Hi everyone,
I’m new to Hype3 but am enjoying converting a hardcopy kids book to an interactive digital version at the moment with sounds and animations, so far so good.
Regarding the output, I understand that I can create an eBook but can also convert the final HTML5 files to native apps also via Xcode/Android Studio & MS Visual Studio for each of the platforms, is this a better idea to go there native app route (I’m currently building it for iPad resolution (1024x768 landscape)
Any suggestions or advice would be great.
Thanks in advance
Dan
I’ve been pondering this problem. It seems likely that Hype 4.0 will be released at some point. When that happens, I’ll have to decide what to do…
- Create “A Book About Hype” as an ePub for iOS devices and Mac
- Create “A Book About Hype” as an app for multiple platforms
- Do neither, because books are hard to make.
If Hype goes multiplatform, the app version looks better. While an ePub is crossplatform, the interactive widgets from Hype are not.
So, if you’re targeting iPad, using iBooks Author and ePub is an easy way to finish the project. If you’re targeting additional platforms, a custom app for each platform will allow you to create better results.
Although, distributing an app is a lot harder than distributing an ePub… if you’re avoiding places like the App Store or the iBooks store. The reason is that an ePub can be loaded instantly, while an app needs certificates. Also, unlike Android, an iOS app can’t be easily copied to the device.
After battling with this issue for years, I like ePub projects more than apps. That’s me though. The solution for you might be different, as there are many issues to consider.
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We use cordova to convert our html5 output from Hype to native apps. You’ll still need to tweak some prefences in xcode, but that should be easy to do.
Let me know when your interactive picturebook is in the appstore. I’m always curious on what other can do with hype on childrenbooks.
You can find our interactive picturebooks overhere.
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To tag onto this post…
Does anyone have any opinion on iBooks versus Apps as far as the Children’s Market is concerned?
I started a Children’s book built for Hype, and turned it back into a Print first project as I saw the trend in ebooks for kids starting to drop.
I still think the medium of the iBook/ebook has a lot of value for education but the Children’s Book segment seems to be hurting.
Not sure if it is because writers and illustrators did not jump into the technology with abundance or if the term “Digital Fatigue” is a real thing with readers.
Or maybe Print Books can add to their sales with digital tag along content like games etc.
Thoughts?
Heh, I've been giving up on both. Both markets are incredibly competitive. I think Apps might outperform ebooks though. It's just more natural to check the App Store than the iBooks Store.
Here's a simple way to look at it. What if I wrote "A Book About Hype" for Hype 4.0? Which format would you prefer...
- A Printed book
- An App
- An ePub
- What?! Why would I pay for a book?!
If you focus on a single format, then some potential customers feel left out. If you try all the formats, it's a lot more work and it dilutes sales. You have to focus your customers on the App Store or iBook Store, so your app/book lists higher.
I don't know about the readers, but I'm certainly tired with the App Store / iBook Store. 
It's very hard to be successful in that highly competitive market.
As for the Netherlands the childrenbook market is already overpopulated. It’s also a very small country, so you’ll should be very lucky if one can sell 2.000 copies. There’s a fixed bookprice for everey seller (no way to compete) and every bookshop demands a 42% of every book the sell. So writing/illustrating childrenbooks in the Netherlands is something you do because you love to do it, not for making any money.
Sales for Interactive Storybooks / eBooks are also dropping in the Netherlands. Games or endless-play-apps like Dr. Panda, TocaBoca and Sago are still very populair apps for children…
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Yes Love of making them is the best part…I have been working on books now for longer than I care to admit.
The yearly royalties do help to continue in the art. I was hoping ebooks and more importantly i-books with rich content would take off.
I do like what they are doing with Dr. Panda. Random generation of the adventures is definitely a nice feature especially for younger kids.
Oh well still have hope for the medium…perhaps bundling or making a book that relies on content from the app and vice versa. Pair the two up to make a new type of content.
I know augmented reality has tried this but that concept is definitely hard for younger kids to manipulate.
Something more accessible and appropriate for the attention span.
Hi,
any recommendations for site teaching Cordova/PhoneGap for converting HTML5 to Hybrid apps, I’m struggling to find the right information, my interactive eBook isn’t complicated but I’m a bit lost as to how I go about it?
Thanks
Dan
There’s a simple ‘how to’ on the website of cordova. But if you don’t need any plugins for native audio or other native api, you won’t need codova. There’s a very good tutorial on this forum on how to embed a tumult export into xcode: Embed a Tumult Hype document in a Webview for publishing on the iOS App Store
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