App Review : Polar Bear Horizon

Title : Polar Bear Horizon

Author : Janet Halfmann

Illustrations by : Adrian Chesterman

Available on : Android and Apple devices

(Available at special introductory price of 99 cents )




Another offering(fifth, to be precise) by OmBooks which comes with three options - Read to Me, Read it Myself and Auto Play.

It is the story of a polar bear family which lives in the north coast of Alaska. The two cubs are born to a Polar Bear in late December when sun does not shine. But now they are restless and want to come out because spring has arrived and the den is getting warmer for the new cubs and their mother. The mother first tests the outer world by poking her head out of her snowy den and when she smells the air safe, she lets the furry cubs out.




The two cubs are trying to explore the big new world outside the confines of their den. The mother is famished and is looking out for some bearded seals or ringed seals for her hearty meal. She trains the little cubs during the first couple of years by teaching them ways to protect themselves as well as to find food at the right places. The cubs also learn to swim in the sea water.




The story educates the readers about the life cycle of polar bears, their eating habits, their hibernation patterns, their parenting style and much more. Besides talking about the Polar Bears, the narrative also introduces other four legged and winged inhabitants of this part of the world some of which form the meals of Polar Bears.




The book takes the readers to the world of the Polar Bears and their little ones and what all it takes to survive in such harsh climatic conditions. Overall an interesting story on the furry animals which live almost at the edge of our earth far away from any kind of human touch. The illustrations are gorgeous and the extra facts on Polar Bears at the end are an extra bonus.




The book application comes with these features:




1. Picture-word association
2. Clear audio narration
3. Melodious background score and other sound effects
4. Zoom option on the images




However, I would have liked if the keywords in the text were highlighted or had a little detailed explanation associated with them.

App Review : If I Ran The Zoo

App Title : If I Ran The Zoo - Dr. Seuss

Publisher : Oceanhouse Media Inc.

Avaliable in : Android Market, Apple Store

I got this Mobile Application to review on any of the Apple Devices and I ran it on iPad. But this application is available for Android devices too.

The application opens with the main page offering three options - Read to Me (page turn requires user's swipe), Read it Myself (no voice), Auto Play (automated page turns)

Tap option on the images speaks out the name of the things or the characters that are tapped on. Two tap options are available for the text part : Tapping anywhere on the text repeats the sentence and tapping and holding the text repeats the whole paragraph once again.

"If I Ran the Zoo" is the story of a little boy - Gerald McGrew who is on a visit to a zoo but he is not excited to see the same old-fashioned lions and tigers there and he decides to bring some changes in the zoo if he gets to run the zoo.

To start with he would let the animals out of their confinements and then he would begin his search for some rare and unusual animals from different parts of the world. Perhaps a ten-footed lion, hens roosting on the topknots of other hens, strange bugs who would have propeller for rising high, an Elephant cat or weirdest animal families would be some as part of his new Zoo - the McGrew Zoo.

To catch such distinct animals, he would travel to those nooks and corners on the Earth which are not even in the geography books, he would even build a machine 'Bad-Animal-Catching-Machine' to catch ugly and vicious animals, he would arrange for special treats for his animals and his zoo would keep growing and growing. This zoo - McGrew Zoo would be one of its kind, really a Wonder, even better than Noah's Ark.

Dr. Seuss in his inimitable style lends his signature wackiness to the story through his made-up words, non-existent creatures and whimsical illustrations. I really liked the no-bars imagination of the central character McGrew and through this the subtle message of Dr. Seuss that thinking big and thinking large have no price tags on them.

A very interesting and funny book for young readers and I must compliment the Oceanhouse Media for extending the reach of Dr. Seuss's books to even wider audience.

However, I found a very small thing amiss in the application. While reading the book through 'Auto Play' option, I did not find any tab which could lead me to the main page again. I had to use the button of the device for the same.

Book Review : The Steve Jobs Way

Title : The Steve Jobs Way

Author : Jay Elliot with William L.Simon

Publisher : JAICO

ISBN : 978-81-7992-768-7

I really like reading autobiographies, however I am not a great fan of biographies. But I guess some people are so great, so larger than life, have so power packed years on this earth and their personalities are so captivating that whatever is written about them is sure to make an interesting read. I still maintain that I would love to read an autobiography of Steve Jobs if and when he writes one but given that there is none right now, 'The Steve Jobs Way' stands some chance among the many books that have already been written on him and on his working style.

Jay Elliot, the author of this book had the opportunity to share the enthusiasm and excitement of Steve Jobs from a very close proximity during his stint as the Senior Vice-President of Apple Computers, so he has written with authority about Steve Jobs as an innovator, as a thinker, as a professional and as a person himself.

A creative thinker par excellence, Steve Jobs dropped out of college and followed his obsession - the passion for the product and that for the product perfection. He understood some very basic business fundamentals quite early on in his life - identifying and valuing innovation at any cost, philosophy of hiring, identifying the rare gems of talent among a sea of people, going to any lengths to bring the bright people into the Apple's fold, being a greatest consumer first before delivering a product, product comes first, commitment to excellence and the attention to detail so that nothing remains unnoticed.

His steadfast faith in his own ideas and passion to make them come true and the openness to learn from his own mistakes worked perfectly in tandem with the business acumen that was his second nature. And with all these traits in his kitty, he had a rare combination to have accomplished what he accomplished, not just in terms of money but much more than that, much bigger than that in the form of the respect and appreciation that he earned for himself as well as for his products.

It seems like his magical touch worked on almost all the things that he ventured into - Apple, Mac, iTunes, iPhone, iPod, iPad,and not to forget Pixar, NeXT. The Apple products are known for their user-friendliness, beauty, sleekness, excellence and awe-inspiring factor.

A slice of Steve's deep conviction that he is destined to change the world is evident through an argument that he offered (which later became very famous ) while he was trying to woo John Scully to switch from Pepsi to Apple - "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugar water, or do you want a chance to change the world?"

The book has been very intelligently categorized into five sections based on the integral aspects of iLeadership - Product, Talent, Organization and Marketing and what all significant lessons the author learnt during his years with Steve Jobs in Apple Computers.

The author traces the journey of Steve Jobs from his early years in Apple when he struggled with Woz to make a name for themselves through the years when Apple had nothing to do with Steve and later to the time when he became synonymous to Apple again.

Steve very particularly gets involved in all the stages of the entire value chain - the conception of the idea of a feature or a product, actual manufacturing of the same, the marketing of the product and finally to the point of sale.

A nice book for the people who are looking for some kind of motivation in the business ventures or otherwise. This book which elaborates upon Steve Job's practical approach to iLeadership will surely influence the working style of many and will ignite some sparks in the endeavours towards the goals. But at the same time, this book will raise a question in the minds of the readers - will the iLeadership that has been adhered to by Steve Jobs will continue to be followed in his absence too?

There are some very obvious flaws in the writing, there is mention of the time when Jay Elliot joined Apple

but his duration in the company is not talked about and the situation and circumstances which led him to leave Apple.

After having read and appreciated this book, I feel this is not all, there has to be much more to Steve Jobs than this.

The excerpt from the book which I liked the most -

"Nothing stays the same in business, and the only way to meet innovation is with more innovation."