iPad/iPhone > All Reviews > iPhone & iPad Apps > Education and reference > Stanza for iPhone and iPad review

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 Stanza for iPhone and iPad review

Ebook reader offers a pleasant alternative to Kindle and iBooks

Lex Friedman

Manufacturer: Lexcycle
Pros: Background colour and font customisations; swipe to change brightness
Cons: App’s controls obscure text
Price: Free
We rate this 4 out of 5.Star rating:

Stanza is a universal ebook reader for the iPhone and iPad that differs notably from rivals Kindle and iBooks.

The most obvious difference is Stanza’s lack of a dedicated ebook store. The app connects to a variety of online sources for free and paid books, and can read books in non-DRM-protected formats. That means you can’t read iBookstore or Kindle store purchases in Stanza, but you can read free books from Project Gutenberg and the Random House Free Library, and buy books within the app from Fictionwise, BooksOnBoard, O’Reilly, and others.

Where Stanza bests its competitors is in its customisations. You can choose from over 40 fonts and adjust font size and background colours. Stanza offers reading themes that can be further customised and even lets you set a background image. In a clever touch, swiping up and down on the screen adjusts the brightness. You can control text justification, line spacing, paragraph spacing and margins too.

Stanza has a few frustrations. It’s impossible to leave the app’s controls visible while you read, since that view plonks an info box in the centre of the text. The ‘touch zones’ for pagination are large; so an unintentional tap can turn the page.

MACWORLD BUYING ADVICE >
1 | 2 | NEXT >

Reevoo Price Comparison For Stanza for iPhone

Reevoo Reviews For Stanza for iPhone

Submit your own review for this product

Click here for the latest reader comments

<<prev article | back to index | next article>>

Search reviews

Search Google

Newsletter signup

It's easy and free to get the latest news headlines, reviews and opinions straight to your email inbox. Sign up NOW to make sure you receive the latest Mac news, reviews and tutorials on your favourite topics.

Out now:
iPad & iPhone User

Find out what's in this month's iPad and iPhone User here.

Macworld reader poll

What version of Adobe Creative Suite do you use?:

View poll results

Have your say in the
Macworld Forums!

Register now

Stay on top of the latest, breaking Mac news and chat with other Mac professionals and enthusiasts about the issues that matter to you. Register with Macworld today to join our forums and receive our twice-weekly email newsletter, Macworld Mainline.

RSS

Have the latest content delivered to your desktop via RSS. Use the links below to get access to a specific blog, news, or reviews feed.

Subscribe to our feeds here

Latest PC industry news

Latest news from MacVideo

MACWORLD MARKETPLACE

	LogMeIn Free - Remote Computer Access LogMeIn is a secure remote desktop software that lets you access your computers, files, and apps from anywhere on any device. Simply connect with LogMeIn Free and be free to work the way you want.
	TemplateCloud TemplateCloud.com is the design marketplace for graphic designers. You create designs, and use our software to build them into online editable templates. We sell your designs in different countries via different websites. Each time a customer uses your design, we pay you a royalty; the price is set by you.
	Amsys Amsys is recognised as the technical leader in Apple and has developed bespoke technical products and solutions to deliver class leading support to its business clients. Amsys clients can select from consultancy, integration, break-fix, recruitment, training and app development. Amsys make Apple products work for business.
	About NAD NAD Electronics has always stood out by doing things differently. Our relentless pursuit of great sound has earned us a ‘giant killer’ reputation. Every product is designed with heart and soul you can hear, emphasizing quality over quantity. We focus on the inside where it counts—and where you can hear the results.
	Sphero is a completely new type of gaming system. It's the world's first robotic ball that you control from your smartphone or tablet. You can drive Sphero, play tabletop and multiplayer games, use Sphero as a handheld controller for on-screen gameplay, and even explore augmented reality. Now with 20+ apps!
	MeteoGroup WeatherPro - the award winning weather app! Developed by professional meteorologists and providing weather forecasts for over 2 million locations with real-time, high resolution radar and satellite images, ski weather, water temperatures and more, WeatherPro is the most accurate and comprehensive weather app on the market.
	Beat the Credit Crunch - Lease your Mac from Hardsoft Hardsoft are the only 'one stop' solution for the supply and finance of I.T. to businesses throughout the UK via our regional branch offices. We are uniquely both equipment Apple Approved Reseller and licensed Credit Brokers and have tailored a solution which includes a full 3 year warranty and an equipment upgrade every 18 months.

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 Stanza for iPhone and iPad review

Ebook reader offers a pleasant alternative to Kindle and iBooks

Email A Friend

Permalink This Article