Today we released Inkling 2.2 for iPad. It’s got hundreds of new features and fixes, like support for retina display, an enhanced 3-D engine, and new accessibility features, all of which I'll highlight in a bit. But hidden in this potpourri of enhancements are the finishing touches on a breakthrough new feature for publishers that ensures they've always got the best and most current information in the hands of their readers.

First, a little backstory. Last month at the O'Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing conference, our CEO announced Inkling Habitat, the world’s first scalable publishing environment for interactive content. During his demonstration, he demoed one of its most important features: real-time, cross-platform content updating. Now, publishers and developers using Inkling Habitat can change content and instantly push just those changes to everyone who owns the impacted title. These quick and simple updates make it incredibly easy to keep Inkling content current, free of charge.

Inkling 2.2 for iPad is the last piece in the puzzle that gives everyone access to this powerful feature. Over the next few months, we’ll be releasing updates to the content you’ve already downloaded, fixing minor issues we’ve found and incorporating updates from our publishing partners. We’re also working with several partners to alter their production workflows so that you can access information the moment it’s available, rather than waiting for the next edition of a book. You’ll be hearing more about these programs in the coming months.

Content updates aren’t all that’s new. Inkling 2.2 for iPad now supports the high resolution retina display of the new iPad. We’ve updated every element of the application’s user interface to look beautiful on the new device. Text and images in titles automatically take advantage of higher resolution displays, and in cases where our publishing system generates images at a specific resolution for the older displays, such as thumbnails in the table of contents, we can use our spiffy new content update feature to push you a quick and easy update to the title. You’ll see those updates coming shortly.

Of course, hundreds of other fixes are included in this release, like doubling the performance of our 3D display engine and improvements to Inkling’s accessibility features using VoiceOver. (We remain committed to being one of the most accessible apps on iPad.) We’ve been using this latest version of Inkling for iPad internally for a little while now and we think it’s fantastic. Enjoy!

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When we set out to reinvent the book over two years ago, we didn’t know that we’d need to reinvent the printing press, too.

Today, at the Tools of Change for Publishing conference in New York, I was proud to introduce Inkling Habitat, the world’s first scalable publishing environment for building interactive content. I also previewed Inkling for Web, which will make all of Inkling’s great interactive content available in any web browser.

Inkling Habitat gives professional publishers everything they need to create and publish media-rich interactive content for both iPad and the Web, cross platform and at scale.

It harkens back to the 1980s and the desktop publishing revolution when software like Aldus PageMaker empowered people to create content with computers.

Now, as the opportunities presented by digital devices grow ever more exciting, it’s time to leave the printing press, and everything designed around it, behind. Instead, the Inkling platform enables a first-class interactive experience for every digital device publishers want to reach. With Inkling Habitat, publishers big and small can deploy standards-based content that includes guided tours, 3D objects, interactive quizzes, and high definition video, in addition to impeccable text content.

When we launched Inkling in 2010, we set the bar for interactive content on iPad. Now we’re setting the bar for how it’s built across platforms, providing the entire industry with a means to scale interactive publishing into a viable business for the first time. We’re excited about what we’ve done thus far, but it’s only the beginning.

To learn more about Inkling Habitat and register for our Early Adopter Program, check out www.inkling.com/habitat.

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