eReader (eBook) Apps

Aldiko (Free. Android only) a very simple eReader that has the standard customizing option, it has a file manager for uploading your eBooks and documents, but what's really nice is the large number of file types and languages it supports

Axis Reader Android(Free. iOS and Android) another library eBooks app it requires you to have or create an Adobe ID; the menu and process for getting set-up is not as intuitive as OverDrive and it's not available for Amazon or Windows phone yet. The actual reader that you use is the same as the Bluefire app. It has one of the most annoying processes for certain items, for certain children's books you have to use the Blio format which means you must also download the Blio app and for audiobooks you must download the Acoustik app. With all that being said, if there because there is a good selection and it's free, it's worth the hassle.

Blio (Free, iOS and Android) This eReader app gives the closest experience to reading an actual book. There are three themes, in text search, multiple color highlighting, and bookmarks which unfortunately do not show on the page. The app allows you to tap either side of the screen to turn the page which is helpful for lefties. Blio is the preferred eReader / format for children's book publishers / authors. You can pay extra and purchase different voices to read the text to you.

Bluefire (Free, iOS and Android) A lot of librarians and reviewers prefer this app because it has the most options for font, spacing, background, etc. The bookmarks do not show up on the page and the progress is only visible if you tap the screen, it has some draw backs. You can make notes but you must do so through a separate menu. One of the nice features is that you can lock the orientation of the screen so it doesn't shift when you tilt / move the device you are reading on.

FBReader (Free. Mac OS, Android, Windows, Blackberry, and Linux) This app has four font choices, three backgrounds, and allows you to change margin and spacing.  Page turning animation is realistic, and it has 8 catalogs of books you can purchase from. You can search for books in your library by author, title, series, tag, or recently read. With a file manager built in you can select books from your internal or external memory to load. It supports 30 languages so there are books in the catalog that will show as disabled unless you select those languages as enabled from your settings menu. The app shows chapter and total progress, and you can set bookmarks. You can copy words or phrases to a clipboard and look up word definitions in a dictionary.

Google Play Books (Free. iOS, Android, and web) works on computers, phones, and tablets; the app's major strength lies in its ability to sync ePub books on all devices meaning you can start on your phone and then continue reading on your phone or laptop; read from the cloud or download; customize font, background, and spacing; upload your own books from other sources; get definitions, Wikipedia articles, and search results in-app; text-to-speech on some books (per publisher approval); bookmark pages, highlight text, and add notes; search within books for text.

iBooks (Free. iOS only) This eReader which comes standard on Apple devices has seven fonts, three themes, bookmarks, notes show up in the margin, percent of book read and pages left in the chapter show up in the bottom right hand corner, multiple color highlighting. Many reviewers like that you can view the book as it would appear in real life two pages with a crease in the middle and the page turning when you advance, or if you prefer it can look like most eReaders do with one page at a time, or you can have it read like one giant webpage and scroll through the text like you would online. Syncs across all Apple devices; very nice layout / interface.

Kindle (Free. iOS, Android, Windows, and Amazon) customize background, font, spacing; the strength of the app lies in its library of over a million titles for sale, ability to purchase their Kindle Unlimited where you can borrow any of the eBooks for sale for a monthly fee, and Amazon has Kindle books that are not available in any other format print or electronic.

Kobo (Free. iOS and Android) This is app makes reading social and a game. It allows you to see reviews, notes, highlights, and commentary from other readers. Your bookmarks show as dog-eared pages. There are games and awards for reading. It shows your reading stats: see how fast, how often, and how much you have read. So if you like to be encouraged to read more or you like to make your reading more of a social affair this app is for you.

Marvin (Free. iOS only) Unfortunately this eReader only works on books that do not have digital rights management, basically only books that have passed from copyright like Project Gutenberg books work on the app. It has a lot of great customizing features: fonts, backgrounds, spacing, highlighting, notes, and chapter / total book progress. One of the really neat features is called "Deep Read" which gives you a synopsis of the characters and plot of the book, and allows you to search for articles about the book or author.

