Ben Forta

I first seriously used Edge Inspect when I was testing the redesign and relaunch of my own web site late last year, and I was hooked. Sure, if you are still creating desktop targeted HTML and CSS and relying on devices simply scaling the pages down, then you’ll probably have little need for a tool like Edge Inspect. But as soon as you start building device specific experiences, including adaptive and responsive UI, you’ll desperately need synchronized browsing, the ability to capture multiple device screenshots, and more. As I’ve previously stated, Edge Inspect is one of those rare products that, once you use it, you wonder how you ever developed without it.
Why do I mention this now? Packt recently sent me a copy of Joseph Khan’s new Instant Adobe Edge Inspect Starter e-book, which I took the time to read on a flight this week.

Edge Inspect is a very small and focused tool, it is designed to solve a very specific problem, and it does that very well. It’s not a complicated product to learn; there really aren’t that many options and features; it’s intentionally clean and simple. Which makes you wonder if a book on Edge Inspect is necessary or of value.

That said, Instant Adobe Edge Inspect Starter really does walk through everything you need to know about the product, from explaining what it is, to installation and set up, to real time page tweaks, to screen grabs, and more. The text is straightforward, the color screenshots useful, and the instructions make sense.

So is this book worth your time and money? As I said, Edge Inspect is not a big complex product, and so it doesn’t need a big complex book. Thankfully, this e-book weighs in at about 50 pages, and is priced at about $5 (there are print editions that are priced higher). Books don’t get much lower risk than that, and so this one is perfect for Edge Inspect beginners.