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Comics iPad App Updated with CMX-HD Support For Reading on Retina Display

By Wong Casandra - on 22 Mar 2012, 9:56am

Comics iPad App Updated with CMX-HD Support For Reading on Retina Display

Look for the CMX-HD badge in the app's store.

Developers are pouring in with updates for their iPad apps, mainly to take advantage of the new iPad's high resolution Retina Display. This of course, especially applies to game apps as well as apps for reading where graphics enhance the experience; as our pictures have shown, images on the new iPad look much sharper, and more prominently so when we zoomed all the way in with high-resolution images.

As such, Comixology had to update its Comics iPad app, introducing CMX-HD support for better, higher-resolution comic reading. CMX-HD comics and graphic novels will be upgraded for free for customers who have previously purchased content that now comes in the new format. Prices for these comics will remain at the same price as the original ones.

We haven't managed to get our hands on the new comics but on comparing the CMX-HD issue with a physical paperback, The Verge reports that "contrast and color saturation are markedly improved", and "distinguishing between the two can prove a challenge — in the best possible way".

The next important question is: Will file sizes be inflated beyond practicality? We last reported that some Apple iPad apps would be up to five times bigger in storage because of the increase in quality of graphics and it wouldn't be surprising if the increase is reflected to a certain degree here as well.

The Verge - But what about file sizes? Will iPad 2 owners need to sacrifice storage for a benefit they can't see? Thankfully it seems that's not the case according to our initial tests. We downloaded the same issue of Batman and Robin on a new iPad and an iPad 2; the CMX-HD comic took up 41.5MB on the new hardware, and came in at just over half that (21.7MB) on the elder iPad.

For now, only a select number of comics are available in the CMX-HD format but Comixology CTO Marc Goldberg has promised users that the company will be filling out its catalog "over the next few months. The app is available now as a free download in the iTunes App Store.

Source: Comixology Blog via The Verge 

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