eReader for iPhone/iPod

[whmurray]

My software wish list fot the iPhone was based upon the Treo applications that I still used after I got my iPhone synched. These included turn-by-turn navigation (TomTom), SplashShopper, and an ebook reader.

Sure enough, there is an ebook reader. It works with Fictionwise and eBooks, my booksellers of choice. Since one can order on and download directly to the iPhone, it is really better than the Treo where one had to order on the web, download to the PC, and then sync to the Treo.

The reader offers a choice of font sizes and both vertical and horizontal orientation. It can be dimmed for reading in the dark while not keeping others awake. This also conserves battery.

Unlike the Treo, it does not shutdown automatically when (not if) one falls asleep. Think about the impact of this on battery life; five minutes of reading may cost hour of battery life and even interfere with the proper operation of the alarm clock function.

Unlike the Treo, one cannot reverse the presentation to white on black rather than the default black on white. This feature is nice since I read mostly in bed and in the dark.

Would still like these two features.

Splashshopper is available. Waiting for TomTom and Cut'n'paste. Would it be okay if I add Slingplayer to my list.

[kilsey]

So far reading with eReader on the iPhone 3G is like night & day versus using it on the Treo. It's still a v1.0 release, so I'm looking for some polish and shine to be added, but it flawlessly pulled down my entire bookshelf OTA. That's slick.

[whmurray]

Originally Posted by kilsey

So far reading with eReader on the iPhone 3G is like night & day versus using it on the Treo. It's still a v1.0 release, so I'm looking for some polish and shine to be added, but it flawlessly pulled down my entire bookshelf OTA. That's slick.

Had not thought of downloading things I had already bought. Will at least get the ones that I have not read yet. Thanks for the idea.

[whmurray]

Originally Posted by whmurray

Had not thought of downloading things I had already bought. Will at least get the ones that I have not read yet. Thanks for the idea.

Safari reports that it cannot download the file. What am I doing wrong?

[kilsey]

Originally Posted by whmurray

Safari reports that it cannot download the file. What am I doing wrong?

Open eReader, and get to the Bookshelf view. In the upper right is a "+" icon.

Click that, then use your eReader login information. Should give you the option to download titles there.

I had it download all, and it spat back an "Unsupported Error," but still pulled everything down ok.

HTH

[whmurray]

Originally Posted by kilsey

Open eReader, and get to the Bookshelf view. In the upper right is a "+" icon.

Click that, then use your eReader login information. Should give you the option to download titles there.

I had it download all, and it spat back an "Unsupported Error," but still pulled everything down ok.

HTH

Thanks. It is wonderful.

[kilsey]

Once they add the ability to easily skip forward in the book, it will be even better

Glad the directions worked for you!

[marcol]

The app sure is done nicely (or perhaps I should be saying the iPhone makes for nice apps) the only problem I'm having is that attempting to download a 37 MB dictionary has failed twice now (with timed out errors). Tried both Wifi and 3G.

@kilsey, you know you can navigate to different chapters via the table of contents?

[kilsey]

Originally Posted by marcol

The app sure is done nicely (or perhaps I should be saying the iPhone makes for nice apps) the only problem I'm having is that attempting to download a 37 MB dictionary has failed twice now (with timed out errors). Tried both Wifi and 3G.

@kilsey, you know you can navigate to different chapters via the table of contents?

Marcol - I figured that would be an option, but both of the books I've tested so far are throwing a "This book does not have a table of contents" message.

I did buy these a year or two ago, so perhaps they haven't been updated.

Still a really solid app - looking forward to more.

Also, a good text/doc/etc reader for other books would be nice. I know there are a couple there (Bookshelf sounds interesting, supports old Palm docs, and Bookz Text Reader is also available), but am waiting for one to separate itself from the others.

-kilsey