TopTen.plist #1: Our Favorite iOS eReaders

ByMike Moffit

Last week we posed the question: Do you prefer to read digital or paper books? in our weekly Kibbles & Bytes newsletter. We received an overwhelming response from our readers which led us to wonder which apps are best on the digital side of things. With the steadily rising popularity of the iPad, and the firmly established iPhone/iPod touch platform, App developers have taken full advantage of the surge in ebook popularity. Though one of its highly advertised features, the iPad does not ship with an included e-reader. Apple’s free iBooks may seem like a no brainer on your inaugural trip to the App Store, but it unfortunately lacks some of the content and features supported in other apps. So which e-reader apps are the best of the best? We’ve surveyed iPad users around the office as well as our Twitter followers to find out.

The first five apps are listed below. Click here to see the top five on our Blog, Barkings!

10. Nook

Barnes & Noble’s reader features the largest library of digital publication available on any platform. Similar to the Kindle app, the Nook app allows syncing between all Apple iOS devices including Macs. Though the library of over 1 million titles is impressive, the Nook experience just doesn’t quite compare to iBooks and Kindle. Free

Barnes

9. Classics

Classics was one of the first e-readers to land in the App store and has been claimed by many to be the inspiration behind iBooks. As its name implies, Classics is a collection of literary masterpieces ranging from Pride & Prejudice to Treasure Island. In total the app features about 25 books several of which include illustrations. $2.99

Classics

8. STARSS

Depending on how you feel about Star Trek, STARSS may be the coolest or dorkiest RSS reader ever. Featuring an excellent recreation of the LCARS graphical user interface this app make the news of today feel like the news of tomorrow. $2.99

STARSS

7. Goodreader

If you’ve got momentous PDF files to view on the go, GoodReader is your app. With users reporting fine performance with file sizes up to 1GB, this app can tackle nearly any file you toss at it. Featuring additional support for MS Office and iWork documents, web archives, TXT, and media files, this app is a must have for referencing documents on the go. Plus, it’s a steal! $0.99

GoodReader

6. Instapaper

The folks behind Instapaper realize that when you’re at work you should be working. This app is incredibly useful if you’ve ever stumbled upon (get it?) something you’d like to read but just don’t have the time to. The app allows you to effortlessly save long news articles or blog posts (like this one) for reading later on when you’re off the clock. $4.99

Instapaper

Again, these are just the first five apps Click here to see the top five on our Blog, Barkings!

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