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Several different software programs either support or plan on supporting the ePub format.
The following is a list of the programs that claim to support the format, and my testing of it.
Each section has a link to the program's web site, a rating (1 - 10, 10 being the highest) and my
comments about the programs support of the format and other features and shortcomings.
Please note that the focus of these reviews is on the programs support of the ePub standard. Other
functions and uses of the software may be covered briefly, but is not the focus of this review.
Format support was tested by trying to open ePub books from four different sources: Adobe's
downloads page linked off from the Digital Editions page, Feedbooks.com, Dot Reader's Book
download page, and books hand-made using the tutorial on this site.
(See the Books page for more information on where to find ePub books.)
These reviews were made as of: October 12th, 2007, and updated on the dates shown below.
The version number of the software reviewed is listed below. Any updates to the reviews will happen
at the release of a new version, and the time of the update and the version of the software will be noted
in the appropriate section below.
If anyone is wondering where I hear about these programs, I primarily use two sources: Google, and
Teleread.
Adobe Digital Editions
FB Reader
Openberg
Mobipocket
dotReader
Stanza
Link: Adobe Digital Editions
Rating: 8
Version: 1.0
Pros:
Of all the programs reviewed here, Digital Editions was the best at opening ePub files generated by any processes. And
it has library management and bookmarking features.
The downsides are that the library management features are really light on features, and it's really hard to see
the interface elements. Possibly the biggest annoyance is also it's greatest strength: it's written in Flash.
This lets the application run on almost any platform, updates are automatic, and it's easy to install. The downside of this
is that you can't download the installer to install on other computers, you have to go to Adobe's website from each of them.
Also, because of the Flash interface, it doesn't act like a regular program: there are no menu bars, you can't right-click
on anything, and you have to have Flash installed to install Digital Editions. This last one isn't really a problem, almost
everyone has Flash installed these days, but in principle you shouldn't have to install a whole different program just to
install the one you really want.
Updated on 5/20/2008:
Version 1.5 is now out. I've played with it a little, and the only difference I can see is that they've added DRM support
so you can now read copy protected PDF's with Digital Editions.
This version was also supposed to support the latest version of OS X, but I haven't had time to test it yet.
Link: FBReader
Rating: 6
Version: 0.8.7b
Pros:
FB Reader has the second best ePub standard support out of all browsers tested. It opened all files without errors, but displayed some images and headings differently than the HTML said it should be handled. Also, lack of support for the NCX table of contents specified in the ePub standard makes navigating books more difficult than it could be.
Updated on 11/27/2007:
An OS X build has been contributed, and a few minor updates have been released. Still no
support for ePub table of contents.
Updated on 5/20/2008:
Version 0.8.17 is now out. There haven't been any ePub related updates since the reviewed version, so I won't do a new
review yet. The updates consist mostly of bug fixes and support for a few more platforms.
Link: Openberg
Rating: 4
Version: 5
Pros:
Openberg was able to open all types of files thrown at it. The low score comes from the cons listed above. Since Openberg is a plugin for Firefox, it brings with it certain advantages and disadvantages. If you're surfing a web site that has a link to a ePub file, the file opens in the browser and you're off and reading. This is a great thing from a usability standpoint, but there are problems with the approach, as noted above.
Link: Mobipocket
Rating: 9
Version: 6.2
Pros:
As far as software goes, this is hands down the best one of the bunch. The interface, number of features, ease of use, and platform support FAR out-classes anything else in this review.
Updated on 11/27/2007:
Version 6.1 is out, with minor changes. ePub support is slightly better. And I stress the slightly.
It seems from my testing that Mobipocket can now import any of the ePub files I throw at it... sort of. It imports them fine,
but still doesn't support the epub table of contents. It shows the contents menu, but doesn't have any entries in it. As far as
importing goes, it's still a fickle process. The first file imported imports beautifully. After that, if you want to read another
ePub book, you have to close then re-open Mobipocket, then it will import and read the book, but it won't show up in the Mobipocket
library.
Update for 5/20/2008:
Version 6.2 is out, and I've just downloaded it and put it through it's paces. I've imported a handful of ePub books with this version
and haven't had a single error. I've been able to import multiple books in a row, and all of them imported without any errors.
