A few months back, I sent an email to Fictionwise (my ebook vendor of choice), asking if they had plans to support the iPhone. The answer was “yes”. Now that the new iPhone 2.0 software is out, along with the new Apple App Store came eReader. I have been using eReader on my iPhone for a few days now, and I’m quite satisfied with it.

There are a number of ebook readers available in the Apple App Store. Some are free, and some require payment. One that has a bit of history is eReader.

eReader has gone a long way. Back in the early days, Peanut Press was one of the earliest players in the ebook scene. They were bought over by Palm and became the software became known as Palm Reader. Then, they were bought by Motricity, which sold handheld and smartphone software. Finally (and this is the good part), they were bought over by Fictionwise, an ebook retailer.

The eReader software is free to download and use. It supports the native eReader format. It comes with a couple of free ebooks preinstalled (Last of The Mohicans and Tarzan of The Apes). Currently, there is no way to upload your own ebooks directly into eReader. However, you immediately have access to your current ebook library, for eReader ebook store and Fictionwise accounts. For eReader accounts, use your email address. For Fictionwise, use your username. I have accounts with both ebook stores. I was able to easily download the ebooks that I previously bought. Both eReader and Fictionwise stores have some free ebooks to get you started.

Here’s a video by Fictionwise CEO, demonstrating eReader on the iPhone.

I don’t quite like the page turning method (you swipe from right to left). I would have preferred a single-tap or an up/down scroll method. There’s no full screen mode, so there’s always a bar at the top of the screen with the book name and a button to go back to your bookshelf. eReader has support for a dictionary (you can highlight a word and it will search definitions).

Fictionwise has promised improvements to the eReader software — I’m really looking forward to it. In the meantime, I’m happy that I have a (legal/official) way to download and read ebooks on my iPhone.

Filed under: eBooks • iPhone

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