Moon+ (Free. Android only)The user interface really makes this app stand out from the pack. You can customize font styles and sizes, backgrounds, spacing, paging modes, autoscroll, multiple view modes, "keep your eye health", share bookmarks, upload to Dropbox, and more. The pro version ($4.99) is also available which removes ads, includes PDF, shake the phone - speak to search, Bluetooth / headset keys control, and much more.

Nook (Free. iOS, Android) similar customization options as other eReader apps; you can highlight text,  take notes, and search for text. You can share your eBooks on up to 12 devices; the app boasts more eBooks for sale than any other retailer and have some publishers' eBooks that are not available on Kindle. Barnes & Noble uses ePub format so the books are able to be imported into other eReaders and eReader apps. By selecting a word or phrase you can look it up in a dictionary, on Google, or Wikipedia. Unfortunately you cannot make purchases within the app you have to do it from their website or in a store. (Full disclosure: I work part-time at Barnes & Noble)

OverDrive (Free. iOS, Android, Amazon, Windows, and web) Check out library books for free and read them or listen to them with an app that has gotten better with each update. You can customize your font, background theme, spacing, and margins. You can look-up words in the dictionary and create bookmarks, but unfortunately there is no highlighting or note taking functions.

Oyster (9.99 / mo. iOS and Android) similar to Scribd it has new titles added each week, it syncs across multiple devices, and allows a number of downloads for offline reading; the app's predictive technology recommends titles based on your reading history.

Scribd (8.99 / mo. iOS and Android)  Called the "Netflix for books" when it debuted in 2013, Scribd features a library of over 500,000 books from 900+ publishers across a variety of genres; same ability to customize your eReading as the aforementioned apps; as it has gotten more subscribers its library has grown.

Best Apple (iOS) Apps - for now

I created a list based on several articles that I read and I used each of the apps to see if I thought that they were easy to use and had a user friendly interface. I compiled this list in the month of August 2014 and because new Apps appear on the market everyday and new updates to Apps occur daily, take it for what it is -- a best attempt.

     Facebook – the king of social media

   PhotoSynth – fun and user-friendly panorama app that works with other phones

  

   RunKeeper – maps and records your runs or cycling, you can share it with friends

  

   Dropbox – the best cloud storage app out there

    Skype – simple user interface allows for voice or video calls with other users

   Flixster – find movie times at theaters near you or find were a movie you want to see is available

  

   Google Maps – cycle, drive, or walk, there is a map for each. Also tells drive time / traffic.

  

   Google Translate - it can translate spoken or typed words and it can also speak for you. You need a data connection but this is considered the best translation software

     IMDB Movies & TV – encyclopedia of movie and TV info; you can also look up movie times and buy tickets.

1  Wikipedia – faster than a search engine and you can download articles for later reading

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     WolframAlpha ($2.99)  – a search engine for math, science physics and even nutritional data

    Yahoo Weather – slick interface, detailed forecast on main screen,  heat maps, pictures, radar

  

   Any.do – a list maker and manager, you can share lists with others. Also doubles as a task manager encouraging you to review your plans for the day.

  

   Awesome Note ($2.99) – a calendar and organization app that has a beautiful interface and users can choose which colors, background images, fonts, and icons

   EasilyDo – part personal assistant and part automation it will ask if you want to add contact for new e-mails / Facebook friends, suggest messages for birthdays, and much more

   Evernote – a powerful organizational tool that allows you to sort or search pictures, music, and written notes. One of the cool features is that it makes text in pictures searchable.

   Google Search – now so much more than search, it can tell you when to leave to get to an

 appointment on time, it can give you personalized news, sports scores of favorite teams, etc.

 

   AVG Family Safety ($19.99 a year) – blocks content based on prefixed categories, age groups,  or you can personalize. Works on multiple devices and desktop / laptops.

   Converter Plus - from currency conversions to loan interest figures. It converts metric to imperial measurements for temperature, cooking volumes, length, and more

   LastPass (free or $12 a year) – keeps track of all your passwords, creates secure passwords, does a security analysis on the passwords you use, secure web browser, secure notes, secure form filler. Certain features only available on premium version.

