B&N eReader for iPad screen shot

Barnes and Noble released their eReader for iPad a few days ago. Similar to the Kindle Reader, B&N eReader uses Safari to find and purchase books. Only books purchased from B&N are available on supported devices. Even though eReader uses the ePub format, there is no support for reading DRM-free ePub books from other sources. Which is fine since iBooks allows this. B&N eReader covers the basics including text search, bookmarking, and built-in dictionary. The table of contents is a nice looking pop-up. Where the eReader excels is in thematic presentation allowing shades of colors for when black-on-white might be too much contrast. There is also a button for publisher’s choice theme keeping the presentation closer to the intended look, or a “Night Light” which uses a black background to keep the light level low. Missing is a built-in brightness adjustment as in iBooks, but the themes nearly make up for it. The big feature B&N supports is book lending, but not all books are available for lending.

I like the B&N eReader over Kindle Reader. Choosing between iBooks and B&N will likely depend on availability and price of the book. That’s the best part: choice. With several book readers and a huge selection of books, the iPad is looking like one darn good reading device.

See the review on Gizmodo.