Today we published The Complete Android Guide by Kevin Purdy a writer at Lifehacker and our friend. This book is the second in our Complete Guides series. The first was The Complete Guide to Google Wave by Gina Trapani and Adam Pash. By way of introducing our audience I’ll say a few things about what the book entails. Then we’ll describe how we are publishing it (our backstory on how we want to see tech book publishing evolve). But first, why?
Why Complete Guides?
We’re fans of technology. Like most geeks we want to know more about the things we use every day. Whether they are low or high tech, it doesn’t matter. In the same way that we only use 10% of our brains, we have noticed that we only use a small percentage of what our technology is capable of. Hence, The Complete Android Guide. Hence, The Complete Guide to Google Wave. These are products many people use every day. It’s a shame that they go so under-utilized. The love one has for one’s gadgets knows no bounds. As corny as it may sound, The Complete Guides series is a manifestation of that love.
How Complete Guides?
We are following the model that Gina established with the first book. Publish the book in three formats simultaneously:
- Online as a destination with free and open access with Creative Commons DRM-Free copyright terms.
- Inexpensive electronic versions available via download also with Creative Commons, DRM-Free copyright terms.
- A slight more expensive Print-on-Demand version available via Lulu.com also with Creative Commons, DRM-Free copyright terms.
We partnered with MindTouch to create a publishing platform that has two significant advantages for us and for the reader (indeed we do not make a distinction between ourselves and the reader because we are fans of our own products).
Read-Write-Edit-Publish
While our Authors get the credit and share revenues for the books, we get a ton of feedback from fans, followers and visitors. The site itself is a collaborative platform where we have had the help of over 50 volunteers in proofing the book, recommending content, and generally giving their seal of approval.
New Technology, New Publishing Platform
The platform itself allows us to create the digital and print version of the book ver efficiently. Unlike most books about technology, our version is guaranteed to be up to date because the effort to turn our live content on the site into static content in eBook and print formats is so effortless. It literally takes us less than an hour to turn the entire book online into a print-ready file for Lulu.For ePub it takes a bit longer. But compared to other publishers of technology books, our turnaround time is lightning fast when you consider that most books take 3-6 months to go through a single publishing cycle. We imagine turning around a new copy of the book within a week of any new major product revision. As fast as Google updates Android, so go the data-crunching wizardry of our MindTouch-powered publishing platform.
What is The Complete Android Guide?
I have an iPhone. But after reading this book, I’m on the fence. If ever an iPhone user wanted a reason to switch, he will find it in this book. Quite simply, the Android phone is an amazing product. Yes, Apple changed the game when they introduced the iPhone 3 years ago. But Android is quickly gaining popularity and it’s no wonder. You can do a lot more for a lot less. Wow.
While book is written from the perspective of a new Android user, every chapter covers a feature set from intro to advanced uses. There are 16 chapter in all, plus 7 bonus tutorial chapters on nifty things you probably hadn’t considered doing before.
Additionally, because Android is available on so many carriers and for so many phone manufacturers, the book serves all the above. The samples, screenshots and tutorials consider that Android users are not all experiencing the same thing. When we know the difference between Verizon and T-Mobile, we tell you. When there’s a difference between the Samsung Galaxy S and the HTC EVO, we tell you.
So, if you have an Android phone and you want to show all your iPhone-toting friend what a Droid does better? Buy the book. Learn the lessons. Go forth. Conquer.
Friend, Follow, and Frequent
For frequent updates from the book (tips, tutorials, ideas, news) follow @completeandroid on twitter or join the Fan page on Facebook.
For updates from Complete Guides about our books and authors follow @icompleteme on twitter or join the Fan page on Facebook.
If you’re an author and want to write about technology you use everyday, email me.
If you’re a fan of technology and you want to contribute to our existing books, visit completeguides.net, sign up, share, comment, rate and generally make use of the platform.
From left: Adam Pash, Somebody, Kevin Purdy, Gina Trapani, Somebody else
