@ Shane:

Sorry, just for clarity, my references to “Kindle” in the post above are for the Kindle iPhone app, not an actual Kindle. I don’t own a Kindle device.

B&N bought eReader (which was owned by Fictionwise, so I guess B&N technically bought Fictionwise) a little while ago. This app is a rebranded version. It looks almost exactly the same except for the links in the app and the color scheme. All the options look the same.

That said, I’ve read 20ish books on a Tungsten and now 10ish on the iPhone with the eReader software. It’s a royal flush compared to the Kindle’s pair of twos. The lack of integration to buy books is a pain, but it’s a minor one. Especially when comparing the options in eReader to Kindle. Kindle typically is cheaper per book than eReader though. I haven’t investigated B&N book pricing compared to the other two.

Books at the eReader site are in a proprietary format, sorry Jim. I’m assuming b&n ones are also.

I’ve read books, with music playing, for hours (at least 5 or more) on a full charge.

With some adjustments to the brightness and the screen colors/themes (smoke and mirrors is pretty good for night reading), it’s great for reading at night since you don’t need lighting in the room for the LOYL to complain about. You can get some pretty serious eye-strain if you don’t find a comfortable size, brightness and color setting. Oh yeah, Kindle has black on white or white on black. That’s it. C’mon Amazon, that’s sad.

If I could find a waterproof iPhone so I could reliably read books outside by the pool or in the spa, I don’t know that I’d ever read a paper book again. ebooks are lighter, typically cheaper, always with me for when I’ve got 15 minutes waiting around in the doctor’s office, have music in the background…I got over the need to feel a book to read it a long time ago.

Hi Tom,

Reading on an iPhone isn’t quite as good as on a Kindle. But it’s quite tolerable for reasonable periods of time. It all depends on your own eye comfort level with the screen.

I didn’t test it long enough to run through an entire charge on my iPhone. My guess is that you’d have at least a few hours but you’d have to give it a shot to find out how much power it used.

It may depend on your iPhone model too as the 3GS supposedly has a bit better battery life. I have a regular 3G though so I couldn’t tell you what results you’d get with a 3GS.

The app is free though so snag a copy and give it a shot.

I’ve thought about getting an eBook reader, but some things come to mind.

How’s the reading experience on the small backlit screen? What’s the effect on battery life? How long can you read for on your iPhone with a full charge?

How were your experiences in these areas?