Comparison of iOS e-reader software
The following tables compare general and technical features for a number of iOS e-book reader software. Each section corresponds to a major area of functionality in an e-book reader software. The comparisons are based on the latest released version.
Navigation features
Product | Developer | Pagination | Rotation Lock | Auto-scroll | Progress indicator | Backward/forward | Table of Contents | Bookmarks | Resume | Cloud synchronisation | Go To | Full text search |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apabi Reader[1] | Beijing Founder Apabi Technology Limited | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Blio[2] | K-NFB Reading Technology, Inc. | Yes | No | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Bluefire Reader[3] | Bluefire Productions | Yes | Yes | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
DL Reader[4] | Datalogics, Inc | Yes | Yes | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
eBookMobi[5] | Tien Thinh Vu | Yes | support on iPad, portrait only on iPhone | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | No |
Ebook Reader[6] | Ebooks.com Limited | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
i2Reader[7] | Yuriy Melyushin | Yes | Yes | Yes | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
iBooks[8] | Apple | Yes | No | Manual | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Kindle[9] | AMZN Mobile LLC | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Kobo Reading App[10] | Kobo Inc. | Yes | Yes | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Last place marker only | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
KyBook Reader[11] | Konstantin Bukreev | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Marvin[12] | Appstafarian | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Configurable | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Optional | Yes | Yes |
MegaReader[13] | Inkstone Software, Inc. | Yes | Yes | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | No |
PocketBook reader[14] | Obreey Products | Yes | Yes | Yes | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
ShuBook[15] | Ambibma Ltd. | Yes | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Stanza[16] | Lexcycle | Configurable | Yes | No | In library and in-book | Configurable | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
uBooks XL[17] | Nix Solutions Ltd | Mixed scrolling & pagination | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iBouquiniste[18] | Sandr | Yes | Yes | No | In-book only | Yes | Yes | Unlimited | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Product | Developer | Pagination | Rotation Lock | Auto-scroll | Progress indicator | Backward/forward | Table of Contents | Bookmarks | Resume | Cloud synchronisation | Go To | Full text search |
Display features
Product | Multi-column mode | Styles (bold/italic/etc.) | Page Turn Effects | Themes | Day/Night mode | Enable/Disable sleep mode | Brightness Control | Indent paragraph | Enable/Disable CSS | Enable/Disable hyphenation | Customize margins | Customize text alignment | Customize font | Customize spacing: line/paragraph |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apabi Reader | Yes | Yes | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Vertical swipe | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Blio | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Justification only | Yes | No |
Bluefire Reader | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Vertical swipe | No | Yes | No | Pre-set choices only | Justification only | Yes | Line only |
DL Reader | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Pre-set choices only | Justification only | Yes | No |
eBookMobi | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
Ebook Reader | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | (Disabled by default) | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No |
i2Reader | Yes | Buggy | Yes | Yes | Using styles | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iBooks | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
Kindle | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Pre-set choices only | Yes | Yes | Line; pre-set choices only |
Kobo Reading App | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Vertical swipe | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
KyBook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Using themes | No | Yes | Yes | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Marvin | Configurable | Yes | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Vertical swipe | Yes | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
MegaReader | Configurable | Buggy | Configurable | Yes | Using themes | Yes | Vertical swipe | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Line only |
PocketBook reader | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
ShuBook | No | Buggy | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Vertical swipe | Configurable | No | Yes | None, small, large | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Stanza | No | Yes | Configurable | Yes | Yes | Yes | Vertical swipe | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
uBooks XL | No | Buggy | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iBouquiniste | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
Product | Multi-column mode | Styles (bold/italic/etc.) | Page Turn Effects | Themes | Day/Night mode | Enable/Disable sleep mode | Brightness Control | Indent paragraph | Enable/Disable CSS | Enable/Disable hyphenation | Customize margins | Customize text alignment | Customize font | Customize spacing: line/paragraph |
Edit/tool features
Product | Highlight | Annotate | Edit meta-data | Online dictionary | Offline dictionary | Lookup Wikipedia | Translate | Share | TTS support (read aloud) | DRM support | Export to iTunes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apabi Reader | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Two Chinese websites only | No | No | Yes |
