[Review] Booksstand - Put Books In Newsstand

[Anthony Bouchard]

How would you like to have books in your Newsstand application?

iOS 5 shipped with a new application - or should I say 'folder-looking-thing' that contains all of your magazines, newspapers, and subscriptions of that sort from Apple's online store. For many of us, it is the most useless application that we could have ever asked for because almost all of the subscriptions cost money - something that a lot of us don't feel the need to spend. For this reason, many tweaks have been invented to hide Newsstand to get that annoying empty and useless icon off of our home screens. One being Springtomize - which has its own setting for hiding Newsstand.

If you want to make Newsstand more useful for you, then we might be able to help you. The one prerequisite is that you need to be an iBooks lover. This new jailbreak tweak by iOS developer Nikos Lykousas has been dubbed Booksstand and it lets you move your iBooks library (selectively) into the Newsstand 'folder-looking-thing' application. In the screenshot above, you can see a library of iBooks that has been imported to Newsstand using Booksstand. In the screenshot below, you can see the original iBooks library from the iBooks application and you can see that the library is now present in two different locations:



When you move the book over to Newsstand, what you are doing is creating a shortcut to the file that is located in iBooks. You are not literally moving the book. It gives you the perception that Newsstand is not technically useless - however now you can hide iBooks and use the stock Newsstand application to launch your books instead. I like the fact that Booksstand integrates so nicely between the two applications. Nikos did a great job making it feel fluid and Apple-like even though we know that Apple would never approve of having books in the Newsstand application. You can see an example of how it works in the video that I recorded below:



What you should know right off of the bat is that because Booksstand creates a shortcut for Newsstand that points to iBooks, it is not allowable for you to delete iBooks in favor of reading books from Newsstand. When you open a book from Newsstand (as you see in video) it links right to iBooks and launches the book for you. Not only can you import books, but you can also import PDF files that you have stored in iBooks. Adding a book to Newsstand is as easy as opening iBooks, tapping on the 'Edit' button, selecting the book, then tapping 'Move'. From there you can pick Booksstand and iOS does the rest for you. Plain and simple - just the way we like it!

Booksstand does require that you have the latest iBooks installed (iBooks 2). It does require iOS 5 because you need Newsstand to get the functionality from the tweak. There are no settings to configure because every part of the tweak is functional right from the iBooks application until you uninstall it. I think that I really like this tweak because it makes use of the Newsstand application that I have always hid because I don't subscribe to things. I am sure that numerous other people will also enjoy how wonderfully implemented it is. It's very speedy.

Do you like the idea of Booksstand? Let us know what you think about it in the comments.

Name: Booksstand
Price: 99¢
Version: 1.0.0
Repo: BigBoss
Developer: Nikos Lykousas
Editor's Rating: / 4.5/5

Sources: Nikos Lykousas

[mr117]

I don't get it. I just put the icon in a folder with the rest of the useless (to me) apps like Stocks using Folder Enhancer. It's out of sight unless I decide to open that folder of useless apps (which is in another folder of things I do use). I keep my books in the Books app because, well, they are books.

[DayumQuitPlayin]

IMO this is a redundant app. I didn't think he'd charge for this app so I'm surprised to see that it's offered for 99¢. I'm sure it may help some, but not too many. I just don't see anyone paying for this app.

[Retribution1337]

This is a great tweak. I've always only ever hidden Newsstand but I love this as a new way to get at your books quickly and easily. Now, cos I never use Newsstand for anything from it's store, I wanna rename it to iBooks and just hide the old app unless I need it. The catch... "IconRenamer" doesn't let me. It just opens it like a folder. Anyone have any tricks to rename the newsstand?

[aemon]

I don't get it. I just put the icon in a folder with the rest of the useless (to me) apps like Stocks using Folder Enhancer. It's out of sight unless I decide to open that folder of useless apps (which is in another folder of things I do use). I keep my books in the Books app because, well, they are books.

Except that you cant put it in a folder..

[mortopher]

Except that you cant put it in a folder..

Except that he stated he uses FolderEnhancer for it.

[wohhey]

Except that you cant put it in a folder..

Actually you can in 5.0. I dont know if that bug still exists in 5.0.1.
There is a tutorial "how to do it".

[zrevai]

NewStand in a folder is explicitly prohibited by FolderEnhancer since like v1.5.4. Check the known issues "Newsstand can not be opened when inside a folder. • This was done on purpose, for now, as the developer does not yet know enough about the inner-workings of Newsstand."

