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.
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
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
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
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
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
5. Flipboard
Less e-reader, and more social magazine, Flipboard is a simple and free way to navigate news, photos, and social media updates. Its elegant layout is both appealing and intuitive, and its ability to bring a range of content together into one app is awesome! Free
4. Alice for the iPad
Though a standalone app as opposed to an e-reader, Alice for iPad is nonetheless a ground breaking re-interpretation of the digital reading experience. Featuring animated scenes that take full advantage of the iPad’s multitouch and accelerometer technology, this reinterpretation of the Lewis Carroll classic is truly a trip! $8.99
3. Stanza
Stanza is a free and easy way to catalog existing ebooks you may have. Perhaps its greatest strength is its diversity in terms of compatible formats. Stanza supports ePub, eReader, PDF, Comic Book Archive, and DjVu format books. Though it lacks the large library of downloadable titles in Apple and Amazon’s apps, it still maintains over 50,000 titles for purchase and over 50,000 free classic works through Project Gutenberg. Free
2. iBooks
Apple’s 1st party reader is among the newest to the e-reader scene, and comes in at a close second place. Though it features a slightly more elegant interface, and supports the more open ePub book format, it does have a few faults. The built in iBookstore has a noticeably smaller selection than Amazon’s app, and although the ePub format is less proprietary than Amazon’s, iBooks is an Apple exclusive. While Kindle for iPad plays nicely across a range of devices, iBooks aren’t even Mac compatible meaning you must own an “iDevice” to read them. Free
1. Kindle for iPad/iPhone
The Kindle app combines the elegant interface and usability of Apple’s iBooks and adds Amazon’s mammoth library of over 630,000 titles. Kindle books can sync between Apple’s mobile devices, Kindle devices, Macs, PCs, and mobile phones including the Blackberry and Android. Free