Are you an old-fashioned book lover? Are you comfortable with the look and feel of a book with pages that turn? Does reading lengthy Web pages drive you crazy? E-books to the rescue& . they have designed a patented "Digital Flip" technology just to please you. This new approach lets users view pages on their computer as if they were reading a traditional book. Electronic books and e-albums now behave like real-life books with readers using the mouse to turn pages on their computer screen. This technology has given birth to a 3D page-flipping digital photo album software called FlipAlbum(r). Users can view, manage, and edit digital images with this book-like interface. Organize picture images with a click of a button. Give your monitor the three-dimension look of a photo album, complete with the look and sound of pages flipping. As a matter of fact, this new page flipping technology was so impressive that Internet World recognized it as one of the best new products released this spring.
The program's installation is as easy as its use; instructions were so simple to follow they qualify for the Compu-KISS(r) kiss of approval. Should you need a manual, there is an online manual available. The handbook walks you through the different features. Of course, the flipping feature is the first you will try. Try adjusting the flipping speed until you find what is comfortable for you, and try adding the flipping sound when you turn the page. All you have to do is open a folder of your photos, and, presto, FlipAlbum(r) will create a FlipBook complete with thumbnails, table of content, and index. How easy is that? When it comes to printing, you can print the entire album, selected pages, or just individual photos. One of the most unique features is that FlipAlbum(r) lets you send an album, also called a FlipBook, as an attachment via e-mail or upload it online to be viewed and shared with family and friends.
Use the software to customize a book cover, select a page background, and choose between a centerfold page and 2-page mode layout. This is a real help when it comes to determining if that particular photo should be viewed in a portrait or landscape position. FlipAlbum(r) has various page layouts that accommodate multiple images and annotations on each page. Choose from a selection of bookbinders, spines, front-page formats, and clipart. Drag and drop are the tools for laying out your text and image objects. But the software does not stop there. Photos can be renamed, captions can be added, annotations strategically placed. Resizing images and annotations is also easy; you can retouch or add effects to your photos. The program works with most standard image and multimedia formats.
The program's Book Paradigm feature increases the thickness of the book as you add pages. Thanks to the table of content, an index, and the Post-It notes, you can jump directly to a section or marked page. These little Post-It notes mark your page and serve as linked bookmarks after you have placed them on the sides of the album pages like you would do with a real photo album. Use the thumbnail overview page or the contents page to manually rearrange the pages in your album.
FlipAlbum(r) seems well suited for both experienced and rookie computer users. The program is easy for beginners to understand, and what could be more apropos for the button-busting doting parent, grandparent, or favorite aunt? These FlipBooks or albums could serve as ultimate baby brag books. FlipAlbum(r) can make any computer user popular with family and friends when sharing the latest photos of fun happenings. Organize photos or images into a FlipAlbum(r) and send it via e-mail or upload it and share it with others. E-Book Systems Incorporated has organized a fun site called fliplibrary.com where you can upload your albums and everybody can view it. At this library site, you also have the opportunity to view other interesting flipbooks.
If you flip over this FlipAlbum(r), you might want to check into the family of products based on the same flip technology. E-Book Systems has expanded their software into other innovative products: a free FlipBrowser that will let you view FlipBooks. The $19.95 FlipBrowser Gold will let you view and create FlipBooks but has less flexibility than the FlipAlbum(r) product reviewed here. When browsing the Internet, FlipBrowser Gold enables you to save Web page links in a book form thanks to the Open Electronic Book Package Format. To make reading of Web materials much smoother, you can just flip through the pages instead of downloading them. The FlipAlbum(r) CD Maker at $49.95 will let you put your FlipBooks on CDs. Another product, the $99.95 FlipAlbum(r) CD Maker Professional edition, allows you to create FlipBook CDs that can be encrypted and distributed without the need for any software on the recipient's computer. This software is ideal for creating catalogs for a small business. All these products have free download trial samples to tempt you.
The $49.95 price of FlipAlbum(r) seems very reasonable for such a useful program. Dealing with graphics can sometimes be tedious, so the ease of compiling, arranging, and editing your photo files offered by FlipAlbum(r) seems worth the software investment. If you like to try before you buy, why not download a trial of FlipAlbum(r) and see what you think?
