ipad 1 (ios5.5) how can i get an iBooks or ereader?

[tonyfromoz]

Apologies in advance if this question has been asked, and perhaps you can point me to an answer.
With my purchase of ipadAir2 I gave my ipad3(64gb) to my wife and reclaimed my old ipad1(64gb) intending to use it for music and ebook reading. Did reset and now I'm in a swamp of trouble, AppsStore/iTunesStore won't connect (I've wasted 3 hours working through the claimed best hacks/applesupport web FAQs, resets, time changes etc and no success), iCloud telling me about claimed server identity issues and refusing to connect etc.
But most relevantly iBooks latest version will not load to ipad1 (it requires later ios), nor will about 6 or 8 apps I tried from iStore offering ereader functionality.

I've learned (too late) to never do a hard reset of everything on ipad. What with its planned obsolescence my ipad1, iCloudless and AppStoreless for now, feels like a Ford Edsel.

My questions (recognise that I can't get access via ipad1 to iCloud/AppsStore for the time being; yes I have full iCloud/AppsStore operability on my PCs, ipad6, ipad3, iphone etc)

1. is there a third party app which can be downloaded via iStore on PC which supports epub for the old ios5 for ipad1?

2. is there any way of downloading old iBooks for ipad1 via my PC and somehow updating into my ipad1

Thanks in anticipation

[JSWolf]

Take it to the Apple store and they can sort it out.

[ShellShock]

I've got the free version of Marvin on my IPad 1, have you tried it? I don't know if it still available. With IOS 8, I get the impression that a lot of apps have dropped IPad 1 support.

[kyteflyer]

If Marvin is working still on iPad1, I wouldnt go past it. Its the best option for almost all iDevices However, you are not going to get iBooks for your device unless you saved out an old version. Apple sends them away PDQ.

I dont quite understand why you can't access the app store. Do you not have itunes?

[wobohohoho]

Is there any way to get Marvin on my iPad 1? (What's the use of legacy apps being accessible only if you've used/purchased the app before?) I'm currently suffering through the list of "Requires iOS 5.0 or later" EPUB readers. The best I could get is iPublishCentral Reader, but for some wholly unknown reason, trying to navigate the TOC lands me back to the cover, the search function works though, so that's a lifesaver for a 2000+ page book (other readers were fine in navigating through the TOC, but had other problems [Shubooks did not display correctly]). On my PC, Calibre displays the EPUBs and navigates with no problems.

[kyteflyer]

I think Marvin now only supports later OSes. If Kris has pulled the older versions from iTunes, theres no way to get it. Thats why I *always* save out a copy of my favourite apps... just in case theres a later hangup of some kind.

I've gone back to using Stanza on everything. Its no longer in the app store, but I have it here.

There are other readers too, but none may suit and almost all are paid apps.
One that showed a lot of promise but has not been updated or maintained is ReadMe. iOS4. There's also Bluefire (which may be your best bet) and Megareader (which probably isn't). Bluefire is free, and usually gets formatting right. With any luck if its not compatible with the OS, you'll get an offer to download the older version.

You could also try Blio which only needs iOS 4 (yes, I'm prowling the store for you, I reckon I have tried and bought just about everything worth having, and many which are not). Tomes, too. its a scroller rather than a page turner. Its the first iOS epub reader I had. Not free. ios4.3

[pdurrant]

I'm a bit late to this thread, but I will just note that Requiem 3.3.6 with the right version of iTunes would remove DRM from iBooks ePubs, so that they could be read in any ePub reader, or converted to any other format that suits.

Personally, I don't buy from iBooks because the DRM removal is so tricky (requiring a particular version of iTunes).

[wobohohoho]

Originally Posted by kyteflyer

You could also try Blio which only needs iOS 4 (yes, I'm prowling the store for you, I reckon I have tried and bought just about everything worth having, and many which are not). Tomes, too. its a scroller rather than a page turner. Its the first iOS epub reader I had. Not free. ios4.3

Thanks for your time and effort! Too bad I can't get Bluefire to to install a ios 5.0 version, and Blio doesn't work that well (I can't figure why I'm seeing HTML tags), so I'll suffer through the relatively inadequate iPublishCentral Reader.

At 2 USD I'd say MegaReader could be the answer, but without anyway to confirm that my EPUBs (sourced from CHM files, that I then made into EPUB using Sigil) would properly work in the way I expect them, I'd stay with what I have for the time being.

[JSWolf]

My suggestion is to find a refurbished or overstock iPad and replace your 1st gen iPad. The iPad 1 is not all that useful and it crashes a lot. Plus you cannot run a lot of apps as it's never going to get an iOS update and a lot of apps that once has iOS 5 versions no longer have them.

