Calibre Version 2.0 Released: Major Updates and Features for eBook Management

At the end of October 2006, Calibre officially came into the world initially under the name “libprs500.” Back then, the development was primarily focused on the Sony PRS-500, for which the developer of Calibre needed a management tool. About eight years, a name change in 2008, and many upgrades later, Calibre has become the most popular eBook management program — not only for Sony but for all possible eBook readers. The compatibility list is long and continues to grow.

In total, the program has been installed around 25 million times worldwide, with approximately half a million new installations added each month. Now, Calibre has been released in version 2.0, bringing not just the usual bug fixes and enhancements but also some major changes, namely:

• eBook Editor: The editor allows eBooks in ePub and AZW3 (Kindle) formats to be edited, including some helpful tools to make work easier.
• eBook Comparison: Alongside the editor, there’s also the ability to compare eBooks. The differences between the two files are highlighted, allowing you to see them directly and correct them if necessary without much effort.
• Support for Android smartphones and tablets on OS X: While it was previously possible to connect Android tablets to PCs under Windows and Linux and manage the eBooks with Calibre, this wasn’t possible under Apple’s OS X. It now works without any issues.
• QT5 Implementation: Calibre now uses the latest version of the QT UI Framework, which brings some important bug fixes for text display in the eBook viewer. “Fallback” fonts work, as do incorrect font specifications. Hyphenation has also been significantly improved. Under Linux, the use of the new framework also results in significantly lower memory usage, which in turn increases the program’s performance when executing various actions in the command line.
• Touchscreen Usage on Windows Tablets: The eBook viewer now also supports touchscreen inputs on Windows 8 tablets, such as the Microsoft Surface Pro. Finger gestures for page turning and navigation in the viewer are supported.
• Improved Library Management: Simple rules can be set to display small symbols next to the book covers in the cover view. For example, you can show a heart symbol for highly rated eBooks or a checkmark to signal that the book has already been read, etc.

However, some of the mentioned improvements are not entirely new but were already implemented during the Version 1 product cycle and further enhanced with the release of Version 2. As always, Calibre can be downloaded here for various operating systems.