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The Official Goodreads iPhone App!
I'm very pleased to be able to officially announce that Goodreads now has an iPhone app, which is available in the Apple app store.
And, very excitingly, Apple was kind enough to notice and feature it, causing it to shoot to the top of the free books category (for the moment anyways)!
We built the app because many of our members have asked for an iPhone app, and because we think it will be very useful for Goodreads members on the go.
Also, mobile statistics on the growth of the iPhone in the US alone show it to be one of the fastest growing adoptions of a new device ever, so we think even more people will be able to take advantage of our app in the years to come.
Here is a full list of features the app offers:
* Browse your shelves! Next time you are in the library or bookstore, your to-read list will be handy.
* Add status updates and reviews of books you are reading.
* See book reviews and updates from your friends, and comment on them.
* Explore your friends shelves
* Explore some of popular book lists
* View literary events near you
I've been using the app for the last month and have to say I think it's pretty slick. There are still a few features I've had to go to our mobile site for (like groups), and we hope to add those in the coming months.
You may notice that on the app some books appear without cover images or descriptions or other pieces of data that appear on the site. This is because, as some of you may remember, Goodreads uses Amazon book meta-data, and Amazon's terms of service doesn't allow iPhone apps. Thus we have built this app with a completely separate source of book meta-data. We are working on filling in these holes, and have already made great progress there.
If you have an iPhone or an iPod touch, please give the app a go - and don't forget to give it an (appropriately) high rating!
If you have any feedback or thoughts on the app, please post them in the comments or in the Feedback Group thread.
Update: Just for clarity as people have asked in the comments, we do have a decent mobile site that should work on any phone with a browser. And we plan to build an Android app next. If anyone knows a good Android developer let us know!
And, very excitingly, Apple was kind enough to notice and feature it, causing it to shoot to the top of the free books category (for the moment anyways)!
We built the app because many of our members have asked for an iPhone app, and because we think it will be very useful for Goodreads members on the go.
Also, mobile statistics on the growth of the iPhone in the US alone show it to be one of the fastest growing adoptions of a new device ever, so we think even more people will be able to take advantage of our app in the years to come.
Here is a full list of features the app offers:
* Browse your shelves! Next time you are in the library or bookstore, your to-read list will be handy.
* Add status updates and reviews of books you are reading.
* See book reviews and updates from your friends, and comment on them.
* Explore your friends shelves
* Explore some of popular book lists
* View literary events near you
I've been using the app for the last month and have to say I think it's pretty slick. There are still a few features I've had to go to our mobile site for (like groups), and we hope to add those in the coming months.
You may notice that on the app some books appear without cover images or descriptions or other pieces of data that appear on the site. This is because, as some of you may remember, Goodreads uses Amazon book meta-data, and Amazon's terms of service doesn't allow iPhone apps. Thus we have built this app with a completely separate source of book meta-data. We are working on filling in these holes, and have already made great progress there.
If you have an iPhone or an iPod touch, please give the app a go - and don't forget to give it an (appropriately) high rating!
If you have any feedback or thoughts on the app, please post them in the comments or in the Feedback Group thread.
Update: Just for clarity as people have asked in the comments, we do have a decent mobile site that should work on any phone with a browser. And we plan to build an Android app next. If anyone knows a good Android developer let us know!
Comments Showing 101-150 of 194 (194 new)
message 101:
by
Anita
(new)
Mar 07, 2010 02:15PM
THANK YOU SO MUCH, Goodreads!!!
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This is fabulous - I was very excited to see this posting this weekend. I was waiting patiently for this app to be created. THANKS!!!!
This is all well and good, but could you make an app for people with real phones now? iPhones are a fad. If you made it for symbian and android phones you'd have a better chance of reaching a much wider, and more literate, market.
Would REALLY like to see a Blackberry (and Droid) App!! The mobile web site is awkward for use on the go!
thank you thank you thank you!! I was hoping that you would create an iphone app. I love your site as it helps me organize all the books I read and the ones I want to read. I used to have 15 post it notes of books to pick up when I would be in a book store and now this app makes it so much easier! :)
This is super! when can we expect a similar ap for droid?
