The Alchemy Manga Reader webapp for iPhone and iPod Touch has been updated to feature a new Javascript interface for navigating through manga pages. This means that it is not only easier to move through the manga posted there, but it is easier ad faster to put manga on there. What does this mean for readers? More content!

With the ability to easily and quickly add manga to the webapp, you can expect that new titles and longer, more involved stories can begin appearing very soon. Also be on the look out for more artists, even those in Japan, joining in the iPhone Manga goodness and creating work that will light up your iPhone screen with great stories, characters and worlds. The iPhone is flooding the world and quickly becoming the number one mobile device of choice with global users. The Japan launch will be huge, I think, and will open new worlds to just how big iPhone manga can get.

Feel free to use your iPhone or iPod Touch to pay a visit to http://mobile.iphonealchemy.com and check out the latest revision of the Alchemy Manga Reader. And by all means, let me know what you think!

Tags: Manga, Mobile Content, iPhone

The Alchemy Manga Reader, a project I have looked forward to for a long time, has officially gone live. If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, you can navigate to http://mobile.iphonealchemy.com and see for yourself. You do have to have an iPhone or iPod Touch though as this is a mobile website. It may work on other devices like Sony PSP or Nintendo DS, but I haven't tested this yet. It is primarily made for the iPhone and iPod Touch.

So what is it? Well, basically it is a web app that lets you navigate to the iPhone Alchemy manga right on your handset. This is the one source for exclusive, full color manga and comics made specifically for the IPhone screen. You won't find print manga chopped up and reformatted for mobile viewing here. Mobile manga is a fast growing phenomenon and the Alchemy Manga Reader puts you at the front lines with updates every week, previews of upcoming titles, wallpaper packs, ringtone samples and possible even video. (Anigen on the iPhone anyone?)

If you have an iPhone or iPod touch, navigate over to mobile.iphonealchemy.com and check it out for yourself. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. And make sure to bookmark it because a new alchemy manga series is going to start right there very soon. There will also be a Japanese version in the very near future. Things are just getting started!

Tags: iPhone, Manga, Mobile Content

Who says you can't learn anything from TV? In the latest episodes of McG's NBC spy show Chuck, Agent Walker gets a call from the title character and the camera slowly zooms into her iPhone showing his photo as it rings. Now my first thought was that they faked this just to add some spice to the technology, but I should have known better. You can associate any photo in your library to any contact and that picture will display when the person calls. I guess it's just a matter of my still being unaware of all the cool things the iPhone can do.

In the following episode, the iPhone saves the day and we get to see some good use of its touch screen technology in the show. Chuck is sent a picture of from his best friend's boat trip. Using the touch screen to zoom in and pan around the picture, he spots the bad guy in the background and cracks the case. I knew the iPhone could do this, but it was still cool to see it worked into the show so well. Still, this made me think it was time I really delved into all the other cool things the iPhone is capable of.

In quest to discover more of the features of this device, on of the things I came across was the use of web apps. Apple has quite a list of them on their page. The great advantage of web apps is that they run in the Safari browser on the IPhone meaning they are available anywhere, unlike content synced with iTunes. These can include puzzle games, news feeds and even video sites similar to the Youtube included on the iPhone. In fact, one of the web apps I checked was a Chinese video site, similar to Youtube, which plays content from Chinese TV. They have a lot of current anime in Japanese with Chinese subtitles, but if you know Japanese, that can be cool to see.

Now you may say, Well the iPhone has a full web browser so it's just like going to any web page. This is actually not the case. These web apps are designed specifically for the iPhone's screen size and touch screen features. Some of the puzzle games make use of the screen in ways that wouldn't play well on the desktop. Also navigation of the apps is designed for the gestures available on the iPhone screen. Many of them are very similar to apps running natively on the iPhone. These web apps aren't just limited to fun and games either. Just check out the latest releases on Apple's page today.

As you can imagine from the use of iPhone in the shows I mention, a lot of industry pros probably use the device. It's easy to see how these web apps could be useful for quick information. Of course I had to try them out just now... The footage calculators from Digital Rebellion are really cool. Imagine if you're in the studio or on set and need a quick calculation of the film or video footage you're shooting or editing. Being available on the iPhone as a web app is convenience defined.

You may also notice that Google released quite a suite of apps for the iPhone. I just tried it out and I have to say I am very impressed, especially with having a iPhone sized Google reader on my handset at all times. The gmail feature is cool too. These tools, of course, have existed for the desktop browser for ages, and the iPhone could easily navigate to and use the full size pages, but having iPhone specific versions makes all the difference.

You know I'm going to have to write a web app now right? Can you guess what it is?

Tags: iPhone, Pop Culture, TV, sightings