Reading e-books is one of the most popular uses for an iPad. Here are five of the best e-book readers and a few e-book apps that are well worth reading.
1. Kindle
(free)
The main competition for Apple’s iBooks app is Amazon’s impressive Kindle app.
It will sync your books with your Kindle e-reader if you have one and also
syncs across your other devices. Like iBooks, Kindle allows you to annotate
and highlight your books but it will also show you popular highlights from
other readers.
2. iBooks
(free)
Unusually for a free Apple-made app, iBooks doesn’t come pre-installed on the
iPad. Once you’ve downloaded it, however, you’ll have access to Apple’s
iBookstore, including more than 18,000 free e-books. The app functions well
though the design is a matter of taste. As is the case with a lot of Apple’s
apps, it has fake real world touches, such as pretend wooden shelves and
dummy pages under the one you’re reading.
3. txtr (free)
Though perhaps not as slick as some other e-readers, txtr is one of the few
e-book apps in the App Store that will accept books that are protected with
Adobe digital rights management software. The app is German, however, so
don’t be surprised to find that the store within the app is filled with
non-English titles.
4. Kobo (free)
Thought not as well known as Amazon, Kobo’s e-book store distinguishes itself
with a focus on social reading and ‘game’ elements, offering you badges for
completing certain tasks within your books. Whether that encourages people
to read more or not remains to be seen but it’s an interesting and unusual
approach.
5. Marvel
Comics (free)
Books can be comic books too and comics tend to look better on an iPad screen
than they do on an e-reader. There are plenty of free titles but you’ll have
to pay for some of the classics. If you’re not a Marvel fan, there’s also a
DC comics app.
6. Our
Choice (£2.99)
Created by Push Pop Press, a company set up by two former Apple engineers,
this app really shows what the future of books could look like. Their first
title is a revised version of Al Gore’s 2009 book about the environment and
it has been augmented with video, interactive charts and fun touches such as
blowing into the iPad’s microphone to trigger a demo of wind power. The full
screen images look wonderful and there is plenty to explore.
The best of the rest
The
Elements (£7.99)
This interactive guide to the periodic table features glorious images and
cleverly uses multi-touch controls for navigation. Essential not just for
science buffs but for anyone who wants to see what e-books can be.
Life
Wonders of the World (£5.99)
Fifty wonders of the world presented with beautiful photography in this app by
Life magazine.
The
Heart and the Bottle (£3.49)
This beautifully illustrated children’s book, narrated by Helena
Bonham-Carter, comes with plenty of hidden tricks and interactive elements
for young readers to explore.
The
History of Jazz (£2.99)
A stylish app that rethinks the coffee table book, bringing together photos,
audio clips and video to help tell the story of jazz.
Phaidon
Design Classics (£11.99)
In print this book sells for £100 so this version, re-imagined for the iPad,
is a bargain. There are 1,000 design classics detailed within and presented
in a well-designed interface.
Solar
System (£7.99)
From the same people who made The Elements, this app provides a fascinating
guide to the solar system. It’s another app that shows what the iPad is
capable of.
Commando
Comics for iPad (free)
Men of a certain age will have fond memories of the Commando comics. Now they
can build their collection on the iPad, with four free issues upon
registering the app.