# eReader software for iPad **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [June 5, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110 "2012-06-05T02:32:08Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/1 "2012-06-05T02:32:08Z")
So my 70-year old mother is getting an iPad, and I’m helping her set it up. One thing she wants is some kindle-like software. Ideally, it would be easy to set up to both allow her to purchase books from amazon (which would then automatically download and show up ready for reading, etc.) and also browse various online collections of free classic books, etc., again with the downloading and integration being as simple as possible. Anyone have any suggestions? thanks! ---
**Author:** ![galen\_ubal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/galen_ubal/32/4440_2.png) [@galen\_ubal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/galen_ubal)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/2 "2012-06-05T02:38:05Z")
There’s a Kindle app for the iPad. I believe it’s in the iTunes app store. ETA: Yep, it’s in there. ---
**Author:** ![tellyworth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/977dab/32.png) [@tellyworth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tellyworth)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/3 "2012-06-05T02:52:10Z")
There’s also iBooks. One potential issue with the Kindle app is that you can’t buy books directly from the app, and there is no link to the Amazon store from within it. It’s still easy to buy (just bookmark [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) and use 1-click from there), but you have to switch to Safari to do it. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/4 "2012-06-05T03:01:30Z")
She’s in luck with the classics! Project Gutenberg offers most everything in HTML, ePub, Kindle, Plucker, QiOO Mobile, and their classic ASCII Text with fixed margins. ---
**Author:** ![MaxTheVool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/9fc29f/32.png) [@MaxTheVool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MaxTheVool)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/5 "2012-06-05T17:58:28Z")
Thanks for the help everyone, I have the Kindle software set up, and can use safari to go to [amazon.com](http://amazon.com) and download both free and non-free books, which show up in the kindle like magic. I’ll try out project guttenberg as well (although Amazon has at least a decent collection of free books). One question: is there a way to get the amazon app (as opposed to browsing the amazon website) to work with kindle downloads? It won’t let me buy kindle books from it at all. ---
**Author:** ![Munch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/munch/32/5281_2.png) [@Munch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Munch)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/6 "2012-06-05T18:13:04Z")
> [@MaxTheVool](#): > > One question: is there a way to get the amazon app (as opposed to browsing the amazon website) to work with kindle downloads? It won’t let me buy kindle books from it at all. Nope. Apple wants you to have to go that extra step, so that you’d rather use the no-step process of iBooks. Regardless, I prefer the Kindle, because of the “across the board” access that it gives me to all my purchases. ---
**Author:** ![Hodge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/7 "2012-06-05T18:14:13Z")
You can access the Amazon Kindle store through its web app. Open Safari and go to the following address: [amazon.com/iPadKindleStore](http://amazon.com/iPadKindleStore) You can then save this link to the iPad desktop so it will have its own icon. ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/8 "2012-06-05T18:14:36Z")
Sadly, not that I can tell. I used to be able to buy Kindle books right from the app on my iOS devices, but they (due to strict newish rules from Apple about how in-app purchases can be done) broke that feature a while back and now you can’t. My WAG is that the rule came from those kids who got to play with their parents’ iPad not long after it had just been updated (meaning the password had been entered within a few minutes) and got to no-password-needed buy $99 worth of Smurfberries for their Smurf Village game, etc., so Apple tightened up where/how you could purchase. WAG: Since the Kindle app absolutely must be tied to your Amazon account at all times and have access to it, it was too hard to limit purchases under that configuration. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [June 5, 2012, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/ereader-software-for-ipad/624110/9 "2012-06-05T18:40:34Z")
> [@Ferret\_Herder](#): > > Sadly, not that I can tell. I used to be able to buy Kindle books right from the app on my iOS devices, but they (due to strict newish rules from Apple about how in-app purchases can be done) broke that feature a while back and now you can’t. > > My WAG is that the rule came from those kids who got to play with their parents’ iPad not long after it had just been updated (meaning the password had been entered within a few minutes) and got to no-password-needed buy $99 worth of Smurfberries for their Smurf Village game, etc., so Apple tightened up where/how you could purchase. WAG: Since the Kindle app absolutely must be tied to your Amazon account at all times and have access to it, it was too hard to limit purchases under that configuration. As I understand it, the rule change came about because Apple insisted on taking a 30% cut on all within-app sales. [Here’s one example](http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9218629/Amazon_caves_to_Apple_drops_Kindle_s_in_app_button) of an article from last July announcing the change. > [@](#): > > Amazon today bowed to Apple’s newest App Store rules, and removed a link in its iPhone and iPad Kindle apps that took customers directly to its online store. > > The move was required to comply with new rules designed to block developers from evading the 30% cut that Apple takes from in-app purchases.