5 Essential iPhone Apps for Fanfic on the Go
So I've been meaning to make a post like this for a while and after reading Gizmodo all night, I decided to-- oh hey, a video of a cat playing with an iPad.
I'd use mine to read fanfic-- it does comprise about 80% of my recent iPod activity. (Go ahead and laugh.) BUT JUST IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT all the portability and online connectivity of an iPhone/iPod Touch with the beautiful size and resolution of a Macbook Pro. Fffffffffnnnf. If only there were a dedicated fanfic service that could sync up fics from FF.net, AO3, LJ, and independent sites-I’d pay good money for that app, considering that fanfic accounts for a big portion of my entertainment “budget,” and provides near-infinite joy and lulz.
Until somebody builds the ultimate fanfic app, we'll have to cobble together our own mobile reading experiences. Here are some of my favorite fic-related apps.
#5: GoodReader
An all-around fabulous PDF reader (and it reads images as well as .doc, .txt, .ppt, etc.), GoodReader’s touchless scroll function lets you read fics without even having to touch the freakin’ screen, which is really nice for novel-length fic. Since you are saving the files directly to your iPhone/iPod, you don’t need a 3G/Wifi connection to access them.
However, since it takes quite a bit of time and consideration to save, reformat, organize, and sync up the fics (unfortunately, the process isn’t the most intuitive), it’s not an ideal app for one-shots or stories you won’t want cluttering your reading list. PDFs might read too small, you have to zoom in very close to read html files, and you lose formatting in text files. On the other hand, you might enjoy this app if you’re a fanfic pack rat and like having a comprehensive, well-formatted PDF library at your disposal.
GoodReader's can sync with a number of servers, including GoogleDocs and Dropbox (see #2), so you can use this to download files that otherwise exist in the Cloud.
#4: Stanza
Stanza is a highly polished ebook reader with a great collection of free and paid books. I’ve got a lot of poetry loaded up on my Stanza (Whitman and e. e. cummings are my favorite) to inspire my writerliness. With Stanza, I can read, ponder, and mull within a sleekly designed user interface, complete with book covers and multiple viewing options.
ETA: And apparently you can upload your own eBooks as well! Download pre-converted fics from Wattpad (the "world’s largest collection of originally-created ebooks”-fanfiction included), convert your own at Squee!pad, or download eBook-ready FF.net offerings with fanficuploader.
#3: iTalk Recorder
If I get an idea or quote that I have to record before I lose it, I usually use a voice recorder. As much as I hate the sound of my own voice (why so deep and pretentious-sounding, self?), this works for me to get spur-of-the-moment, poetic turn-of-phrases or catch ideas that hit me when I’m on the go or not near a computer. Easy to use and nicely laid out. If you have an iPod Touch, you'll need to shell out some extra $$$ to get a pair of mic-headphones.
#2: Dropbox
Dropbox is integral for syncing up files over multiple computers and your mobile device. While I use it to sync up to-do-lists and other docs on my work and personal computers so I can access important work files at home, I also use it to sync up my libraries. For those intrepid enough to actually write fic while at work, this is a wonderful app if you write exclusively in Microsoft Word, Writeroom, or Scrivener and have the software installed on all the computers you use.
The mobile app is good for reading, but doesn’t allow you to edit. You also need a Wifi connection to “download” the files for viewing off the Dropbox server, and the “star” function (which allows you to save files for offline viewing) isn’t 100% reliable. The reading interface is basic and if complex HTML files may lose some of their formatting. However, Dropbox Mobile preserves all my folders and as long as I have a Wifi connection, I can read my synched html and text files without having to load them to a separate app (like GoodReader).
#1: Readitlater
My favorite app and the one I use most often, Readitlater is the perfect tool for loading up a huge reading list to… read later. First, download and install the extension for your web browser. Second, load up rec page after rec page on your computer (recently I'm obsessed with reading everything recced on spnroundtable and crack_van ) and simply click the red “readitlater” check mark in the URL bar to save the fic for later.
Seamless synching between your online Readitlater account and the Readitlater iPhone app means you'll always have one reference list for what you're currently reading. RIL allows you to sort your reads by title, site, and time saved, but you can also tag your fics to organize them under certain labels-author, rating, scenario, or whatever. The app downloads the text on the page and reformats them so that they’re super easy to read, giving you a few customizable options such as text size/color and background color. The result? Standard formatting across all your reads, no need to pinch-zoom, and miminal eyestrain.
Since it’s so easy to save a fic for later reading (no File>Save>Select Folder>Rename shenanigans involved), I don’t usually prescreen the fics to make sure they’re worth my time. I’ll load up ten or fifteen fics in the morning, screen the “chaff” (“deleting” a fic from your RIL list is as simple as unchecking a box) as I walk to work, and read rest of them when I have free time. Have to click out of the app? No problem-RIL keeps track of where I am on the page.
The one glaring problem with RIL:
There's no way to bypass the LJ Disney filter. Even if you're already logged in and viewing the page when you save it in your web browser, RIL doesn't recognize cookies so it can't "log in" to read walled content. Until then, you'll have to upload your must-read porn to any one of the other apps.
That probably only touches the surface of good reading apps and the ways to use them. I’m always looking for ways to increase my volume and ease of reading, so what iPhone/iPod apps and techniques do you guys use to make your mobile fic consumption easier?