Blio | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Bluefire Reader | Yes | Yes | Author, Title, Publisher | Yes | No | No | No | Facebook, Twitter, eMail | No | Yes | Yes |
DL Reader | Yes | Yes | Author, Title, Publisher | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Adobe DRM | Yes |
eBookMobi | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
Ebook Reader | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | Facebook, Twitter, eMail, Google+ | No | Adobe DRM | Yes |
i2Reader | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | |
iBooks | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Facebook, Twitter, eMail, SMS | yes, via VoiceOver | Apple FairPlay | Yes |
Kindle | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Facebook, Twitter | No | Yes | Yes |
Kobo Reading App | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | Facebook, Twitter | No | Yes | Yes |
KyBook | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Facebook, Twitter, eMail, VKontakte | Yes | No | Yes |
Marvin | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Facebook, Twitter, eMail, customizable | No | No | Yes |
MegaReader | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes |
PocketBook reader | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Facebook, Twitter, eMail, SMS | No | Yes | Yes |
ShuBook | No | No | Author, Title, Label | No | Yes | No | No | Whole book only, eMail | No | No | Yes |
Stanza | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | Facebook, Twitter, eMail | No | No | Yes |
uBooks XL | Yes | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | Yes | |
iBouquiniste | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | |
Product | Highlight | Annotate | Edit meta-data | Online dictionary | Offline dictionary | Lookup Wikipedia | Translate | Share | TTS support (read aloud) | DRM support | Export to iTunes |
Book source management features
Product | Book store(s) | Book search | In-app Epub import | Import via in-app Browser | OPDS catalog | Other import via | Tag books | Sort books |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apabi Reader | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | eMail (MIME type)
Built-in web server |
No | Yes |
Blio | No | No | Yes | No | No | eMail (MIME type) | No | No |
Bluefire Reader | Free ebook libraries only | Yes | No | No | No | eMail (MIME type)
iTunes File Sharing Built-in Web Server |
No | Yes |
DL Reader | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | eMail (MIME type) | Yes | No |
eBookMobi | Free ebook libraries only | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | eMail (MIME type) | No | Yes |
eBookReader | No | No | Yes | No | No | Built-in web server | Yes | Yes |
i2Reader | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Calibre (Bonjour)
Built-in web server |
No | Yes |
iBooks | Apple iBookstore | Yes | No | No | No | eMail (MIME type) | No | Yes |
Kindle | No | No | No | No | No | iTunes File Sharing | No | No |
Kobo Reading App | No | No | No | No | No | eMail (MIME type) | No | No |
KyBook | Free ebook libraries only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | eMail (MIME type)
Google Books Dropbox Google Drive Yandex Disk VK Docs Network folders iTunes File Sharing |
Yes | Yes |
Marvin | Free ebook libraries only | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Calibre (Bonjour, Plugin)
eMail (MIME type) Dropbox iTunes File Sharing |
Yes | Yes |
MegaReader | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Calibre (Bonjour)
eMail (MIME type) |
No | No |
PocketBook reader | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | iTunes File Sharing
eMail (MIME type) |
No | Yes |
ShuBook | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Calibre (Bonjour)
eMail (MIME type) iTunes File Sharing |
Yes | Yes |
Stanza | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Calibre (Bonjour)
eMail (MIME type) iTunes File Sharing |
Yes | Yes |
uBooks XL | No | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | eMail (MIME type)
iTunes File Sharing |
No | Yes |
iBouquiniste | Free ebook libraries only | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | eMail (MIME type) | No | Yes |
Product | Book store(s) | Book search | In-app Epub import | Import via in-app Browser | OPDS catalog | Other import via | Tag books | Sort books |
Supported File Formats
See Comparison of e-book formats for details on the file formats.
Product | total # of formats | .cbr/.cbz | .chm | .djvu | .epub | .fb2 | .html | .mobi | .pdb | .rtf | .txt | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Apabi Reader | 3 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Blio | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Bluefire Reader | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
DL Reader | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
eBookMobi | 10+ | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Ebook Reader | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
i2Reader | 6+ | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
iBooks | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
Kindle | 2 | No | No | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | Yes | No | No |
Kobo Reading App | 2 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes | No | No |
KyBook | 8 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Marvin | 2 | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
MegaReader | 1 | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | No | No | No | No |
PocketBook reader | 8+ | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
ShuBook | 5+ | No | No | No | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
Stanza | 5+ | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
uBooks XL | 5 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | No | No | Yes |
iBouquiniste | 5 | No | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | No | Yes |
