Ever wanted to read comics while browsing the web on Windows 8? The ComiXology app does just that.
Reading comics on a tablet is an ideal form factor, and that’s now possible through ComiXology on Windows 8
Windows 8 users can now get access to the biggest digital distribution of comic books, ComiXology. The app has been custom built for Microsoft’s newest operating system, which seems a natural fit for the tile-based design.
Since ComiXology is designed for Metro, the app uses feature we know about in the operating system. There’s Snap View, allowing users to run two apps alongside each other while on the screen simultaneously; there’s also Semantic Zoom, bringing the ability the zoom in/out and search for comics. The latter is one of the best features of Windows 8, because it allows an overwhelming amount of content to be processed in miniature form.
The app has over 10,000 comics available to download and read, though weirdly the app doesn’t support buying comics. That’s functionality due to arrive in the Release Candidate, arriving October 26, of course, according to ComiXology. Therefore you’ll need to find some way of getting app onto your Windows 8-enabled device.
You’ll find a good selection of comics, including DC, Marvel, and Image, as ComiXology has the rights to distribute those comics. The app isn’t on iOS or Android, so it’s a bit of a coup for Microsoft especially when the ability to buy comics is available.
It’s the kind of app I want to see on Windows 8: something that seamlessly fits into the design guidelines Microsoft has built with Metro. One of its strengths is contents can be sorted by images very easily, and comics obviously heavily rely on images. We’ve covered cooking apps which uses similar functionality to display content, and it seems to be a focus Microsoft wants.
Microsoft Wants YOU To Build App
We’ve also been covering the design guidelines Microsoft has been explaining in its Windows 8 app development a blog, a very useful tool for new and experienced developers because it effectively means Microsoft is holding your hands so you can’t make errors.
ComiXology is available now to download, for free. There’s no word on how much comics will cost to buy.
Windows 8 launches October 26.