   Dragon Dictation – a very accurate dictation will work with your most used apps Facebook, Twitter, e-mail, text, or you can copy and paste. It doesn’t keep notes in app.

   Google Drive – useful cloud storage, especially useful for Google Docs and Sheets

   Google Docs – edit Google documents, or convert an Office document to make changes

   Google Sheets – create or edit spread sheets, unlike Office there is no annual subscription and any Sheets / Docs do not count against your Google Drive storage amount

   Onavo Extend - compresses data automatically to help you reduce data usage on your phone, it cannot compress video

   Redlaser – can read barcodes or QR codes and delivers detailed information about the product, including whether you can buy it at a better price nearby.

   Repeat Timer Pro ($1.99) - whopping 26 alerts, three independent timers, background functionality with notifications, an interval timer, and much more.

   SignNow - documents that need to be signed and sent back, this is the app for you. Easy to use.

   SugarSync – automatically backs up photos and videos to a cloud account (5 GB free)

 

   Cloze - collects tweets, emails, Facebook posts, and other bits of communication from your contacts, and prioritizes them based on people who are most relevant to you.

  

   Gmail – sorts e-mail by importance and category, you can search through all your messages easily, color-code / create folders, and it looks like Gmail on your computer.

   Google Voice - ability to have another phone number when you don’t want to give out your personal number. Allows you to screen calls, gives you a free voice-mail system, and also enables free text messaging and calls to domestic numbers.

   LinkedIn – keep up with your contacts, colleagues, and long-lost business partners. It’s great for networking and keeping up on job listings.

  

   Mention – like Google alerts it scours the web and social media for any search terms you set-up

   

   Pinterest – a social media platform that is similar to create a simulated corkboards pinned with pictures.You can create “boards” for whatever you’re interested in: clothes, art, recipes, decorating, books, quotes, and much more.

   Seed Mail – cute and compact it shows e-mails in a short text message like setting

   Skype – video chat with other Skype users for free, version three should have ironed out bugs

   SnapChat- a “fun” way to send quick messages, share pictures, creative visuals that delete after a short period of time. It is not secure or encrypted so do not use for anything private

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   Twitter – slick and easy to use social media platform for less than 140 characters

   Vine – 6 second videos, see how creative people can be with so short a time period

   WhatsApp- allows you to send texts to people on multiple platforms in any country using Wi-Fi instead of SMS, free for the first year and then 99 cents per year after

   WeChat - text messages, voice calls, walkie-talkie mode, as well as support for sending videos and photo to any platform and any country using data / Wi-Fi

   2048 – a game with the simple goal as its end state: create a box with the number 2048. You play by sliding together other boxes of the same number, so that your digits are always doubling. With each slide, a new box appears. Once you try it you will figure it out fast.

   Badland ($3.99) - headphones are necessary for full effect, simply tap the screen to move a floating beast-like creature through the air and through obstacles. Amazing visuals and sound.

   Device 6 ($3.99) – almost like a high-tech version of a digital choose your own adventure novel that uses the phone to make the experience more engrossing

   Limbo ($4.99) - monochrome mystery game sets a small boy in a forest. With no explanation of what to do or where to go, you slowly move him through this other worldly place and figure out the traps and obstacles lie in his path. A dark and curious game.

   Lumosity – for full access you have to pay for a subscription, fun games that help that are supposed to help with, memory, focus, and attention

   Monument Valley ($3.99) – solve beautiful architectural puzzles

   QuizUp - fast-paced, multiple-choice games with a huge range of themes: history, geography, language, TV and movie, and general knowledge. Compete against Facebook friends or internationally

   Ridiculous Fish (2.99) - toss your fish hook over the side of a small boat, as your hook descends, you avoid the passing fish because as soon as you snag one, your hook starts to ascend. On the way up, the game changes, and now you have to hook as many fish as you can

   SpellTower ($1.99) – a combination of Boggle and Tetris, for wordsmiths of all ages

   Trainyard ($.99) – lay tracks down to get trains to their station, it gets increasingly hard with more trains and more objectives

