Coming in February - Next Read 2.0

In early February, we will be launching Next Read 2.0.  We have taken many of the suggestions and tips sent into us and rolled them all into what we feel is a pretty impressive upgrade.  Here are some of the highlights of Next Read 2.0.

Lists

Next Read 2.0 will introduce the ability to save and browse book lists.  Not only will you be able to manage the books suggested to you, you will also be able to keep book lists.  How do book lists get added?  Glad you asked.  Next Read 2.0 will also introduce the ability to browse Amazons Listmania lists.  This means from any book, you can browse all the Listmania lists that a particular book belongs to.  Once you find a list you like, save it.  Then you can browse it later.  The list is separate from your suggested list, so you can add books from your lists at your own pace.  You can also import book lists from Amazon.  Simply supply an email address, and that users public wishlist will be imported.  Finally, and most exciting, you will be able to share your lists with friends, family, and strangers over WiFi.  Find a list you like - send it to your coworkers.

Notes

Each book in your list now has a section where you can take notes on that book.  This is a free-form area where you can type whatever you want about a book.

Quick-Add

Many people have asked for the ability to add a book without searching.  Believe it or not, some books can't be found on Amazon!  Or, in some cases, folks just want to add quickly without having to think too much.  For these people, we added quick-add.  Now just supply a title and author or an ISBN number.  The book will get added to your list.  Later, you can "refresh" the book to pull in any extra available information from Amazon. 

Reviews and Product Page now open within Next Read

The product page for a book now opens within Next Read.  No more exiting the app to get some more information.  Both the reviews and product page windows have been updated with back and forward buttons to make browsing a little easier once on these screens.

Sort by Author

The Title view in the suggested list has been replaced with Author.

Screenshots

We have posted a few screenshots of the new features.  We will be updating that page with some more screenshots in the coming days.

Next Read 1.1.1 Released

We think we have resolved the issue with connectivity errors over 3G/Edge and have released a patch with the fix.  If anyone still runs into this issue - let us know.

Next Read rated 8/10 at AppCraver

Another good review for Next Read.

Next Read rated 4/5 at AppVee

AppVee has posted a nice video review of Next Read.  Check it out.

Next Read works over Edge/3G

There are a couple reviews on the iTunes store that indicate that some people are running into a rare situation where Next Read reports that they are not connected to the internet - even though they have Edge or 3G connections.  Next Read absolutely works over Edge and 3G, so no worries there.

We are not sure what causes this, but would like to learn more. If you run into this situation, please let us know. We want to track this down. In the mean time, you can usually remedy the situation by just opening Safari and browsing to a website then returning to Next Read.

Edit: Looks like this situation is not unique to us.  There is an Apple Support Discussion Thread about this very topic. 

  
While we are on the topic. This is one of the many issues with the iTunes app store. People are using the review system as a sounding board when they run into issues. Sure, Apple provides a handy little link back to the developers website, but how many people actually click on that link? It doesn't do anyone any good to have crash reports muddying up an app's reviews. There are plenty of cases of that throughout the store. What ends up happening is that the review system loses credit and people start ignoring it.  And don't even get me started on the "review on delete" 2.2 feature.

So how to fix it? One way would be to provide the user a way to "Submit an Issue" right from the store. Or how about just letting developers contact the people that write reviews? What if someone writes a really great review and we just want to get in touch with them to provide some free stuff? Or how about simply letting developers respond to reviews? How many apps have you seen on the store where the developer has to add, in the description of their app, "If you are encountering this crash..."? Thats just wrong. That information does not belong in the app description. Unfortunately, the developer has no place else to put it where it will get noticed.

The current system is broken. So, that leaves us in a situation where we have to post a blog entry and hope that people running into this issue take the time to visit our website. So, if thats you, cheers. Thanks for taking the time.

Next Read featured app over at iphoneapppodcast.com

Jerad over at iphoneapppodcast.com has reviewed Next Read and has put it up as a featured app on his website. If you haven't already checked out his podcast, you are missing a great resource for new apps. The Next Read video review can be found here.

Version 1.1 released! Buy one get TWO free!

Next Read version 1.1 has been released. It contains some bug fixes and a couple little feature adds. Most notable is the addition of ability to view your book list by Source.

To celebrate the holidays - we are going to do a, buy 1 get 2 free, promotion. Send us your iTunes provided receipt showing proof of purchase for any date between 12/22 and 1/5 - and we will forward along TWO free promo codes. Give them to your family members and friends - they will love you even more :)

You can email the proof of purchase to promo@squarewheelsoft.com.