World War I Interactive

World War 1 Interactive by Touchzing Media is a book and an app combined into one about the history of WWI.

I’ve downloaded ebooks in the past, as well as apps, but this is the first time I’ve tried a book combined into a fully interactive app. I must say that I was impressed, as it was a lot more fun than just being a book where you can only flip the pages over.

When you open up the app you are presented with an introductory video giving you some historic clips of WWI, then you are invited to enter the app and start at the introduction. First of all I was impressed with the layout of the material in the introduction, which was an overview mixed with an interface where you can navigate around with ease.

There is a central timeline that runs through WWI events based on the year. If you click on one of the dates, events are then shown in order for that particular year. For example, if you click on ‘1916 – Inside the Trenches’ ten sub-categories then pop up. Then if you select ‘Battle of the Somme’ for example details of this event are presented to you. On a typical page there is a write up about the event. The text has been adapted from Wikipedia but is presented very nicely in a concise format. On the right hand side there will be a picture or video footage of the event. As well as this, information as to when it happened, where it happened, the result of what happened and who was involved is shown.

One really neat thing is that you can increase or decrease the font size with the ‘A-‘ or ‘A+’ buttons. A back button takes you back out to the overview of the year selected where you can also select other years.

The developer has really taken the time to make sure that there is no confusion by the reader when reading the app book. In the introduction it is explained how to use the book and there is a ‘Home’ button to return to the introduction, a ‘multimedia’ button to view pictures, videos and speeches, and a ‘Help’ button. The help button really gives a simple but straighforward method for using the book for anyone confused.

Mission Accomplished

This book will give you a very good overview of WWI without overloading you with information. I can tell that the text has been adapted so as to present a clear, concise overview with pertinent information only. This is opposite to if you read through a lengthy academic paper which would give you a headache trying to look for relevant snippits of information.

I really like the layout of this app book as it really does look neat. Again, even though I like ebooks, an app book is more fun for sure, with the ability to show videos and play audio recordings.

The planning of the information within the app has been well thought out with events presented in clear cut categories running along a timeline. A good index is included and you can view events in an extended timeline view which is really neat.

Room to improve

I honestly can’t fault the layout of this app book and it does what it says in its description, it gives you an overview of events in WWI and there is some great material included in the book. The only suggestion I can make for a future update would be a weapons, aircraft & land vehicles section with write ups on various weapons used etc. That would be an interesting update for people like myself interested in the technical side of warfare. Just  a suggestion as the app book is fine as it is.

Conclusion

A really well laid out and interesting book giving a full overview of WWI. Fun to use with interective multimedia and very easy to navigate around in. I certainly was absorbed into the book, more than I would have if it were just text in an ordinary ebook. An immersive read with great footage of WW1 included.