Stanza

[ffutures]

This looks interesting - a free ebook reader that handles a LOT of different formats including Microsoft's Lit, PDF, Palm etc. and can export Kindle format. No graphics though. Runs on PC, OSX, iPhone and iPlayer, and the illustration for it shows that the creators are apparently fans of a certain C. Stross Esq. of this parish.

http://www.lexcycle.com/stanza

Anyone tried it yet?

Comments

[cdybedahl.livejournal.com]

I had it on my iPhone for a while, but deleted it once I realised I spent far more time reading things in Safari.

[saranjeuhal.livejournal.com]

I'll give it a shot. I was looking for a good e-book reader and the iPod Touches are going to be arriving in a couple of days.

[autopope.livejournal.com]

It's not free; shareware $25, IIRC, for the desktop version (which you need to get files onto the iPhone/iTouch).

I heard that Mobipocket were ready to roll with an iPhone client last August ... then Amazon, who own Mobi, pulled the brake handle hard, because it might undermine sales of Kindle.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

That's not what it says in the FAQ.

Thanks, I shall proceed with caution.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Proceed with caution - see autopope's comment below.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

OK, thanks.

[ckd]

The problem I have with it is that it converts lossily; feeding it Mobipocket books from Baen loses all the italics, which is kinda problematic if it's a novel with telepaths.

I need to get back to work on my toolchain to generate eReader format from stuff. I personally prefer the eReader software to either Stanza or Bookshelf.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Thanks! Glad I saw that before I downloaded it!

[thedivinegoat.livejournal.com]

I use it and like it, but then I've never used any other ebook book reader to compare it to. (I wanted something that could read .lit files on the mac).

I mainly use it to read stuff on my iPhone, although I do also read some stuff on my MacBook Pro.

I should also say that I've never been asked for money. I have to keep the version I'm using up to date, but apart from that it's been hassle free.

[ffutures.livejournal.com]

Actually, that's a good point - worth getting for the iBook for lit files if nothing else.

[chuk-g.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I've been using it for a while and didn't see anything about paying -- the FAQ with "Stanza is completely free!" seems to argue against that, actually. (Although later on there's something about an educational discount for students...maybe they pay you?)

I like how it comes bundled with links to a lot of free online books, and the desktop conversion thing seems okay. I haven't run into any missing italics but maybe I just didn't notice them.

I've used eReader, something called BookshelfLT, and Stanza, and of the three I like Stanza the best so far.