Why this Apple Fan doesn't read iBooks

[leebase]

Mix and matching ecosystems does have it's benefits.

I left my iPad mini at my daughter's house this weekend. I'll be without it for a week, minimum.

I do have several Kindle Fire class tablets. One of them is the Walmart Onn table I paid something like $60 for. 8" and mostly unadulterated Google Android (they did add a couple Walmart apps and a Walmart button).

I like this little tablet for reading, Netflix and such. Particularly for the price.

First thing I did was update the OS - as I hadn't used it in awhile. No go. Even the latest security update is over 2 years old. I'm spoiled to be in the Apple ecosystem where you get iOS updates and security patches for many years.

I'm certainly not going to do any banking or financial transactions on this device.

It just so happened that the book I was reading was via the FBReader app which has iOS and Android versions and uses Google Drive for syncing. No problem picking up from where I left off with my book.

It's another reason I don't buy books from the iBookstore. I'm quite happy with Amazon for ebooks. The other reason is that iBooks haven't had their DRM cracked (that I know of). I will "liberate" my paid-for Kindle books and then read them in any app of my choosing. As well as have them backed up.

I use the Calibre software for my ebook management. It's OSS. There are separate plugins you can find on the interwebs that handle the DRM liberation.

I also subscribe to Kindle unlimited. I like that they now have books/audiobooks that sync. I can be reading an ebook, then go for a walk and continue "reading" from Audible. It's not a "kindle unlimited" only feature. I have actually bought both an ebook and the audible version of the same book to be able to do this.

Not all ebooks that have audible versions have this ability.

As such, though, I've gotten in the habbit of just reading my kindle ebooks via the kindle app. It's not my favorite reading app, but it does just fine.

[JSWolf]

Given you are reading with iBooks, it's time to get a new iPad Mini to one that runs Books.

[Deskisamess]

Apple ruined the Books app in the latest updates. The app wasn't great to begin with, but it's dreadful now. Navigation is more complicated, takes many more taps for common actions, there is now an X at the top right of the screen that remains all the time, it's just awful.

I use the Speech Controller at times to "read" a book to me, and the changes made to the Books app broke this feature. It skips pages, rereads the same page over and over, and just plain doesn't work correctly anymore.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by leebase

...the Walmart Onn table I paid something like $60 for. 8" and mostly unadulterated Google Android (they did add a couple Walmart apps and a Walmart button).

Yeah, I really liked the Onn tablet. Had one for years, but my kid accidentally knelt on it and broke it. I bought a replacement and her friend tossed it on the bed and suddenly the new one no longer works.

I think I'm going to replace it with the Lenovo Tab M8. My old Lenovo tablet lasted until the battery just couldn't hold a charge any longer (seven years, not bad).

[HLS]

Originally Posted by leebase

Mix and matching ecosystems does have it's benefits.

I left my iPad mini at my daughter's house this weekend. I'll be without it for a week, minimum.

I do have several Kindle Fire class tablets. One of them is the Walmart Onn table I paid something like $60 for. 8" and mostly unadulterated Google Android (they did add a couple Walmart apps and a Walmart button).

I like this little tablet for reading, Netflix and such. Particularly for the price.

First thing I did was update the OS - as I hadn't used it in awhile. No go. Even the latest security update is over 2 years old. I'm spoiled to be in the Apple ecosystem where you get iOS updates and security patches for many years.

I'm certainly not going to do any banking or financial transactions on this device.

It just so happened that the book I was reading was via the FBReader app which has iOS and Android versions and uses Google Drive for syncing. No problem picking up from where I left off with my book.

It's another reason I don't buy books from the iBookstore. I'm quite happy with Amazon for ebooks. The other reason is that iBooks haven't had their DRM cracked (that I know of). I will "liberate" my paid-for Kindle books and then read them in any app of my choosing. As well as have them backed up.

I use the Calibre software for my ebook management. It's OSS. There are separate plugins you can find on the interwebs that handle the DRM liberation.

