Stanza Review: Get and Read eBooks on the iPhone

Stanza Review: Get and Read eBooks on the iPhone
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Stanza What?

Though the eBook technology has not caught on much among the general public the concept is still developing at a fairly significant pace. Now not only are expensive readers available to interpret such texts but you can even do it on many smart phones. The iPhone itself has a number of volumes, mostly free classical novels, available on iTunes for download. Stanza, a new application for the iPhone, helps you browse through available “e” titles for purchase that you can then read from your phone.

Using It

When you first open the program you are given a Library menu. First you have four categories directly correlated to your own library, which are Titles, Authors, Subjects, and Latest Reads. This is meant to navigate you through your supposedly increasing library of ebooks. The application itself comes with a copy of The Time Machine by Herbert Wells. The bottoms section is for book purchase and download, and consists of the Online Catalog, Shared Books, and Recent Downloads. When you open the online catalogue you are given several possible shops to look in for the desired text. When opening each one you are given a fairly limited list of possible books to choose from.

Too Many Problems

The problems with this program far outweigh any possible benefits it would have. First off, it is primarily a shopping program. This means that its main function is that of a commercial one, not of a content provider. More than this it assumes that people are now ready to begin creating a large, expensive library of books on their iPhone. This is simply not true, especially because the method of viewing is still fairly primitive.

Though reading a book in the application looks better than most viewing options it is still no where near as accessible as just a regular book. There are really very few books even available through download so it is hard to imagine a regular user of this application. More than this the software tends to run relatively slow, especially with the shared text function. There are a number of free downloads available from some authors, but not really enough to warrant its use. The software is free so it is hard to fault anyone for simply trying it out, but be forewarned that it is just a waste of space. Four out of ten stars. If it’s eBooks you want, I suggest going with the more popular Kindle for iPhone.

This post is part of the series: Application Reviews

A series of reviews for common iPhone applications.

  1. Where Are You? - Loopt
  2. Name That Song - Shazam
  3. Getting Internet and Tech News with Net News Wire for the iPhone
  4. Review of the Facebook App for the iPhone
  5. BrainTuner: A Brain Teaser in Mediocrity
  6. Review of the Remote iPhone Application
  7. Have a Drink on Your iPhone Using the iPint App
  8. The Complete Works of Shakespeare
  9. Pocket Reference
  10. An In-Depth Review of Mobile News for the iPhone
  11. Smack A Toon Lite: A Mild Amusement
  12. QuickSend
  13. Smiling Rage: Expando Review
  14. Taking it Old School: Arcade Hoops Review
  15. Darts App Review: Skip the Bar and Throw Darts on Your iPhone
  16. Is the Pac-Man iPhone Game Worth the Money?
  17. Professor of Drinkology
  18. Finding the Network: The WiFinder Review
  19. Time in the Night: Night Stand Review
  20. Tube Time: i.TV Review
  21. Going International: Daily Planet Review
  22. Measuring the Swell: Surf Report Review
  23. iBoredom: Tic Tac Free
  24. Spiritual Warfare: Tap Defense Review
  25. Find Your Way Through Mazes with the Labyrinth iPhone Game
  26. Free Recipes on Your iPhone: Big Oven App Review
  27. Stanza for iPhone Review: Find Another eBook App
  28. A Drawing Pad for Your iPhone: Scribble Review