I've been using an old Goodreads app made by someone else on my iPhone! its was good but not good enough! but did the trick for me. But now with the official GR app its loads better. But please do consider putting the other features such as inbox and groups and all into a separate tab on top. What with all the messages and the book recommendation i receive, it really would be great to have the feature.
But still, the app is a big step forward in the propagation of GR into the mobile sector.
sweet!!! I'm going to go and download this on my iphone thanks!!! :)
thank goodness! i have been whining about needing this for ages
I've been waiting for this! I am ridiculously excited about this! Thanks! :)
Just added an update to the post, but yes, we do plan to build an Android app next, and possibly a blackberry one after that. If anyone wants to help with either please let us know. We build the entire iphone app with our public API, so technically all the support is there for anyone to build an app for any platform if they wanted to :)
I have this app on my phone :)It is very useful, and i just love it.
Does this app work on the Droid phone from Verizon Wireless?
ooooooooh haha didn't read it before i talked -- never mind lol
Thanks! No more having to print my to-read list and carry it to the library!
Oddly, just last week, I was really wishing for a Goodreads app, as I was not really keen on the mobile version of the website used by Safari on the iPhone. Definitely worth the wait. The app is clean, user-friendly, and well-designed. Kudos to all.
Might I hope there'll be a Blackberry App soon? :)
This is sooooo cool!!! I've been wanting an iPhone forever & the minute I get one, I will be downloading the Goodreads app! Way to go! I absolutely love this site & am very happy to see it has a bright future...I posted a tweet about this on my MySpace, Twitter & Facebook pages to help get the word out :)
Here's my posting:
http://twitter.com/raiaren
Goodreads forever!!!
Rai
Excellent! Now, any chance of an android one? :)
Fab thanks... is there a link to AppStore on the page?
Great, but I don't have 3.0... Can u downgrade it a bit for more mediocre iTouchers?
I'm loving the app, but after trying it at work (where there's no wi-fi) it definitely looks like you need to be connected to get your books list. Will there be an update to allow us to use it offline?
Thanks for the iPhone app! I've been waiting for one. I downloaded it, but unless I'm overlooking something, there doesn't seem to be a way to sort my "books read" shelf by the date I read them (as on the website). Also, there doesn't seem to be any difference in the Ordered and Date Added tabs on the app. I've tried clicking the up/down arrow, but it doesn't sort them by alpha order. It just seems random. When sorting by Title on the app, it starts out in the middle of the alphabet ("O" titles). I thought the up/down arrow would bring up another page, but I get the same thing. Nothing helpful in the Settings. Any thoughts?
In the last update it now caches any shelf you view while online and makes it available while offline.
awesome possum!I hated being in a bookstore and wondering "Now what was next on my 'to-read' list?"
loves it!
Wonderful! The mobile site is great but the app provides an even better experience. (And I'm quite literate, thank you @Donna.) Wonderful job with the UI. I've only found one bug so far -- when I try to view one of my shelves other than read/unread/reading I get a 404 error.
I love the app, but I use an iPod Touch, and so of course I'm not always connected. Today in a bookstore, I wanted to consult my To Read list, but with no connection, that didn't work.Could you add a way to cache my To Read list so it's on my Touch? That would make it much more useful for all Touch users.
Thanks, Rivka. I've updated, but I guess I hadn't viewed the To Read shelf before I went out today. I'll give it a try.
Thought you might like to know the App has been reviewed (by me!) on TouchMyApps.com.http://www.touchmyapps.com/2010/03/16...
Thanks!
Lucy
Great review - thanks! As for your event issue, we don't have great targeting in the UK, but it shouldn't have shown you Texas events - we'll look into that!
I really hope the Android app is next!! I'm already looking forward to it.
BrandyS**~Ahviel ~ wrote: "is there any chance that goodreads will get an app for sprint palm pre?"Wouldn't it be awesome...Goodreads on Pam Pre :)?!?!
