Vook, the company that mixes audio and video with ebooks, has just released a new line called TextVook. The titles are short (about 4,000 words) and offer concise overviews of topics from subjects like science, law, and world history. They fall somewhere between an old-fashioned encyclopedia article and an edited Wikipedia entry. About 20 of the 71 titles at launch have animated clips embedded in them, while the rest are text only.
Barnes & Noble has all 71 titles available for purchase from $2-6, but right now Amazon has listed 56 TextVook titles for free
I tried out the World War I animated title, and it’s about what you’d expect from a 4,000 word ebooklet with embedded cartoons: you’ll quickly learn the key points of the subject, if not the subtle details. (It’s a little odd to see the Black Hand looking so cute and cartoony, though.) The animated clips only work on iOS devices, but the ebooks can otherwise be viewed on any Kindle app or device.
Update: The Digital Reader and Mike Cane have also posted about this, and they point out that only 5 animated titles are among the freebies on offer.
