Barnes & Noble eReader Lands on iPad
Better late than never, we suppose, Barnes & Noble’s free eReader for the iPad has finally arrived.If Apple’s new iBooks doesn’t excite you and Amazon’s Kindle app doesn’t stoke your fire, Barnes & Noble may be here to save the day with their new eReader for iPad. Before you groan about yet another e-reader app for Apple’s tablet, just know that Gizmodo’s early criticism of the app says, “shockingly, it’s probably the best e-book app on the iPad, for now.â€On the plus side, eReader for iPad is part of B&N’s multi-device platform, similar to how Kindle works. That means you’ll have access to e-books purchased on B&N on your iPad, your computers (Mac or PC), your nook (you have one, don’t you?) and even new iPhone and Android apps that are coming soon. The app will also sync your notes and highlights for each book.eReader falls somewhere in-between on the content front; there’s more than Apple’s iBooks, but less than Amazon’s Kindle. B&N claims “over a million,†but Gizmodo is quick to note that half of those are in the public domain. But a quick spot check found that Kindle had the same books as eReader, and for the same prices.The good news is that eReader for iPad keeps what Gizmodo calls B&N’s “killer featureâ€: lending books. That feature was launched with the company’s nook hardware, and allows your friends to “loan†you their e-books -- although it has some downsides, including having to enter a credit card number (or already have one on file) in order to actually read a borrowed book in your account.Despite being more customizable than the Kindle app, Gizmodo says the user interface “is kind of blandly ugly†and going to buy books with eReader for iPad sends you out of the app and into Mobile Safari -- to the cumbersome B&N website, which is clearly not intended for use on an iPad. Giz also claims that Amazon’s Kindle has the better overall syncing and library management.If you’re still in the market for a better iPad e-reader, there’s no harm in giving B&N eReader for iPad a shot -- the price is right at free, and the 11.5MB download is available from the App Store now.
http://www.maclife.com/article/news/barnes_noble_ereader_lands_ipad
