Statue of the Reading Apps

[leebase]

It's been awhile since I checked in. Just wondering if there has been any progress in reading apps. Back in the day before fictionwise was bough by B&N, I used to love Stanza. It was great. Choice of built in stores...and easy adding of completely new sources of ebooks.

Then Stanza stopped being updated (a year or two after being bought by Amazon).

Bluereader never did get "all the way there" last time I checked.

So I've been reading with the iBooks app (for epubs) which I like. Or the Kindle app for my kindle books, which I don't like that much at all.

Anything since then?

Check out Marvin. Marvin has its own forum now on MobileRead.

[Jessica Lares]

Yep, Marvin has lots of die-hard fans that came from Stanza.

[leebase]

Marvin looks great. Ponied up the $5

[negarey]

Marvin is great for ePub and I really wish there was a free app that's comparable for PDFs but with some of the standard PDF functions like FreeText and vertical scrolling and drawing for marginalia notes. I know Marvin is working on the scrolling, but I dunno. I shouldn't expect so much out of free apps, but I'm super poor and I really wouldn't mind using two apps if they each was sufficient. Also, I know I can convert the files but my PDFs are mostly for school-related text that I want to mark up.

So...that's my contribution. I'm super frustrated with the selection. I downloaded so many of the apps just to find them super frustrating because they focus on one key feature but ignore all the rest. I've been starting a list of all of the ones I try and the features I like and don't like just so I don't download them again thinking I didn't give them a chance. Here are the ones I've kept and why so far:

I use BlueFire Reader for library books from OverDrive and OpenLibrary.
Marvin for ePubs, which is generally recreational reading.
ClaroPDF Lite or Adobe for PDF currently because they allow such heavy markup, but I don't like the file management of either and Adobe doesn't allow Dropbox sync.
I HAVE the Kindle app just in case I ever come across enough money to buy a book.
I also have Copia but I'm really struggling to get it working.

I'm sorry for ranting, but I'm just so frustrated. I got to this thread because I was hoping I might stumble upon a recommendation. So if anyone has any for PDF, let me know. Thanks for letting me vent.

[leebase]

Goodreader for PDF"s

[Graham]

This chat about the status of the reading apps is all very well, but I came here for news about the reading apps' statue.



Graham

[kguil]

@leebase - Thank for your support!

[Faterson]

negarey, buy GoodReader, and your PDF struggles are over. It's just a few dollars, a laughable price that certainly anyone owning an iDevice can afford.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by negarey

I'm sorry for ranting, but I'm just so frustrated. I got to this thread because I was hoping I might stumble upon a recommendation. So if anyone has any for PDF, let me know. Thanks for letting me vent.

Goodreader. Yes, it's not free, but it's not exactly going to break the bank, no matter how modest your resources. It's the best.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by kguil

@leebase - Thank for your support!

I'm in LOVE with Marvin. Read with it on my iPhone in bed last night. Thrilled. I haven't been this happy since Stanza. I've wanted to like others...as in BlueFish(?)...but they all fell short of that perfect combination of features from Stanza.

The "Open In" feature of iOS has rendered the huge need that connecting to servers like Calibre, but it's still very nice that you support it.

The "drag finger" for brightness control is a big win. I loved that feature, and you've improved on it.

Wish it had a couple packaged themes...haven't settled on the perfect color combination/text bacground just yet.

Then you add an AMAZING feature I hadn't even thought to desire. The ability to have the names searched and presented. I read lots of long books like spy thrillers with lots of characters. Right now I'm reading Bourne Dominion, and it's very nice to take a peak at a character name and be reminded of what had been said about them hundreds of pages before. Brilliant!

Lee

[leebase]

Just realized I wrote "Statue" instead of "State" in the thread title [sigh]

[negarey]

Originally Posted by Faterson

negarey, buy GoodReader, and your PDF struggles are over. It's just a few dollars, a laughable price that certainly anyone owning an iDevice can afford.

Actually, no. I am unemployed and in the process of applying to graduate school. My parents, who currently cannot even afford to pay their own bills, are paying for my GRE and applications. Then we have to move to a different state 1,000 miles away in order to chase the job market.

I received the "iDevice" as a gift from a friend who knew it would help me immensely in the process of studying for the GRE as there are a bunch of free GRE apps and I'm able to go to the library and pirate prep books.

Not quite laughable, eh? I'm rather offended by your assumption, actually, as it's not just that I'm penniless and that my parents are in the red, but I also have $10,000 in medical debt which is still accumulating rapidly.

Everyone has different circumstances and I wouldn't ask about a free one if a few dollars was so "laughable" for me.

[negarey]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Goodreader. Yes, it's not free, but it's not exactly going to break the bank, no matter how modest your resources. It's the best.

See above response. It won't break the bank because there is no bank.

[Faterson]

It's only $5. I would starve for a day, or two, to get the $5 needed for purchasing an essential app like GoodReader, that can significantly help you in your studies. The decision is up to you, of course. Good luck.