I also subscribe to Kindle unlimited. I like that they now have books/audiobooks that sync. I can be reading an ebook, then go for a walk and continue "reading" from Audible. It's not a "kindle unlimited" only feature. I have actually bought both an ebook and the audible version of the same book to be able to do this.

Not all ebooks that have audible versions have this ability.

As such, though, I've gotten in the habbit of just reading my kindle ebooks via the kindle app. It's not my favorite reading app, but it does just fine.

It is called whispersync and/or audible companions i believe and it has nothing to do with kindle unlimited.
Nearly all kindle ebooks allow you to buy the matching audiobook at a reduced cost and nearly all of them sync so you can both read and listen at the same time. You will see a highlight move on its own across the page as the words are spoken. I buy the audible with most of my ebook purchases. The feature is on all kindle devices. And all the kindle apps. I still buy books on other platforms such as kobo, nook, ibook

[leebase]

Originally Posted by HLS

It is called whispersync and/or audible companions i believe and it has nothing to do with kindle unlimited.
Nearly all kindle ebooks allow you to buy the matching audiobook at a reduced cost and nearly all of them sync so you can both read and listen at the same time. You will see a highlight move on its own across the page as the words are spoken. I buy the audible with most of my ebook purchases. The feature is on all kindle devices. And all the kindle apps. I still buy books on other platforms such as kobo, nook, ibook

It's not available for a LOT of the ebooks I buy on Amazon and wish to sync with the available Audible books. Can't speak to the "nearly all", as I don't have a comprehensive dataset to look at. I just know that OFTEN when I want to do so, I can't.

I've started specifically looking for KU books that have both as it's a nice feature and I'm already paying for the subscription.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yeah, I really liked the Onn tablet. Had one for years, but my kid accidentally knelt on it and broke it. I bought a replacement and her friend tossed it on the bed and suddenly the new one no longer works.

I think I'm going to replace it with the Lenovo Tab M8. My old Lenovo tablet lasted until the battery just couldn't hold a charge any longer (seven years, not bad).

So much nicer to have your kids destroy $80 tablets than $500 ones

[leebase]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Given you are reading with iBooks, it's time to get a new iPad Mini to one that runs Books.

It's been so long that I used iBooks that I completely missed the change to Books

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by leebase

So much nicer to have your kids destroy $80 tablets than $500 ones

If a tablet can be tossed on the bed and then become broken, it's rather poorly made.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by leebase

It's been so long that I used iBooks that I completely missed the change to Books

There's one major issue with Books. Try searching for something using the new name Books and see how badly that goes.

[issybird]

Originally Posted by HLS

nearly all of them sync so you can both read and listen at the same time. You will see a highlight move on its own across the page as the words are spoken. I buy the audible with most of my ebook purchases. The feature is on all kindle devices.

It’s called immersion reading and it’s not available on any kindle device at all. It’s a feature only on kindle apps and Fire tablets.

[leebase]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If a tablet can be tossed on the bed and then become broken, it's rather poorly made.

I have not found them to be THAT fragile. I guess when you make millions of something, there ill be some lemons.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by leebase

It's been so long that I used iBooks that I completely missed the change to Books

Yeah, the Lenovo I'm looking at is going on sale at $80 next Monday

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If a tablet can be tossed on the bed and then become broken, it's rather poorly made.

No arguments.

Originally Posted by leebase

I have not found them to be THAT fragile. I guess when you make millions of something, there ill be some lemons.

Yeah, I don't think even the cheapo Onn tablets are supposed to be that fragile. I'm sure this one is an outlier.

[shanghaichica]

I’ve never really taken to iBooks. By the time iBooks launched I had already bought my first kindle and built up a considerable Library. Then came the price fixing debacle which also put me off iBooks. But fundamentally my main reading device will always be an eink device and more specifically a kindle. I can’t read iBooks on a kindle without putting in some effort. On the rare occasions I want to/need to read on one of my iPads or iPhone I would just use the kindle app.