Best PDF reader?

[zen]

I'm about to pick up a refurb iPod touch and enter the world of the app store for the first time, but I'm curious as to whether anyone ever made a dedicated PDF reader app?

I know you can email them to yourself, and read the attachment.

But I understand that Stanza (free) will open PDFs, as will Papers ($14.99... hmmm) and Reddle ($4.99), which also opens MS Word, Excel and Powerpoint files.

Any recommendations? I intend to use the touch as an eBook reader, and I have about 400 PDFs I want to load up on it!

 

[ksmith80209]

Doesn't the email app let you read PDFs already (mine does). Why do you need a standalone app?

(oops - didn't see you mention that you knew about opening them in mail...)

 

[MACoconut]

Try Airsharing PRO. it's on sale now 4.99

just got that. now still downloading.

has functions like print, email,etc. let you use your iPod as a flashdrive.

 

[gekkota]

I spent a lot of time comparing the available PDF readers, since I wanted to make sure I was getting the most stable app with the features I wanted.

I went with Good Reader, and here's why:
* specifically designed to view large PDF files. I tested it on a 900-page document, and it works great.
* it preserves the bookmarks in the PDF document, so that you can easily find the section of the document you are looking for--airsharing does not.
* it allows you to create your own bookmarks, and create titles for them (like chapters in a book.)
* renders graphics clearly
* can lock in either portrait or landscape mode.
* can password-protect the app if wanted. I emailed the dev and requested the ability to password-protect individual documents, and he said this feature will be available in a future update.

Of all the PDF readers I looked at, this seems to be the most stable and has a good set of features. I think it's $4.99, but definitely worth every penny.

I also have Stanza--supposedly it can read PDFs, but I believe that it does not preserve the bookmarks or any other formatting. It will not show any graphics, either. The document--or ebook--will be one long document with no breaks!
Stanza's native format is ePub--any other document format (.mobi, etc) needs to be converted to the ePub format with the Stanza desktop application available for download at the Lexcycle website. I am not trying to detract from Stanza--I absolutely love Stanza, and it is my main app for reading ebooks. But for viewing large PDF files, you really can't beat Good Reader, in my opinion.

Hope this helps!

 

[zen]

Thanks for the tips, everyone! I'll try a few out and see how I go.

Does seem odd that Apple doesn't have a version of Preview on the iPhone/touch, or that Adobe hasn't released a version of Adobe Reader for it. Can't quite see the logic.