All the books made it into the library, and I was able to open all of them. All CSS and images and such appear to display
properly.
The only real problem I have with Mobipocket now is that the ePub table of contents does not display properly. In all of the books
I imported, none of them displays the table of contents. The "Content" button only displays "First Page" for all ePub books. This probably isn't a big deal for fiction, but could get irritating for other types of literature.
I also have a very small pet peeve for version 6.2: You can only import one book at a time. This wouldn't be such a big deal in
daily use, as I don't usually download that many new books at once, but when I have 190 ePub files to import, it gets to be irritating
fairly quickly.
Link: dotReader
Rating: 4
Version: 0.11.3
Pros:
This program had trouble with almost all the ePub files I tried to open. It will open some, but
won't open the ones from Adobe's website or Feedbooks.com. It will open some hand-created files, but not others.
I think the reason for this that Digital Editions uses an .xpgt file for handling layouts that isn't in the spec,
and I think dotReader is choking on it. What should happen, is if the software sees something that it can't
interpret, it should ignore it. All the other readers in this review do that and open the files fine.
It also had problems displaying some images and headings as the HTML said they should be handled.
Link: Stanza
Rating: 6
Version: Beta
Pros:
I'm going to review the desktop and iPhone/iPod Touch versions separately below, as they each have strengths and weakness that they don't share.
Let me preface this by stating that the program is still in beta, thus the fairly high score despite the
lack of some features that are normally a show-stopper for me. (Lack of e-Pub table of contents, for example.)
One of the nicest things about Stanza is it's multi-column display. By default, it displays a book in three columns,
but the number is customizable.
The desktop version of Stanza was able to open any ePub file I threw at it. It did not correctly display and center
titles that use a HTML header tag - the title on these books was the same size and typeface as the rest of the document.
The cover image, for all books that include one, was displayed, but the scaling was inconsistent. One book had a small
cover that was blown up so large it was blurry, and others had a large cover that was not scaled down -the cover image
spanned several pages. (again, all of these books display perfectly in Digital Editions.) Note: The FAQ on the Stanza
website states that formatting is stripped by design.
One of the things missing is library management features. This doesn't really bother me; I name all of my books with
the title and store them in folders by genre, but most of the other readers have it, and it's a nice feature if you
have a lot of books, or need to find a particular book quickly.
If you have an iPhone or an iPod touch with the latest software update, you can download Stanza reader for it.
The interface is very nice. Unlike the desktop version, library management is built in to the mobile version. You
can display books by: Title, Author, Latest Read, or Latest Downloads. You can also create custom categories and
put any loaded books into them. Page turning works by swiping your finger left or right. There is a small
(1 to 2 second) delay when changing files inside a book(in most ePub books, different chapters are in different files
inside the ePub container), but none when changing pages in the same chapter.
ePub support is both better, and worse than the desktop version. Book titles and cover images displayed at the correct
size and format, but some of the books that opened fine on the desktop version gave an error when opening in the mobile
version. Also, the mobile version does properly display and use the ePub table of contents for navigation. One missing
feature that would be nice would be bookmarks. If you are in the middle of a book and go back to the home screen, then
re-open Stanza, it will not take you back to where you left off reading.
Stanza does load books onto the device, and you can read them off-line. If you want public domain books, it couldn't be
simpler to load them. Go to "Online Catalog" then "Feedbooks" and start browsing. The book is downloaded when you click
it's title. Loading titles from the Desktop version is equally simple, but nowhere near as intuitive. To load them: open
your book in the desktop app, go to "Tools", then "Enable Sharing". Now go to your iPhone/iPod Touch, Click "Shared Books"
click on your computer’s name, then click the title of the book to download it. This usually takes 1 to 3 seconds,
depending on the size of the book.
Bottom line: For now, Digital Editions comes out on top for it's management functions and excellent ePub format support.
In the future, I could easily see Mobipocket become my top choice with a few minor improvements.
dotReader could give Digital Editions a run for their money if they massively improve format support. Already they
have a better looking interface and nearly equal (or better in some areas) features.
If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, Stanza is the winner.