Still a much better use for Newsstand

[PorthosPirate]

I don't get it. I just put the icon in a folder with the rest of the useless (to me) apps like Stocks using Folder Enhancer. It's out of sight unless I decide to open that folder of useless apps (which is in another folder of things I do use). I keep my books in the Books app because, well, they are books.

How did you move newstand? It is a folder and will not drop into another folder.

[NakedFaerie]

IMO this is a redundant app. I didn't think he'd charge for this app so I'm surprised to see that it's offered for 99¢. I'm sure it may help some, but not too many. I just don't see anyone paying for this app.

I think its a nice app but not worth paying for.
I watched the video and it looks sort of useless. So it puts links to your books in newsstand but it still opens ibooks when you click on it.
Well its a use for newsstand as its always empty but still not worth paying for.
I think the NONEWSISGOODNEWS app is more useful and isn't that free?

[mr117]

Happy? Or you could have just taken my word for it.

NewStand in a folder is explicitly prohibited by FolderEnhancer since like v1.5.4. Check the known issues "Newsstand can not be opened when inside a folder. • This was done on purpose, for now, as the developer does not yet know enough about the inner-workings of Newsstand."

Still a much better use for Newsstand

Yep- and as I said, I DON'T USE Newstand because it is, to me, a "useless app." I don't open it, I just store it out of the way.

[teej1410]

Happy? Or you could have just taken my word for it.

What theme are you using?

Now onto the article, this tweak seems cool. It gives me a reason to use newsstand. But a buck seems a bit pricey for what it does seeing as I can just open up iBooks anyway.

Also, could MMi please fix their app. I am currently commenting blind.

[mr117]

Infinidock- the screen shown is the third row. The first two rows are apps I use (phone, bite, settings, camera, photos, etc), the third obviously is folders and folders within folders. CleanStatus and Candlejack icons are shown- I also use a Tap to Unlock with invisible tap. And, actually, my wife and kids are the subject of the wallpapers I use- I just used the wallpaper shown for posting purposes.

[thevmax]

I don't get it. I just put the icon in a folder with the rest of the useless (to me) apps like Stocks using Folder Enhancer. It's out of sight unless I decide to open that folder of useless apps (which is in another folder of things I do use). I keep my books in the Books app because, well, they are books.

Hey DUDE! ... Are you related to The Big Lebowski ?

[baRRy boRRis]

I don't get it. I just put the icon in a folder with the rest of the useless (to me) apps like Stocks using Folder Enhancer. It's out of sight unless I decide to open that folder of useless apps (which is in another folder of things I do use). I keep my books in the Books app because, well, they are books.

Yeah but with the books in the folder, you can get to them more efficiently. If only Newsstand wasn't such an awkward looking word.

[VerizonIphone4_help]

mr 17 you can put it in a folder? both my i4 and i4s can't put it in a folder >.< i figured it was a bug

[mr117]

Site is still not working well with my Mac. I'm reading the comments on my iPad.

Let's see: no, I'm not related to the Big Lebowski- and no, I'm not the laziest man in Southern California, which would mean the laziest man in the world.

Folder enhance ($ on Cydia) allows me (and you, Verizoniphone4_help) to put the icon in a folder. The app won't open when there, but if you don't use the app, what do you care?

I don't get how having the books in Newsstand and then clicking on them and then iBooks opens is any better than opening iBooks and clicking on them there.

I don't get (well, I do- $) why Apple made this particular icon so difficult to deal with.

[The6uest]

Also, could MMi please fix their app. I am currently commenting blind.

Just add a couple "returns" at the end of the screen and you'll be able to scroll down and see what you're typing. I know it shouldn't need to be like that but at least it works until the app is fixed.

[thevmax]

How did you move newstand? It is a folder and will not drop into another folder.

Yes it will. Check YouTube for the answer.
You take two icons and place them into a folder.
Then very rapidly drag the newstand into the folder.
Now take the first two icons out of the folder and move the folder wherever you want.
You could have a folder of icons that you never use and place it there.
The trick is to do the move of newstand quickly after you have moved the other 2 icons.

P.S. We should be able to remove and/or replace any apps that we want!
It's my iphone, sour apple!

[teej1410]

Yes it will. Check YouTube for the answer.
You take two icons and place them into a folder.
Then very rapidly drag the newstand into the folder.
Now take the first two icons out of the folder and move the folder wherever you want.
You could have a folder of icons that you never use and place it there.
The trick is to do the move of newstand quickly after you have moved the other 2 icons.

P.S. We should be able to remove and/or replace any apps that we want!
It's my iphone, sour apple!

I use folder enhancer but I kinda want to try that out.