A while ago I wrote about ways to read PDF files on your iPod Touch, iPhone or iPad. Well that post is showing it’s age, so rather than completely redo it, I thought I’d discuss my current three top PDF readers, and why.
GoodReader
GoodReader is my first choice, go-to PDF reader on my iPad.
First off, getting files into GoodReader. It’s simple, and supports iTunes file transfer, Network transfer via WiFi, or downloading from shared services such as;
- DropBox
- Google Apps
- Mobile Me
- SugarSync
- FTP servers
Next, it’s under active development, with frequent new features, updates and bugfixes.
As expected GoodReader supports PDF and TXT files, but it can also display all of the most popular file types including:
- MS Office – .doc, .ppt, .xls and more
- iWork’08/’09
- HTML and Safari webarchives
- High resolution images
- Audio & Video playback in some formats
Yes, GoodReader is my PDF reader of choice. But, there are cases where an alternative is important. Enter…
CloudReaders
This is a more simplistic app that I use primarily for reading graphic novels and comic-book files. Some are in PDF format and others in CBZ or CBR format.
CloudReaders allows WiFi upload by running a small server that you connect to using your desktop computer. Here’s some of the cooler features of CloudReaders:
- Multi-task support
- Rotation lock
- iPhone/iPod/iPad touch support
- Automatically add books when files were transferred via iTune application
- Auto page alignment (on iPhone/iPod touch)
- Smoothing (from Settings app)
- Default page-orientatin (from Settings app)
As a free eReader and PDF reader, it’s a bargain. There’s also an in-app purchase that allows you to share (via P2P) with other local CloudReaders users. Very neat.
Stanza
This is my go-to eBook reader on the iPad, and has been one I’ve used on the iPod Touch previously.
I’d written about it here, and it’s still a solid app you should check out, especially since it’s free!