Vook fans have spoken! We are very happy to announce that “Yoga in Bed” has been nominated as one of the Reader’s Choice Award Winners for About.com’s Best Mind/Body Apple iPhone App.

“Yoga has transformed my life, and I am deeply grateful that I cannot only do yoga, but also that I am able to share yoga with everyone through this book and now the creation of the Vook,” author Naomi Sophia Call said about her award.

We sat down with author Naomi for a couple of questions:

Q. What inspired your “Yoga In Bed” Vook?
A. I was inspired to create “Yoga In Bed” by comments from my students. I have taught yoga for more than 15 years and for years students would make comments like, “Once I get out of bed, I’m on the go and I don’t have time.” I also noticed how much I enjoy lingering in the soft warmth of my bed for a few extra moments and that conscious movement simply enhances my natural awakening. As a single parent, I felt a huge difference to my whole day when I began by first taking myself before everyone else. I am simply happier!

Q. What are your favorite yoga exercises?
A. Choosing a favorite yoga exercise is a tough question! The reason that I gravitated so deeply to Kripalu Yoga and became certified there was because I experienced their training as the most spiritual, and the style that enabled me to be in the moment in my body. What I would call experiencing the essence of yoga, or the true union of myself. Many other styles of yoga have very structured routines. I love listening to my body and in that moment doing the pose that comes to mind. Having said that, if I had to choose one from my Yoga In Bed Book it would be the single knee twist.

Q. How were you introduced to yoga?
A. I had vaguely heard about yoga for some time and finally decided to try it. I had no idea what to expect. I was living in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania at the time and was a brand new mom searching for peace! I was able to get away to a class, the only class that was available at the time, in a church basement and I strongly disliked it! I had been so excited and was hugely disappointed. I went back a few more times and felt the same.

It wasn’t until I moved to New York, still desperately seeking, that I found a new style existed and I tried that. From that day forward I found myself able to fit in even 15 minutes a day and I was elated! I always encourage my new students to experience many styles, by dropping into as many classes as they can to really feel how different the different styles of yoga are. We are very blessed now to have so many choices. Decades ago it wasn’t like this!

You can read the full About.com article here and also watch a snippet. Remember to vote for us for the top spot, and happy “yoga-ing!”

We were thrilled to wake up this morning and see that we’re in the New and Noteworthy section on the front page of the iTunes App store. Apple has made our Promises vook a featured application. Written by Jude Deveraux, the Promises vook is a classic love story set on a plantation in the 19th century. The beautifully shot videos tease out the romance and mystery of the story with a graceful, impressionistic approach that reminded of us Terence Malick when we saw the first cuts. It’s this interplay of text and videos that makes Promises special—and it seems that Apple noticed the same thing.

We especially want to single out filmmaker Robert Sobul, who shot, directed and edited Promises, for his amazing work. Robert collaborated with Jude to produce an integrated, moving experience in which the text and videos enhance each other. Robert—congratulations! You did a great job. This recognition from Apple is a sure sign that one of the leading tastemakers in the digital space thinks what you pulled off is fantastic.

Thanks to Robert Sobul, Jude Deveraux—and of course, Apple. We really appreciate being singled out for this great vook!

We were skeptical that we could trade the heft of a good book for reading on a mobile device, but once we exchanged William Vollmann’s massive Europe Central for the iPhone version, we became committed multi-platform readers. Mobile books let us fit more books into our lives and (for those who decry the collapse of literature) buy books we otherwise wouldn’t — which supports more authors. We knew that Vook had to have a mobile complement and it had to offer content and value.

We created mobile versions of each of our launch titles—Promises by Jude Deveraux, The 90 Second Fitness Solution by Pete Cerqua, Embassy by Richard Doetsch and Return to Beauty by Narine Nikogosian. The mobile versions have all the text and video content of the Web based vook – and they let you follow the author and the community associated with the book through social media.

Here are some of the key features of our mobile vooks:

•    Mobile vooks feature the same text and the same great video content, optimized for the for iPhone and iPod touch for a truly engaging on the go reading experience.
•    Videos download directly to your device so you can watch the videos anywhere, anytime you want.
•    On the mobile vook, you can choose to watch the videos with the “Watch” functionality or watch and read with the “Read” functionality. The “Connect” functionality lets you connect to social media outlets to follow the conversation about the vooks.
•    The videos play in high quality, high resolution, offering the same crispness and clarity as their counterparts on the browser.

For those of you who might be skeptical about reading on your iPhone, please try one of these vooks. We think the integration of video and text on the mobile platform makes us unique on the market—and we want to know what books could be adapted to this format to make the most of it. Right now, the mobile vooks are only available for the iPhone and iPod touch but as other devices adapt to video content, we’ll be working to release our vooks to them as well.

VOOK PROMOTION!

We’ve had a great response to our launch—and we want to make sure that everyone tries a vook as both a browser and mobile experience. We’ve got five free access codes for the iTunes app versions of each of our vooks. To get a free iTunes app, buy a browser based vook and have a friend buy a browser based vook, then send both purchase confirmations to Matthew@vook.com and we’ll send you an access code to download your free copy of the vook’s iTunes app. We’ve only got five access codes for each vook to give away, so get your vook—and have your friends get a vook—before they’re all gone!

GET YOUR VOOKS NOW!

Legal Terms:

1) Free APP giveaway limited to five (5) iTunes applications for one of Vook’s current titles.

2) Free application must be redeemed by October 31, 2024.

3) Free iTunes applications given away on a first come, first served basis to the first five paying customers whose email to matthew@vook.com contains two (2) fully-paid purchase confirmations for any two browser-based vooks.

4) Limit one free iTunes application per customer.

5) iTunes applications may not be substituted for cash or another item.

6) Void where prohibited.

I wasn’t going to upgrade. I swear. But my gadget lust got the better of me and I caved.

So I spent the weekend with a new toy; my brand new iPhone 3G S.

This is now the third generation iPhone I’ve owned after its launch weekend. Pretty pathetic I know. But I’ve kept my batting record at 1000.

In my defense, it’s all for research purposes. Yeah, that’s right… research purposes. (At least, that’s what I told my wife)

But it’s true. Vook is betting pretty heavily on the iPhone space and I had to see if our prototypes worked on the new hardware. (Good news, it does!)

So here are some thoughts on the new handset from Apple.

The S is for Speed. And well deserved. A bump in memory and processing power means this is the snappiest iPhone to date. I never really thought of my old phone as slow. But going back to it now and it feels like a slug in comparison. Streaming videos and reading pages is a breeze on the new S.

V is for Video. The new iPhone should really be called the iPhone 3G V. The integration of a video camera and software in the device stands poised to revolutionize the way we see our world. Imagine a scene where everyone has access to a video camera and access to the web to instantly upload and share what they are seeing. Well it’s now a reality and I predict we’re going to see an explosion of new uses of video — to share memories, report on current events and eventually, I suspect, tell stories. Exciting stuff – especially for a platform like Vook.

If you are interested in upgrading to the new phone, check your eligibility on Apple’s web site. I’d give it an enthusiastic thumbs up.