iSigned: Stalk Your Favorite Authors Into the 21st Century

One doubts that whomever coined the slogan ‘There’s an app for that’ had any idea how true the adage would prove. There are apps to help you sleep and apps to help you wake up. There are apps to help you exercise—but most of the apps we use every day tend to keep us on the couch. Mobile app makers have been identifying users’ needs and trying to meet them with specific, and sometimes even strange, applications for years. iSigned proves that, no matter what you’re into, there really is an app for that.

iSigned iPad App Review

iSigned is an app designed for a very specific purpose and for a very specific crowd. Readers who love books and authors, and who chase autographs and keep them as trophies to show their jealous friends, can now bring their passion into the 21^st Century with iSigned. iSigned allows users to import eBooks into the application’s Bookshelf, then lets authors sign the digital pages. After syncing your iSigned Bookshelf to the books in your iTunes collection, you can put your iPad in the hands of your favorite authors at signings and expos to collect their signatures. Even further, iSigned allows users to record video messages from authors and import them directly into the eBook without affecting the file’s DRM.

The home page of the application looks decent enough. Tabs are organized on a neat little bookshelf in the middle of the screen, and the application’s title is prominently displayed in the top left corner. While the design seems utilitarian enough, one can’t help being a bit disappointed by the lack of attention to looks.

The previously mentioned Bookshelf tab will probably be the most used part of the application, allowing you to store and open your digital library which is divided into Signed and Unsigned categories.

The Net Connect function of the app allows users to sync books easily enough. The Autographs tab allows authors to create signatures, type in messages, or record videos. The Options tab doesn’t take you where you think it should. Instead you’re given the option to add an email address to have your files sent to and the “option” to purchase ‘packs’ of various prices that allow you to save those signed eBooks. In fact, there seems to be no way to try the application without spending money. I think there should be a “Try it” opportunity.

iSigned app seems intent on meeting the technology needs of book lovers ready to bring their passion into the 21^st Century.