Which ebook reader for iPhone, iPod Touch?

[robinson]

On the verge of buying my first ebooks--several series of books. Have been reading for years on Palm and iPod Touch.

The problem is deciding which ebook reader I'm going to favor with my patronage! (Or, is that, which ebook am I going to get locked into?! )

Each of the major ones has serious limitations.

I love Stanza; for many reasons it is my favorite, but it has no resident dictionary. If any of the free dictionaries had a night mode, I'd be set although the buying of books is not easy (as compared to say Kindle or Nook).

The Kindle app is OK with the great New Oxford American Dictionary, but has no control over margins, *colors*, or justification.

Nook's justification controls don't work on most books (can't stand full justification on small screens) and has distracting page turn animations that can't be turned off!

iBooks is not a candidate as I'm not going to upgrade the IPT to iOS 4.x as that is plagued by problems on older i-devices (battery drain, etc.).

That leaves Barnes & Noble's ereader, though the dictionary is the Merriam-Webster pocket one. Can't see spending $25+ on an unabridged, when I just did that a couple of years on a Palm version that doesn't transfer.

This is a head-scratcher for sure!

[ProfCrash]

You don't have to get locked into any of them. There are ways of reading books from different stores on your e-reader. You ahve the Apps, you have non-drmed books that can be converted to different formats, you have free books available in all format, and you can choose to strip DRM and then convert formats if you want.

[issybird]

The B&N ereader is fantastic, except that B&N no longer supports it. So if you purchase from B&N, you can't download your books to it anymore. You're forced to the Nook app, which isn't nearly so good.

There's also a Kobo app which isn't bad (better than the nook and Kindle apps, IMO), and the Kobo ebook store is pretty good, but I don't know about dictionary options.

If ease of downloading purchases to a decent app is the most important consideration, I'd go with Kobo. And then use Stanza for public domain and anything else.

[BenG]

Sony will be releasing a Reader app soon.

[tomsem]

I think the app you are looking for does not exist yet (I too am not 100% happy with the apps I'm using, though Bluefire comes closest at present). But apps are evolving quickly so I think there's reason to be hopeful that if the feature set you need doesn't exist today, it will exist in the not distant future.

[lilac_jive]

Why choose? I have them all. Get the best deals that way

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Why choose? I have them all. Get the best deals that way

For 'best deals' an app that I run rarely is not useful. Needs to be an RSS I can subscribe to, in combination with a price comparison service such as Luzme.

The whole 'one-app-per-storefront' approach is tiresome. I'd like to have a great reading app that allows me to choose or add my own storefronts.

[5thWiggle]

I use mostly iBooks and Stanza. I've got a second Gen 8G ipod and have had no issues with battery drain and IOS 4.2 since I turned Push and Notifications off, and use airplane mode when not on wifi. Usually I search for books with mobile Safari and use the "open In" function.

Is a resident dictionary that important to you? I find having to stop to look up a word just as jarring to my reading experience with a resident dictionary as with an online one. If I need to look something up, I usually wait till later and use copy/paste to another app if it's not in the resident dictionary. (Hmmm, so lugubrious did'nt mean he had a runny nose....)

[LagunaManiac]

I would, of course, recommend the iFlow Reader, but if you must go elsewhere, you should choose one of the readers that truly supports epub and Adobe DRM. On the software side, this currently includes iFlow, Bluefire, Kobo, Borders, and a few others. It does not include Nook, Kindle, or iBooks which have proprietary formats that lock your book collection into their ecosystem.

[fruiter]

Stanza and iBooks, definitely. Are you going to need the dictionary so often? Stopping to search a word can be very frustrating sometimes -- I second fthWiggle's suggestion!

[januaryman]

All are okay, IMHO, but Kindle wins for ease of use, best dictionary, fastest page/chapter advance.

Kobo has no Search feature, so it's something to consider before you buy a Kobo book (but they do have great price/coupon combos). When I wanted to search out names in my Kobo copy of "Cheever" I was just out of luck.

Nook is good because the B&N classic series that have superior essays/translations/editing to books that you can get elsewhere for free, but for an extra $2 or so, they are very good choices.

I have iBooks loaded, but rarely use that. So, no opinion.

In order of my preference: 1) Kindle - 2) Nook - 3) Kobo - 4) iBooks

That said, just keep all the apps. They're free!

[robinson]

Appreciate the feedback so far. Part of what this purchasing quandary has done is to make me rethink which features of ebook app are most important.

I don't stop that often to look up words, but much prefer the convenience of a built-in dictionary (but one without a glaring white screen). I do the copy and paste elsewhere sometimes, but then you see the bright screen that all the dictionary apps have. (If the reading apps had a bookmark or note e-mail feature, I could just mark and collect the words to look up later.)

In any event, the page turning animation and lack of control over justification and colors in most of these apps are the biggest non-starters for me.

So, it would have to be Stanza or B & N eReader.

Let me be specific. One of the series I'd be interested in reading is the Grand Tour set of books by Ben Bova, the science fiction writer. How would I go about getting that into Stanza or Barnes & Noble's eReader app?

Would it require stripping DRM? Is stripping DRM, e.g., via Calibre *legal*? (I don't want to open up a debate over the justifications or merits of doing that-- we've all read and participated in bunch of those threads! :-) -- just wanting to find out if the latest copyright act gives us the legal permission to do that.)

How would I get a purchased book from Nook into the B & N eReader?

[Zero]

Lately I've been using Bluefire. One of the only reader I know that can read DRM epub and PDF - so I've actually used the online ebooks available from my local library. Works well

[5thWiggle]

Have a look at the Kobo app. Newest update fixed the problems I had with freezing (or maybe a re-install would have done it, IDK). Has night mode, a resident dictionary (not night mode though), can turn off the page animation , and has bookmarks and note. You can set justification to full,left or publisher default. I believe it also works with Adobe DRM as well. No search function,though. The Kobo bookstore has Ben Bova (thanks for reminding me of his books, btw).

[benham]

I am strictly a reader. Don't care if there is a dictionary or search function much. Most of the books I read on iTouch are on iBooks or Kindle. Their ereaders are mediocre at best but get the job done. Kobo is better. Stanza and Megareader are great and you get tons of free books with them, but is there a way to download purchased books to them?I'll check out Bluefire in honor of my Sony Blue!