Product | total # of formats | .cbr/.cbz | .chm | .djvu | .epub | .fb2 | .html | .mobi | .pdb | .rtf | .txt |
License
Product | Free | License |
---|---|---|
Apabi Reader | Yes | |
Blio | Partial voices cost | |
Bluefire Reader | Yes | Proprietary |
DL Reader | Yes | |
eBookMobi | No | |
Ebook Reader | Yes | Proprietary |
i2Reader | No | |
iBooks | Yes | Proprietary |
Kindle | Yes | |
Kobo Reading App | Yes | |
Marvin | Partial ability to see more than one book in library cost | |
MegaReader | No | |
ShuBook | Partial | |
Stanza | Yes | Proprietary |
uBooks XL | Partial Adware | |
iBouquiniste | No |
Special features
Product | Special features |
---|---|
Apabi Reader | Support for the CEBX ebook format
VGA output support |
Blio | Support for the visually impaired |
Bluefire Reader | Optional PDF password protection
Localized in English, French, German, Norwegian, Icelandic, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Danish Support for Chinese, Japanese, and Korean language epub3 format including Vertical writing mode and R2L page order Supports multiple concurrent Adobe user account activations, both Adobe ID and Vendor ID accounts Export notes and highlights to email Collections Feature for organizing user Library |
DL Reader | Optional PDF password protection
Localized in Japanese, English, German, French, Russian, Vietnamese, Hebrew, Arabic, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Thai, Traditional Chinese, Simplified Chinese |
eBookMobi | Optional password protection
Displays Microsoft Office documents Adjust screen brightness via swipe Localized in Japanese, English, German, French, Russian, Vietnamese Supports custom Stardict Dictionaries Supports online translation to 105 languages |
Ebook Reader | Full Epub3 support for in-book audio and video. Online sync of all bookmarks, highlights, notes and reading position. Import DRM free PDF and Epub files. User created collections for organizing books. |
i2Reader | Configurable status line
Custom PDF engine |
iBooks | iBooks can read text aloud to the user. |
Kindle | Ebooks can be emailed to an auto-generated Amazon email address |
Kobo Reading App | Strictly enforces registration with Kobo
Support for magazine subscriptions. Extensive social media support via Facebook. Reading statistics and achievements. |
KyBook | Localized in Russian, English
Supports online translation via Yandex.Translate Allows to load a user fonts Extensive options for library sorting Changing book covers via Google Image Search Supports use of Tor Network |
Marvin | Optional password protection.
Customizable page warmth and tint. "Deep View" automatically creates name lists, summaries, adds references to (Wikipedia) articles and pins web pages, reviews, etc... to the book. Specialized font to assist users with Dyslexia. Integration and annotation syncing with Calibre. Global & book-specific vocabulary. Export notes, highlights, vocabulary & other user modifications to XHTML and CSV files. Reading timer. |
MegaReader | Configurable tap zones (next/previous page, show menus, rotation lock, toggle heads up display)
Optionally uses the rear camera for "look-through" reading. |
PocketBook reader | Export book info, notes, highlights to mail, sms, Facebook, Twitter.
Localization in English and Russian. Single page, dual page or scroll viewing modes. Crop page margins manually or automatically to fit page content to the screen size. Allows zoom in or out a page via pinch and stretch gestures. Allows zoom to a particular text fragment via double touch. Adjust font size via pinch and stretch gestures (epub, fb2, txt). |
ShuBook | Basic support for Microsoft Office documents (DOC, XLS, PPT) & RTF.
Extensive East Asian support |
Stanza | Cover Flow[f 1]
Extensive options for library sorting Customizable background picture & transparency settings Has some stability problems on iOS >= 5.0 Stanza is not being updated any more |
uBooks XL | Displays Microsoft Office documents
Customizable background Extensive options for library sorting |
iBouquiniste | |
Product | Special features |
- ^ Not on the iPad
Further reading
Discontinued e-book reader software
- The Readmill app, introduced in February 2011, read numerous formats on Android and iOS devices but shut down on July 1, 2014.[19]
See also
- Comparison of Android e-book reader software
- Comparison of e-book formats - includes both device and software formats
- Comparison of e-book readers - includes hardware e-book readers
References
- ^ "Apabi Reader". Founder Group. Retrieved 2011-12-30.
- ^ "Blio". KNFB Reading Technology, Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-25.
- ^ "Bluefire Reader". Bluefire Productions, LLC. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "DL Reader". Datalogics Inc. Retrieved 2010-01-16.
- ^ "eBookMobi". Vu Tien Thinh. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Ebook Reader". Ebooks.com Limited. Retrieved 2015-01-05.
- ^ "i2Reader". Unsanity. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "iBooks". Apple. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Kindle". AMZN Mobile LLC. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Kobo eBooks". Kobo Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "KyBook". Konstantin Bukreev. Retrieved 2013-10-10.
- ^ "Marvin". Appstafarian. Retrieved 2012-12-05.
- ^ "MegaReader". Inkstone Software, Inc. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "PocketBook reader". Obreey Products. Retrieved 2014-02-16.
- ^ "ShuBook". Ambibma Ltd. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
- ^ "Stanza". Lexcycle. Archived from the original on 2011-10-19. Retrieved 2011-10-20.
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suggested) (help) - ^ "uBooks XL". NIX Solutions Ltd. Retrieved 2016-05-20.
- ^ "iBouquiniste". Sandr. Retrieved 2015-01-04.
- ^ Bond, John-Michael (June 24, 2014). "Readmill is closing its doors on July 1, 2014". The Unofficial Apple Weblog.