   World of Goo ($2.99) – pull living globs of goo into shapes and web-like patterns

   iHeartRadio – conventional radio stations, ad-free computerized , sports, and talk

  

   Podcasts – download or stream your favorite shows, it will suggest new shows based on your preferences / listening behavior

  

   Slacker Radio – you can listen to what it thinks you will like, try-out human curated stations, or select a hyper specific playlist

   Stitcher - connects you to almost every Podcast out there. You can create playlists and it will make suggestions based on your selections

    Spotify – free streaming radio station, paying for a subscription you get access to an enormous music library, playlists, discover and browsing features, commercial-free, and an offline mode.

   iMovie ($4.99) -  lets you edit video on the go and has enough features to make it worth the money

  

   Adobe Photoshop Express 2.0 – filters, fine adjustments, great interface, and easily connects to other services for sharing or storage, but to be honest you have to pay $4.99 to use the best features.

  

   Duolingo – makes learning languages a games (only has five languages) which brings me to suggest  the Mango Language app which is like Rosetta Stone has 26 languages and teaches you a lot about the language you want to learn. The library pays for it and it has ESL courses for new citizens.

   ESPN ScoreCenter – covers sports from all over the world and connects you to all other ESPN content

    Instagram – photo editing tool and picture sharing social media network, all rolled into one.

   NASA – curious minds and space lovers will enjoy news stories, features, images, video, and tons of information pack into this app.

  

   Pic Stitch – you can make custom photo mosaics, great features and easy to use.

  

   SnapSeed – photo editor and filter app, allows for more control and options than Instagram.

 

   Untappd – read beer reviews, write your own beer reviews, share pictures, check-in to locations, create wish lists, connect with friends, and earn badges. Consider it social media for beer.

  

   BillGuard - connects to your online credit card statements and flags merchants who frequently charge consumers for products or services they've either forgotten, you can ask for more info, dispute, or make note

   LevelUp - make purchases using your credit card via QR codes, many merchants give a discount for using the app

  

   Mint – considered the best budgeting app out there. It can be a bit daunting to set-up, but once done  it’s extremely useful

   PayPal – pay friends and businesses without having to take out your debit / credit card

   Square Wallet – another mobile payment app, if the merchant uses Square you can pay by app instead

   Cyclemeter ($4.99) - maps and records your bicycle rides, then compiles all your data into excellent graphs. And it doesn't just record cycling. Other activities, from cross-country skiing to running are available at a touch

   Strava – maps your cycling or hiking, offers maps and graphs and charts your ride or hike. Premium services include how-to videos and coaching.

   MyFitnessPal – tracks calories, activity, connect with friends, shows nutrition, and charts progress

  

   Touchfit: GPS (free / $3.99 mo. / $9.99 yr.) - need someone to kick your butt into shape, MMA World Champion Georges St-Pierre may be the one to do it. With a total body workout that asks how difficult it was for you it customizes the workout for the perfect level of difficulty.

   Web MD –quick lookup of symptoms, medical terms, or a nearby pharmacy or hospital

   BBC News – great interface: clean, with relevant headlines, good photos, and no advertisements. Great international news coverage and supports multiple languages.

   Flipboard – shows all of your media and social media feeds as a magazine articles you can flip through

    iBooks - online bookstore where you can download and save novels, magazines, newspapers, and other reading material. There are some free books and samples.

  

   Instapaper ($2.99) - Read newspaper articles, blogs, and other online content. It strips off all the ads and annoying stuff and saves a copy so you can read it later when you are not connected.

       

   StumbleUpon - find sites and pages you might not have found otherwise, discover something new

        

   GateGuru - navigate airports, anticipate wait times, find the freshest food, and travel with greater confidence

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     Kayak - multi-purpose travel app, helping you find and purchase flights, hotels, car rentals, and more. If you travel often the Pro version for 99 cents is worth it.

     

    Yelp - an invaluable tool for finding businesses nearby, especially when you're in a town you don't know well.

Overdrive Media Console -get your public library eBooks and Audiobooks, free