Now I need an iPad: Viz releases a manga app!

Hi everyone! I've always thought that we needed more mangas available in ebook format & while this isn't exactly the "manga released for my sony ereader" I was hoping for, it's still a whole lot of awesome.

Viz Media has decided to jump on the app bandwagon, releasing an app that will allow you to download hundreds of volumes of their manga at the touch of a button. So far this is only available for iPad, iPhone, & iPod Touch, although I'm sure it won't be long until this shows up on some of the other products out there. (Or until someone finds a way to upload this app onto their phone.)

As an extra bit of awesomeness, Viz has lowered the prices of some of the first volumes of the offered manga to $2.99, which any manga lover can tell you is pretty dirt cheap.

Not only can you read a ton of their biggest series, but you can also download samples, which is an awesome feature. No longer will you have to fight past the hordes of teenagers that have decided to camp out on the floors in front of the bookstore's manga section. (By the way, this actually happens. I've actually had to step over someone in order to put books away.) Now you can show all of them up by looking up these titles on your phone while you sit in the cafe sipping your coffee. Or on the bus. The sky's really the limit as far as "places I can read manga" goes.

Own more than one i-product? You can bookmark & browse on any of your devices without having to sign up with various different accounts.

While I don't (yet) have any of these products, this gives me a new reason to want one & I can't hope that Viz branches out to the various ereaders. I know that I love reading mangas on my ereader since it's sometimes easier to collect things digitally to save on room. There are some titles I want to collect in paper format but there's just as many that I'd rather have on my ereader to peruse at my leisure. Hopefully this app will show Viz & some of the other publishers out there (for both manga, graphic novels, & "regular" comics) that there is an ereader market to be seized.

(Info taken from Viz's site as well as from the ANN news article)