Kindle

Amazon has added Apple VoiceOver support for over 1.8 million titles in the Kindle Store. VoiveOver will read aloud any compatible book to blind and visually impaired customers. The update also allows visually impaired customers the ability to navigate within their library or within a book, search for a book within their library, and use features like X-Ray, End Actions and sharing on Facebook and Twitter.

Version 3.7 of the app also brings a few bug fixes/stability improvements and the ability to download a free sample and email yourself a reminder about recommended books. The Amazon Kindle app for the iPhone and iPad is free to download from the App Store. It requires iOS 5.0 or later and has been optimized for iPhone 5. Check out the complete list of improvements below.

Some Amazon Kindle users may have been surprised when they opened the App Store only to read a warning stating "there is a known issue with this update. If you are an existing Kindle for iOS user, we recommend you do not install the update at this time”. Some of the unlucky readers who installed the update were greeted with a nasty account deregistration bug, which wiped saved settings.

The good news is that Amazon has already made an update available to fix the problems. For those keeping track, Kindle version 3.6.2 is currently available on iTunes and corrects the issues. Anyone waiting until the coast is clear to update or who is experiencing the problems can download and install 3.6.2.

Asylum Press is releasing a 32 page sampler comic via comiXology for the iPad and iPhone on May 5th for Free Comic Book Day. The sampler will feature 8-page previews of their titles Trenchcoats, Cigarettes and Shotguns, Black Powder, Farmhouse and Chopper. Aylum Press Sampler Free Comic Book 2012 #1 will also be available for Android devices, the KindleFire and Nook.

"We're excited about the possibility of reaching new fans on Free Comic Book Day,“ explains publisher Frank Forte. "People will be going to comics stores in droves, but they'll also be on their tablets and iPads. Mobile device and smart phone ownership keeps growing at an amazing rate and we want to provide great comics to these readers. Digital comics are the return of the newsstand."

According to the Japanese website Macotakara, Apple is developing a mysterious 5-inch Retina display device for 2013. There have been many reports about Apple releasing a 7.85-inch iPad mini, or even increasing the screen size of the iPhone this year, but this is the first time we've heard anything about a 5-inch device.

The Japanese blog , citing “reliable Chinese sources", said "Apple LCD is developing a 5-inch Retina display with a screen resolution of either 1,600-by-960 pixels or 1,280-by-960 pixels." It's unknown if the device is a tablet, phone, or combination of both like the Samsung Galaxy Note.

Amazon's free iPhone Kindle application has received an update with several improvements to make the app more user-friendly. Many of the features were expected by users in the first release, as they are typical to many iPhone apps.

Here are the changes:

Users can read in portrait or landscape mode.
Gesture (pinch) to zoom images in books.
Select alternate background and text colors to improve reading comfort in low light conditions.
Tap on either side of the screen or flick to turn pages.