EBook Readers | iPad App Comparison: iBooks, Kindle, BN Reader

I’ve been promising to share my thoughts on the competing eBook reader apps since my iPad purchase. Part of the delay, as well as playing with the apps to see the features, has been my inability to get decent pictures of the screens.

I’ve done my best here, but I don’t have a professional camera (mine has a PhD – “Push Here, Dummy”) so it’s the best I can do.

You will notice streaks in some frames. This is due to fingerprints on the screen. They are more visible with the flash than they are in regular use, but they can be distracting after a while.

Home Screen

This is one of my home screens. The three circled items are the eReaders that I use. The background is a wallpaper that I downloaded free online – not the standard black that comes with the iPad.

 iBooks

This is my iBooks library. Tapping a book opens it to the last page viewed (by page number). The iBooks app is by far the slickest of the three. Animated page turns, multiple options for settings, and overall appearance is appealing. The downfall is the limited choice in the iBookstore, though users may shop directly through the app.

BN eReader

The Barnes & Noble eReader is similar to iBooks. It also opens each book to the last open page and has multiple options for customizing appearance. This app also lists books in terms of pages and not a percentage of book finished, as the Kindle does. Adding books requires the app to close and opens BN in a Safari browser window. Also note that items that say “free” actually charge a $1 download fee to the default payment method associated with the account. This is not clearly stated anywhere and is an inconvenience.

Kindle

The Kindle, while not nearly as visually appealing as the iBooks app, has a HUGE ebook selection. It is obvious that this app has been around the longest. It works well, though again, a browser window opens for shopping. There is no hidden charge for free downloads.

Comparison

All three eReaders have multiple settings for viewing, though iBooks has only two font sizes. The larger is not very large, which may be a problem for those looking for a very large font. The actual reading is comparable on all three units. The main drawback for all of them is the iPad itself. For indoor reading, it is great. For outdoors, I found the glare to be objectionable and a definite irritation.

Right now, I am using the Kindle app the most. The large book selection and ease of use makes it #1 for me. If the iBooks app ups its inventory, I would surely prefer that one for the visual appeal

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Tagged as: eBook Readers