Review: CliffsNotes to Go for iPhone
By Ronald O Carlson
Reading, shmeading, no one reads anymore, and for good reason! Did you “forget” to read that book for class? Then just download the CliffsNotes to Go version directly from the iTunes Store to your iPhone or iPod touch, and get the inside dope, the real 411 on the classics of literature without turning a single page.
Wiley Publishing has announced the availability of its popular CliffsNotes (free + pay content, iTunes) study guides for the iPhone and iPod touch.
“The CliffsNotes brand is synonymous with [cheating] fast, effective, and most of all, comprehensive literature review,” said Cindy Kitchel, vice president and publisher, Wiley Professional/Trade publishing. “Working with Modality, we are able to support students in a brand new way [to cheat] that combines the cool features of iPhone and iPod touch with our sharp, reliable study content.”
CliffsNotes titles available today:
• The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain
• Macbeth by William Shakespeare
• Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare
• The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
• To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper LeeAll titles are 99¢ each and Wiley’s promising more will become available throughout the year.
See also:
— BBC World for iPhone: Is it worth $2.99?
— Audiobook 1.0 for iPhone: 1800 titles ready for download …
— Twitterific 2.0 for iPhone: A good app gets better, much better …
— Amazon optimizes Kindle Store for iPhone
CliffsNotes for iPhone features two review modes: Cram Plan, which delivers a hyper-distilled version of the content in about five minutes, and eReader, which presents the content in the familiar CliffsNotes format. Further, the Cram Plan includes three parts—CramCast (i.e. podcast), character map and five question quiz.
Further, Wiley’s also offering a free CliffsNotes CramCast, which is a weekly podcast featuring a new classic of literature every week.
Conclusions
The one glaring omission in CliffsNotes for iPhone is the lack of an in-app volume control, meaning whatever the master volume setting is is also the setting for this app. That means there’s a very good chance it will be either too loud or too soft, and changing the volume is a pain.
Also, CliffsNotes would appear to be an ideal application of iPhone OS 3.0’s in-app services functionality. That is, you download the app once and then download individual titles thereafter, saving time and valuable storage space on your Apple handheld.
All in all CliffNotes for iPhone is brilliant, providing both the distilled essence of a book, Cram Plan, and longer, more detailed eReader version needed to test well. One of the most useful and best loved life hacks of all time has been brought forward and remade for the 21st Century…
What’s your take?
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