Stanza is one of the better e-readers available for the iPhone. Created by Lexcycle, Stanza is packed with a surprising number of features for a free e-reader and it’s very well put together. If you simply cannot stand to be without a book of some kind at all times, then you just might want to [...]
Stanza is one of the better e-readers available for the iPhone. Created by Lexcycle, Stanza is packed with a surprising number of features for a free e-reader and it’s very well put together. If you simply cannot stand to be without a book of some kind at all times, then you just might want to check this little app out.
Personally I can’t bring myself to read large amounts of text on the iPhone’s small screen, much less an entire book. That’s just the way I roll, but I will say that Stanza is a solid reader and quite polished. There’s a ton of customization options to play around with, from font size, margins, hyphenation, and even virtual page turning speed. There are several themes to choose from and a night mode for reading in dim light or, I guess, total darkness. I know if ever found myself trapped in a darkened elevator I’d be thankful to have some reading material to help pass the time while I wait to either a) fall to my death, or b) be rescued in front of national news coverage.
Now if you’re into the whole e-book scene then you’re probably aware that there are literally hundreds of thousands of titles that can had for free just floating around in cyberspace and Stanza gives you links to many of the best sources under the Get Books tab. There are also links to the catalogs of several e-book stores like BooksOnBoard and Fictionwise. You can download titles directly to your Stanza library and read away. Of course you can also transfer PDFs and other documents you might need over to Stanza for later viewing.
Like I said, Lexcycle packed quite a bit into this app and it shows. The controls, when reading, are super intuitive: just tap the right side of the screen to turn the page forward, or the left if you need to back up. A tap in the middle of the screen brings the hidden controls back into view where you can edit settings on the fly or view the table of contents of the book or document you’re reading, search for a word or phrase and even look up an unfamiliar word in the built in dictionary. The text is very readable and, as stated before, totally customizable. You can zoom in or out for larger or smaller text as needed and Stanza automatically reconfigures your reading material for the screen. Page transitions are pretty neat and actually look like the page is being flipped over, just like a real book!
All in all, Stanza is actually a pretty full-featured e-reader with capabilities approaching that of a dedicated reader like the Kindle or the Nook, but therein lies the problem. The iPhone is not an e-book reader; it’s much more than that, yes, but it’s not dedicated to that purpose and, in my opinion apps like Stanza just don’t compete that well. Not everyone is put off by reading lots of text on the iPhone’s screen and for those that can, I would definitely recommend you give Stanza a try; it’s free at the App Store and very user friendly.
Olivia Wilde
Megan Fox
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