iPad app makes e-book experience social

Readmill is a social e-book reader for the iPad, pitched as the “Last.fm for reading”.

Regular Springwise readers may have noticed that although recent innovations have made e-books more interactive and personalized, the social aspect of digital reading has perhaps been neglected. Well now German start-up Readmill have combined their passion for reading, innovation and technology to create a social e-book reader for the iPad, pitched as the “Last.fm for reading”. Readmill, currently in closed Beta, offers users a selection of mainly public domain titles. While reading, users can highlight their favorite passages and share them with others for commenting, either by posting them to their Readmill profile, or via Facebook, Twitter or Tumblr. As well as being able to recommend titles and view recommended titles from other readers, there is also a comment thread where users can post their thoughts on individual e-books. Other features include a night mode, which switches page color to black and text color to white, while built in tracking enables the reader to see how long they have spent reading each e-book. The video below shows the reader in more detail: Readmill will face stiff competition from other apps on the market, but will be hoping that their social features will set them apart. Tech-entrepreneurs, one to get involved in as they continue to develop? Spotted by: Katharina Kieck