Clickwheel

Now that the iPhone has been launched, here are some thoughts about why it might be the best comics-reader.  Ever.

Brilliant as the iPod is, it&'s never really cut it is as a dedicated comics-reader.  MP3 and video player, YESsss, but comics-reader… well, at a push.  It&'s no where near as bad as some its mobile cousins but, overall, the reading experience can be somewhat unintuitive and mechanical.

With the iPhone, an entirely new way of reading comic has emerged, one that&'s closer to the art of the comic book, with pages that can be “turned”, or “leafed” through, by flicking your finger across the screen.  It&'s a completely different experience that could, just, prove a tipping point for an industry searching for new ways to connect to its readers.  And I&'m not just talking about comics – it could well be the device that takes book publishing to new levels.  

John Siracusa makes a similar point about the iPhone&'s interface:  ”The iPhone is not just a platform, it&'s an entirely new set of rules for interface design… There are no windows, no close/minimize/zoom widgets, no checkboxes, no radio buttons, no scroll bars, no nothing.”  Just the stub-end of your finger and a “big plank of wood floating on the water.  Flick anywhere and whoosh, watch it glide.”