iPod Best eBook Reader App

Originally Posted by starfish777

I like Nook because it has a brightness setting built in. Instead of having to exit and go to Settings, Brightness, I can just hit the little Settings logo in the app, slide the slide while actually looking at a window of the page, so I can see how it will look, and then go back to reading. Very quick.

Stanza allows lighting adjustment that is even easier--just slide your finger up or down on the left side of the screen.

In iBooks just tap the light icon at the top of the page and adjust the slider. (If the light icon is not displayed, tap the page center.) No need to exit iBooks and it is still pretty quick though not as quick as Stanza.

In Bluefire, tap the page center, tap Aa Settings, adjust the slider. You then need to tap Save to return to the page. Like most things in Bluefire, it is a bit slower to accomplish.

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In Nook, I don't think there is a way to sideload books. Pity as the Nook app is pretty good.

My favorite app for ePubs is iBooks even though ironically it offers the least amount of text customization. I like the dictionary and highlighting functions, and I especially like being able to sync bookmarks, highlighting, and current page to the iBooks app on other devices. Kindle is pretty good too with a great dictionary, but it doesn't do ePubs.

Unfortunately there isn't much money to be made in developing reader apps, so we probably won't see that killer reader app we all keep hoping for. I thought Bluefire might be a better app than it turned out to be, but they don't seem to interested in improving it. I think Bluefire is more interested in library distribution software and their reader was just a means to sell that. It is very unpolished at present, but who knows maybe they will polish it up some day. The big eBook store companies like Amazon (Kindle), Apple (iBooks), B&N (Nook), etc. don't seem to care about adding functionality to their elementary readers. I wouldn't mind paying $10 for a really good reader, but I doubt any developers will invest resources in a paid reader app with all the free ones that are available.

[Musashi]

I'm loving the Kobo app. Facebook and twitter integration, and the prices are very good.

[covfam]

i loved stanza and used it alot for about a year but then they started introducing major bugs constantly with each and every update. if if it was as stable as it was a year and a half ago it would be the perfect ereader for me. but untill nots nolonger a bug ridden mess ill not use it.

[yesno]

iBooks is my least favorite ereader, but it's the one I use because it offers over-the-air syncing of sideloaded books. This is one of those features that's so great that it's worth putting up with:

* annoying, function-free pictures of "pages" on the side

* too-small margin

* good brightness control, but no true "night mode" (white text on black)

* irritatingly flashy page-turn animations

If it weren't for syncing of sideloaded books, I'd use Stanza. I do have confidence that Apple will continue to improve the app.

I have converted all of my purchased Kindle books to ePubs so that I can still access them. However, I am sort of interested as to why no one has cracked Apple's ebook DRM yet. I like their platform, but I'd like to be able to switch. (The new Nook Touch hardware looks pretty good, for instance.) Surely Apple's DRM is the #2 or #3 most used for ebooks (with Kindle first and Adobe or Apple second).

Originally Posted by yesno

Surely Apple's DRM is the #2 or #3 most used for ebooks (with Kindle first and Adobe or Apple second).

Another thread on MR quotes an AP article that claims Amazon still has about 65% of the eBook market, followed by B&N at 25%, and I think it said no more than 10% for Apple.

[estelle58]

I like iBook, Kobo and I'm discovering Kindle

[Teddman]

Originally Posted by yesno

If it weren't for syncing of sideloaded books, I'd use Stanza.

Just get the FileBrowser app.

It will allow you to browse any computer or NAS hard drive wirelessly and load books into the e-reader app of your choosing. (It can do this with all types of files and apps too).

Originally Posted by Teddman

Just get the FileBrowser app.

It will allow you to browse any computer or NAS hard drive wirelessly and load books into the e-reader app of your choosing. (It can do this with all types of files and apps too).

I think he is talking about "over-the-air syncing of sideloaded books", not loading sideloaded books. You can easily use iTunes to sideload books into Stanza.

iBooks does over-the-air syncing of current page, highlighting, bookmarks, etc. for sideloaded books so you can read the same book on multiple devices which run iBooks and not have to worry about the location, highlighting, or bookmarks as that info is automatically synced between the devices as long as you have an internet connection.

[Teddman]

True, but when "multiple devices" means two (iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch) it really isn't much of a range (compared to Kindle syncing across 8 different platforms, though only purchased titles). For instance, no e-ink device is supported in iBooks syncing.

But if that really means a lot, I guess you are stuck with iBooks.

[PCreighton]

IPAD 2 ereader App best, I have 2 kindles one my husband uses, one I use. We use Calibre manage our books with. Have just purchased IPAD2 what app should I use to read books? Will Calibre work with IPAD 2 to send books to? Not primary reason for purchase of IPAD2 but when travelling figure I will not take 1 of the kindles with us. IPAD instead and couple books on it.

[yesno]

It would be nice if another platform supported sideloaded ePub page-read syncing. In particular, I would love to keep my iPad, iPhone, and a Nook in sync. (Amazon is not an option since it doesn't support ePub.)

Until that happens, though, I think a lot of ePub enthusiasts don't seem to be aware that this particular feature is offered by Apple and by no other platform.

Originally Posted by Teddman

True, but when "multiple devices" means two (iPad and iPhone/iPod Touch) it really isn't much of a range (compared to Kindle syncing across 8 different platforms, though only purchased titles). For instance, no e-ink device is supported in iBooks syncing.

But if that really means a lot, I guess you are stuck with iBooks.

Amazon's Whispersync is definitely the king of syncing. To bad it doesn't support ePubs though.

I've recently purchased a KSO WiFi to test out Whispersync using purchased Kindle books with iPt4, iPad, nookcolor, and Kindle for PC. I do so much highlighting and annotating that it is important for me to be able to sync across platforms. Mostly I want it for the KSO and the iPt4. I occasionally read on the iPad, but prefer the KSO and the iPt4. The nookcolor just doesn't perform as well as the iOS and eInk readers. A lot of folks think it does, but for me it is just clunky and kluge even running CM7 on eMMC. It is just too unstable to truly enjoy reading.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by jswinden

The nookcolor just doesn't perform as well as the iOS and eInk readers. A lot of folks think it does, but for me it is just clunky and kluge even running CM7 on eMMC. It is just too unstable to truly enjoy reading.

I've recently switched all of my text reading to a NC with CM7, and while there are things that are a bit untidy around the edges, and overall it is certainly not as slick as the iPad experience, I haven't had stability issues, and find Moon Reader+ to be a perfectly good reading app.

[mcramer]

Personally I've tried most of them and constantly come back to Stanza. I also have the Kindle app purely to read the few free books I download from Amazon.

I find the extra "stuff" on the screen in the Kindle app and iBooks exceptionally annoying even on the larger screen of the iPad. All I want on the screen is text - no fake pages, no massive (non adjustable) margins, no faux page turns.

Which is why I end up back with Stanza.........

[JimKal]

Originally Posted by TheBookMonster

I recently purchased an iPod Touch 4 and was wondering which eBook app takes the best use of this (display). Price doesn't matter.

I use an iPad and an iPhone4 as reading devices. While I use the Kindle app almost exclusively, as the apps are free downloads, why don't you just download them all and decide which one works best for you. I think you will like the Touch as everyone I show the Retina screen on the iPhone, finds it is a very easy device to read on.