Will Marvin get a version 4? Or is it dead?

Spfamy1 · 11-27-2019, 10:07 AM

I’m very concerned for the future of e-reading on the iPad. I just purchased an iPad Pro 12.9 512 gig edition and restored an iTunes backup which had 6 gig of ebooks on Marvin 3.0. I was relieved to see Marvin taking up the full size iPad with perfect fidelity and clarity.

But the lack of news about anything new in the pipeline for Marvin 3.0 has me seriously worried for the future of e-reading on the iPad in the future. I’ve only trusted Marvin 3 to read ebooks because of its enormous range of customizations I can take advantage of to making my reading experience as seamless as possible. Like changing line height and font choices has been a god send. Plus changing background color as well. But now it’s looking like I’m being forced to look for an ePub alternative if Marvin 3 is no longer being updated for the future.

I need help in choosing a poor substitute for Marvin in case I’m forced to port my ePub collection into a new e reader for Apple iOS. Any ideas on what I can use? Bluefire? Anything better? Thanks.

pwalker8 · 11-27-2019, 12:00 PM

Frankly, reading on an iPad with something other than the main readers tied to ebooks stores (Kindle and Books) is mostly a niche market. It's been two years since the last version of Marvin came out and even longer since the developer posted here. Right now, my backup reading program for Marvin is MapleRead which was last updated about a month ago and has it's own thread that the developer posts on.

Turtle91 · 11-27-2019, 03:49 PM

As you mentioned Marvin 3 still works just fine. I'll be worried after Apple releases an iThing that is significantly upgraded from what they currently have...not just slightly faster and swipes instead of pushes. I figure that is so far in the future that Marvin competitors will actually have time to catch up to Marvin...

ilovejedd · 11-27-2019, 06:49 PM

As long as Marvin continues working, I'll stick to it. I'm more than fine sticking to older firmware and devices are more than fast enough nowadays that I don't feel the need to update to the latest models anytime soon. I've tried Marvin 3 on the new 10.2-inch iPad and text is very crisp even if there's no official support for 2160x1620 resolution.

I often need to overwrite my ebooks though (frequently updated fanfics) so I'm very dependent on Marvin's built-in Dropbox support (the only source that allows direct overwrite). My current backup plan is Hyphen.

11-27-2019, 10:07 AM	#1
Spfamy1 Connoisseur Posts: 71 Karma: 20000 Join Date: Jul 2016 Device: iPhone 6s Plus	Will Marvin get a version 4? Or is it dead? I’m very concerned for the future of e-reading on the iPad. I just purchased an iPad Pro 12.9 512 gig edition and restored an iTunes backup which had 6 gig of ebooks on Marvin 3.0. I was relieved to see Marvin taking up the full size iPad with perfect fidelity and clarity. But the lack of news about anything new in the pipeline for Marvin 3.0 has me seriously worried for the future of e-reading on the iPad in the future. I’ve only trusted Marvin 3 to read ebooks because of its enormous range of customizations I can take advantage of to making my reading experience as seamless as possible. Like changing line height and font choices has been a god send. Plus changing background color as well. But now it’s looking like I’m being forced to look for an ePub alternative if Marvin 3 is no longer being updated for the future. I need help in choosing a poor substitute for Marvin in case I’m forced to port my ePub collection into a new e reader for Apple iOS. Any ideas on what I can use? Bluefire? Anything better? Thanks.

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11-27-2019, 12:00 PM	#2
pwalker8 Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,195 Karma: 70314280 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Atlanta, GA Device: iPad Pro, iPad mini, Kobo Aura, Amazon paperwhite, Sony PRS-T2	Frankly, reading on an iPad with something other than the main readers tied to ebooks stores (Kindle and Books) is mostly a niche market. It's been two years since the last version of Marvin came out and even longer since the developer posted here. Right now, my backup reading program for Marvin is MapleRead which was last updated about a month ago and has it's own thread that the developer posts on.

11-27-2019, 03:49 PM	#3
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,094 Karma: 18727053 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	As you mentioned Marvin 3 still works just fine. I'll be worried after Apple releases an iThing that is significantly upgraded from what they currently have...not just slightly faster and swipes instead of pushes. I figure that is so far in the future that Marvin competitors will actually have time to catch up to Marvin...

11-27-2019, 06:49 PM	#4
ilovejedd hopeless n00b Posts: 5,111 Karma: 19597086 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: in the middle of nowhere Device: PW4, PW3, Libra H2O, iPad 10.5, iPad 11, iPad 12.9	As long as Marvin continues working, I'll stick to it. I'm more than fine sticking to older firmware and devices are more than fast enough nowadays that I don't feel the need to update to the latest models anytime soon. I've tried Marvin 3 on the new 10.2-inch iPad and text is very crisp even if there's no official support for 2160x1620 resolution. I often need to overwrite my ebooks though (frequently updated fanfics) so I'm very dependent on Marvin's built-in Dropbox support (the only source that allows direct overwrite). My current backup plan is Hyphen.

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