Rockstand is an eBook reading app available on the Android, Windows and iOS platforms. It satisfies all the basic needs an eBook reading app would be expected to, and goes further. The app is free to use, and can also be used to read eMagazines. It plays major file formats including ePub. The eBooks in your library can be accessed via a simple bookshelf, either online or offline. The app has no lags, though you shouldn’t expect to have any in an eBook reader. The interface can be customized to a certain extent based on color. Online, new eBook purchases display the eBook cover, its name, rating and reviews if any.
Features
The Rockstand app does something rather different from other ones – users can connect with each other using the Rock Connect social reading network. The platform enables readers and authors to interact with each other, and users can invite their friends and share eBooks they are reading with each other, and also those they have purchased. It also has a built in download manager for multiple file downloads. Another addition is the text search, which allows users to search for particular words or lines of text in entire documents.
Language Based eBooks
The Rockstand app shows its true prowess in the field of regional eBooks, where the company plans to convert millions of eBooks in regional languages to online and computer reading formats. This is a landmark movement since with a single effort it preserves Indian history and promotes regional culture, heritage and diversity, which has for the past few years been deteriorating at an alarming rate. It is also expected to bring down people’s qualms about electronic gadgets for reading and writing in India.
Anti-Piracy Stand
One other interesting feature of the app is that it has quite stern views on piracy, and any and every eBook is protected to ensure it cannot be shared. No screenshots, copying text or any other attempt to share an eBook is tolerated while the reader is open. This should help ease any concerns about publishers worried about the security of their eBooks.
Self-Publishing
Authors can also self-publish their eBooks with Rockstand through a 50-50, equal revenue sharing partnership. Rockstand can setup a publisher dashboard from which authors can upload their eBooks files, track sales in real time and generate invoices.
Conclusion
Rockstand has undoubtedly put a lot of effort and innovation into their new app, and it is quite visible in the final product. The Rockstand app is quite worthy of being used. The transparency the company has tried to incorporate into the app will undoubtedly attract the interests of numerous users. Perhaps in the future the app will rise to the top, internationally. Presently, the app stands as a beacon for cultural connoisseurs in India.
Image credit: Enokson on flickr and reproduced under Creative Commons 2.0[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]https://writingtipsoasis.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Aravind.jpg [/author_image] [author_info]Aravind Shenoy is a writer interested in topics ranging from finance to food, current affairs to types of prayers and all things in-between. An avid reader and music lover, he prefers quiet introspection, brainstorming and pooling ideas.[/author_info] [/author]