[markom]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

My suggestion is to find a refurbished or overstock iPad and replace your 1st gen iPad. The iPad 1 is not all that useful and it crashes a lot. Plus you cannot run a lot of apps as it's never going to get an iOS update and a lot of apps that once has iOS 5 versions no longer have them.

I have no problem whatsoever with my iPad 1, jailbroken ver. 5.1.1. but I mainly use it for reading though (almost as frequently as iPad 4) using only free pdf, djvu, epub, mobi apps,
and as storage for 50 GB books.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...18&postcount=6

I've jailbroken it to freely share books or multimedia files between any app, connect USB memories or wireless HDD, and also for f.lux app. to get warmer colors for night reading.

Originally Posted by wobohohoho

Thanks for your time and effort! Too bad I can't get Bluefire to to install a ios 5.0 version, and Blio doesn't work that well (I can't figure why I'm seeing HTML tags), so I'll suffer through the relatively inadequate iPublishCentral Reader.

At 2 USD I'd say MegaReader could be the answer, but without anyway to confirm that my EPUBs (sourced from CHM files, that I then made into EPUB using Sigil) would properly work in the way I expect them, I'd stay with what I have for the time being.

Maybe TxtPub

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/txtp...643125134?mt=8

or maybe upgrading to 5.1.1 ; CHMate — The EPUB And CHM Reader

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/chma...335157929?mt=8

[kyteflyer]

Originally Posted by wobohohoho

Thanks for your time and effort! Too bad I can't get Bluefire to to install a ios 5.0 version, and Blio doesn't work that well (I can't figure why I'm seeing HTML tags), so I'll suffer through the relatively inadequate iPublishCentral Reader.

At 2 USD I'd say MegaReader could be the answer, but without anyway to confirm that my EPUBs (sourced from CHM files, that I then made into EPUB using Sigil) would properly work in the way I expect them, I'd stay with what I have for the time being.

Megareader has a lot of promise but barely manages regular published epubs, yours sound more likely to fail.

No idea why you'd be getting HTML tags, but if you've got something which works, go with it... and like the others, I'd recommend an update of some kind. If you've got the Air, you already know the iPad1 is past it. (and I can't imagine why you'd choose to read on a low res screen when you can have the better retina one...) :-/

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by wobohohoho

Is there any way to get Marvin on my iPad 1? (What's the use of legacy apps being accessible only if you've used/purchased the app before?) I'm currently suffering through the list of "Requires iOS 5.0 or later" EPUB readers. The best I could get is iPublishCentral Reader, but for some wholly unknown reason, trying to navigate the TOC lands me back to the cover, the search function works though, so that's a lifesaver for a 2000+ page book (other readers were fine in navigating through the TOC, but had other problems [Shubooks did not display correctly]). On my PC, Calibre displays the EPUBs and navigates with no problems.

This is why it's time to dump your iPad 1. All the good reading apps require iOS 6 or later and the iPad 1 is never getting another iOS update. It's obsolete and if you actually want to use an iPad, you'll need a newer iPad.

[drofgnal]

Moral of this story is always do a backup before a hard reset.

[wobohohoho]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is why it's time to dump your iPad 1. All the good reading apps require iOS 6 or later and the iPad 1 is never getting another iOS update. It's obsolete and if you actually want to use an iPad, you'll need a newer iPad.

Well, I'd clarify there's already an iPad 2 in the house. I'm just trying to make some use of the iPad 1, since my Samsung Focus Windows Phone 7.8 Freda EPUB reader app for some reason can't download the larger-than-90MB EPUBs that I have (reading handbooks on a 4.3 inch screen is kind of pushing it).

Seriously, I'm waiting to see what Windows 10 will have to offer to the smartphone, phablet and tablet marketplace before dumping those devices.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by wobohohoho

Seriously, I'm waiting to see what Windows 10 will have to offer to the smartphone, phablet and tablet marketplace before dumping those devices.

Well, I have a Windows phone Nokia Lumia 520 and I like it pretty well. It has much less apps than are available on my iPhone or iPad but it does have most essentials that I want. Windows 10 phone will be free it you own an 8. I am not sure mine is upgradeable as its RAM is pretty low 1/2 G but we'll see. I bought it without phone service for $30 so even if it isn't I am ok with that.

I think Window 10 OS will be similar to what we have now but much simpler to use. The phone only uses apps so it shouldn't change much but the Tablets that can run desktop apps will change a bunch as the desktop and the apps screens will be merged.

Dale