Buyer's Guide: The Nuts & Bolts of Apps & Ebooks
On the other hand, a book app is essentially a customized software application for which programmers write code to directly develop the user experience rather than working with an authoring tool. Because apps are individually coded by computer programmers, they are much more versatile.
Muddying the distinction between ebooks and apps is the enhanced ebook, which like an app incorporates multimedia, such as slideshows, audio, and video. Also, the EPUB 3 standard, powered by HTML 5, is making ebooks as we know them much more flexible.
Ellen Harvey is a freelance writer and editor who covers the latest technologies and strategies reshaping the publishing landscape. She previously served as the Senior Editor at Publishing Executive and Book Business.