If you are a parent in the market for an app that will get your kids interested in reading or just someone who knows a 7- to 12-year-old reader, then you are in luck. Amazon may just have the perfect solution for you with the release of its latest reading application called Rapids last Nov. 2.
What Amazon Rapids Offers
Rapids offers a e-reading experience that is almost similar to a messaging app with a hint of a comic book style thrown in. The marked difference, however, is the reader is a mere spectator as the story, which is in the form of conversation, transpires.
"Amazon Rapids offers illustrated short stories written in a unique chat style that brings stories to life, one message at a time," Amazon stated in a news release. "Stories on Amazon Rapids are told through the lens of characters chatting with each other."
While the Rapids app is not intelligent enough to involve the reader in the chat conversation, it still offers an engaging presentation that evokes familiarity from the reading public, which is deeply entrenched in the world of instant messaging platforms like Snapchat, Viber and iMessage.
Amazon hopes that the chat interface will give the reader the impression that the story is transpiring in the real world or that the characters would appear more alive as opposed to how they find them in books.
The Rapids app also has a few interesting features that will contribute to the young user's reading experience. For example, one can merely tap an unfamiliar word to reveal its meaning. There is also a Read To Me mode, a function that taps the handset device's text-to-speech technology so users can listen in hands-free interface.
Amazon Rapids Free Trial
This early, Amazon is boasting a diverse range of content available to Rapid users. These include books in the adventure, fantasy, humor, mystery, science fiction and sports categories. Currently, access to Rapid's exclusive short stories will cost a $3 monthly subscription. For those who would like to give it a go, they can start with a 14-day free trial.
Amazon has also expressed its excitement about what writers and content publishers will be able to develop on this new playful platform. It expects to add hundreds of new titles every month as it established some semblance of guidelines for those interested to publish their content.
"A child's early reading experiences should be fun, enjoyable, and approachable — something they want to relive again and again," Amazon explained. "Reading should make them laugh, captivate them, and provoke their imagination."
The Amazon Rapids app is available to Android, iOS and Amazon Fire devices.
