Review: KooBits 4.0 eBook Library Software with Free eBook Store

A new free software for managing your eBook collection has recently been made available. This is the visually appealing program, KooBits, in version 4.0. It is particularly enjoyable due to its presentation and ease of use. eBooks can be easily added to the library, organized on shelves and in categories, and viewed with a simple click. Useful highlighting and copy functions enhance the overall positive impression.

As a bonus, there is a very nice feature. An integrated eBook store offers a selection of free eBooks organized by categories after a quick registration. Additionally, during registration, you can specify your favorite subject area, and from then on, the software provides a free eBook for download every day.

A brief review including a demo video and example images is available after the break.

Presentation

In simple black and brown tones, the program presents itself to the user after installation. The already added books can be viewed either in the attractive shelf view or the minimalist table view. The organized free eBook store is accessible to the user only after a quick registration. Then, free books are displayed sorted by category – unfortunately only in English. In addition, a handful of recommendations and an exclusive eBook hopefully tailored to the user’s taste are offered daily.

Functionality

Adding, removing, and sorting your books is seamless, and the eBook store is pleasant to browse. All offers can be added to your personal library with a mouse click and then quickly and easily downloaded. Once the desired book is in your collection, it can be read immediately with a double click. Additionally, very useful functions, such as highlighting text passages in different colors, are available. Passages can also be copied, but unfortunately not in text form; instead, the desired segment is saved as an image file in a kind of notepad. You can also set bookmarks and print pages.

So far, so good, but now let’s move to a less pleasant point: compatibility. Although KooBits advertises a large number of supported formats, the reader is actually quite limited in this area, supporting only ePub, PDF, and XML from the most common formats. Kindle books (AZW) or Mobipocket eBooks (MOBI) are left out. Because of this limitation, the software might not be useful for many users.

Conclusion

KooBits currently offers probably the most attractive and straightforward way to manage your eBooks. A nice range of features and the very motivating free eBook store, which delivers free works daily, round off the complete package. Unfortunately, the program does not support all common eBook formats, so Kindle users will probably have to rely on other programs, since .azw files are not recognized by KooBits. Mobi and lit eBooks also cannot be used here. This leaves a rather lukewarm overall impression: if you can’t use your books, the best feature set is of no use.

However, the software is highly recommended for all ePub and PDF users. And since the program is free, it might be worth a look for the rest of the community too.