 2 more books and more are on the way. Personally I think this is a great bargain. The interface is attractive and the app is easy to use. It remembers where you left off too. I would even be willing to support in app purchase for other sets of books. All in all I am very satisfied with this app.


Kindle Killer

Before I downloaded the app, I doubted I would enjoy reading a novel on my tiny iPhone screen. But I was pleasantly surprised at just how fun, in fact, addicting it can be. The text is displayed in an easy-to-read font placed against an easy-on-the-eyes off-white background. Making a selection from the beautifully designed stack of book spines is a treat unto itself. Just leafing through the pages is fun, as an animation of a turning page follows the swipe (or tap) of your finger, accompanied by a satisfying paper-rumpling sound effect. The selection of books is pretty darn good, as long as you have a love of the classics like War of the Worlds, Hound of the Baskervilles, Gulliver's Travels and Huckleberry Finn. I actually had a chance to compare this app against a Kindle. I haven't spent any time with a Kindle so I'm not sure whether the much-touted e-Ink lives up to the hype. But at least at first glance, this $2 app held its own against the $259 Kindle. Where it outshines the Kindle is late-night reading in bed -- I can get in a few late-night chapters without keeping my wife awake. The Kindle's lack of a backlight eliminates it from the nocturnal running. All in all, completely worth the $2 you'll plunk down for it. It's become one of my most beloved iPhone apps. Go on, buy it!


Really Good

Great to have with me, especially during lunch so I can read a good book and relax. Just wish it had some more recent ones too.


Review it

We're giving away four $50 iTunes gift certificates each month. Every time you review an iPhone app, you're automatically entered in that month's drawing. Review 50 apps, get 50 chances to win!

No purchase is necessary to enter or win. Some restrictions apply; see Complete Contest Rules for details.

MacUser | Mac OS X Hints | iPhone Central | PC World | PCW Business Center | Advertise | Macworld Expo | MacMania
Terms of Service Agreement | Privacy Policy | Macworld Site Map | Press Releases | Contact Us | RSS Feeds
Magazine Customer Service | Community Standards
    Visit other IDG site:
    © 1994-2010 Mac Publishing, LLC.