And more importantly, does anybody know how to bypass the LJ filter in Readitlater?
I'd use mine to read fanfic-- it does comprise about 80% of my recent iPod activity. (Go ahead and laugh.) BUT JUST IMAGINE FOR A MOMENT all the portability and online connectivity of an iPhone/iPod Touch with the beautiful size and resolution of a Macbook Pro. Fffffffffnnnf. If only there were a dedicated fanfic service that could sync up fics from FF.net, AO3, LJ, and independent sites-I’d pay good money for that app, considering that fanfic accounts for a big portion of my entertainment “budget,” and provides near-infinite joy and lulz.
Until somebody builds the ultimate fanfic app, we'll have to cobble together our own mobile reading experiences. Here are some of my favorite fic-related apps.
#5: GoodReader
An all-around fabulous PDF reader (and it reads images as well as .doc, .txt, .ppt, etc.), GoodReader’s touchless scroll function lets you read fics without even having to touch the freakin’ screen, which is really nice for novel-length fic. Since you are saving the files directly to your iPhone/iPod, you don’t need a 3G/Wifi connection to access them.
However, since it takes quite a bit of time and consideration to save, reformat, organize, and sync up the fics (unfortunately, the process isn’t the most intuitive), it’s not an ideal app for one-shots or stories you won’t want cluttering your reading list. PDFs might read too small, you have to zoom in very close to read html files, and you lose formatting in text files. On the other hand, you might enjoy this app if you’re a fanfic pack rat and like having a comprehensive, well-formatted PDF library at your disposal.
GoodReader's can sync with a number of servers, including GoogleDocs and Dropbox (see #2), so you can use this to download files that otherwise exist in the Cloud.
#4: Stanza
Stanza is a highly polished ebook reader with a great collection of free and paid books. I’ve got a lot of poetry loaded up on my Stanza (Whitman and e. e. cummings are my favorite) to inspire my writerliness. With Stanza, I can read, ponder, and mull within a sleekly designed user interface, complete with book covers and multiple viewing options.
ETA: And apparently you can upload your own eBooks as well! Download pre-converted fics from Wattpad (the "world’s largest collection of originally-created ebooks”-fanfiction included), convert your own at Squee!pad, or download eBook-ready FF.net offerings with fanficuploader.
#3: iTalk Recorder
If I get an idea or quote that I have to record before I lose it, I usually use a voice recorder. As much as I hate the sound of my own voice (why so deep and pretentious-sounding, self?), this works for me to get spur-of-the-moment, poetic turn-of-phrases or catch ideas that hit me when I’m on the go or not near a computer. Easy to use and nicely laid out. If you have an iPod Touch, you'll need to shell out some extra $$$ to get a pair of mic-headphones.
#2: Dropbox
Dropbox is integral for syncing up files over multiple computers and your mobile device. While I use it to sync up to-do-lists and other docs on my work and personal computers so I can access important work files at home, I also use it to sync up my libraries. For those intrepid enough to actually write fic while at work, this is a wonderful app if you write exclusively in Microsoft Word, Writeroom, or Scrivener and have the software installed on all the computers you use.
The mobile app is good for reading, but doesn’t allow you to edit. You also need a Wifi connection to “download” the files for viewing off the Dropbox server, and the “star” function (which allows you to save files for offline viewing) isn’t 100% reliable. The reading interface is basic and if complex HTML files may lose some of their formatting. However, Dropbox Mobile preserves all my folders and as long as I have a Wifi connection, I can read my synched html and text files without having to load them to a separate app (like GoodReader).
#1: Readitlater
My favorite app and the one I use most often, Readitlater is the perfect tool for loading up a huge reading list to… read later. First, download and install the extension for your web browser. Second, load up rec page after rec page on your computer (recently I'm obsessed with reading everything recced on spnroundtable and crack_van ) and simply click the red “readitlater” check mark in the URL bar to save the fic for later.
Seamless synching between your online Readitlater account and the Readitlater iPhone app means you'll always have one reference list for what you're currently reading. RIL allows you to sort your reads by title, site, and time saved, but you can also tag your fics to organize them under certain labels-author, rating, scenario, or whatever. The app downloads the text on the page and reformats them so that they’re super easy to read, giving you a few customizable options such as text size/color and background color. The result? Standard formatting across all your reads, no need to pinch-zoom, and miminal eyestrain.
Since it’s so easy to save a fic for later reading (no File>Save>Select Folder>Rename shenanigans involved), I don’t usually prescreen the fics to make sure they’re worth my time. I’ll load up ten or fifteen fics in the morning, screen the “chaff” (“deleting” a fic from your RIL list is as simple as unchecking a box) as I walk to work, and read rest of them when I have free time. Have to click out of the app? No problem-RIL keeps track of where I am on the page.
The one glaring problem with RIL:
There's no way to bypass the LJ Disney filter. Even if you're already logged in and viewing the page when you save it in your web browser, RIL doesn't recognize cookies so it can't "log in" to read walled content. Until then, you'll have to upload your must-read porn to any one of the other apps.
That probably only touches the surface of good reading apps and the ways to use them. I’m always looking for ways to increase my volume and ease of reading, so what iPhone/iPod apps and techniques do you guys use to make your mobile fic consumption easier?
And more importantly, does anybody know how to bypass the LJ filter in Readitlater?