Barnes & Noble eReader vs. Kindle & iBook

The Future of Reading: A Look at E-Reader Applications

I’ve recently examined several e-reading applications designed for Apple’s mobile devices, driven by the belief that digital reading will ultimately become the dominant method for accessing books, magazines, PDFs, and other traditionally printed materials for future generations.

A key challenge for e-publishers lies in creating programs and services that are both comprehensive in features and exceptionally user-friendly. The newly released Barnes and Noble eReader for the iPad presents several distinctive capabilities that Apple and Amazon could potentially adopt.

User Interface and Library Management

Similar to Apple’s iBook and Amazon’s Kindle for the iPad, the Barnes and Noble eReader features a comparable user interface for downloading and engaging with ebooks. The library section within the eReader provides a visually appealing graphic representation of all downloaded books, including both samples and purchased titles.

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The organization of downloaded content is somewhat improved compared to the iBook and Kindle apps, offering categorization by magazines, newspapers, ebooks, or archived materials. This becomes particularly valuable as your digital library expands to include 25 or more publications.

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Accessing Book Information and Navigation

A notable feature of the Barnes and Noble eReader app is the ability to display a synopsis of a selected book by simply holding your finger on the cover. This information window also facilitates book purchases and provides access to bookmarks and highlights. The drop-down column window, a common element in many iPad applications, grants access to your entire library.

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Adding books to your library involves clicking the "add books" button on the home library page, which directs you to Barnes & Noble’s online bookstore within Safari. While browsing books in Safari on the iPad isn’t as seamless as using the iTunes bookstore, I find it more efficient to browse Amazon and Barnes & Noble ebooks on a desktop web browser for adding free samples.

Reading and Annotation Features

The reading experience on the BN eReader mirrors that of other ebook apps, with tap-and-swipe page turns and customizable font, size, justification, and background color options. However, unlike its competitors, it allows you to save your preferences as a theme, enabling tailored settings for different reading environments or genres.

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The app also supports “publisher settings,” allowing publishers to customize layout settings to optimize the presentation of their ebooks, particularly textbooks and manuals.

Annotation features within the BN eReader are also slightly enhanced. Highlighting a passage is achieved by pressing and dragging your finger across the desired text, eliminating the need for an initial tap to access a menu, as required by iBooks and Kindle. This streamlined process reduces the number of taps needed for highlighting or note-taking.

This highlighting method also facilitates quick word lookups in Google, Wikipedia, or the integrated Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, without leaving the reading page.

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Accessing a publication’s table of contents, notes & highlights, and bookmarks is done through the "go to" menu. This drop-down window appears in a side-bar fashion over the current page, offering a more convenient experience than the similar feature in iBooks and Kindle.

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The bookmark icon is subtly placed at the bottom of each page and can be easily overlooked. Interestingly, this feature is absent in the iBooks app, where highlights often serve as bookmarks.

A potential improvement for the BN eReader app would be the addition of a page-locking feature during annotation, as page sliding can sometimes hinder the highlighting process.

Similar to the Kindle app, the BN eReader allows synchronization of notes, highlights, and reading position with the PC version. This functionality is also planned for the iPhone update, features currently unavailable in Apple’s iBooks service.

While seemingly minor, these differences are significant if e-publishing and e-reading are to become truly valuable tools for students and researchers, requiring apps that facilitate more productive text annotation than traditional paper formats.

Sharing Capabilities with LendMe Technology

Among the three major e-reading services, Barnes & Noble is the only one offering sharing capabilities, albeit with limitations. Its LendMe technology allows users to share eBooks with friends for up to 14 days. During the loan period, the original owner cannot access the ebook, but it is automatically returned after the allotted time.

These types of DRM restrictions are likely to evolve over time. However, I envision this technology being expanded to facilitate virtual book clubs or courses, enabling the sharing of notes, questions, and discussions among friends and contacts.

In conclusion, I consider the Barnes and Noble eReader to be a great application. I believe it surpasses the user interface of Barnes & Noble’s Nook eReader, which can be quite awkward. The primary advantage of the Nook device for some users is its smaller size and portability compared to the iPad.

We’d like to hear about your preferred e-reader for the iPad and any features you’d like to see implemented in future updates.