E-Books have become very popular in the last few years, thanks to Amazon Kindle readers, Android tablets and Apple iPads. You no longer require to carry a copy of your favourite book with you, since eBooks can fill that gap easily by loading as many as you want on your tablet or R-readers if you are travelling or going anywhere for holidays. Coupled with inbuilt dictionary, bookmarking, annotation support along with so much more, eBooks indeed are life-savers. But problems arise when they are in different formats, and one app doesn’t support it or vice versa. Some apps are listed below to make it easier to access your eBooks library:

1) Marvin Classic (iOS)($ 3.99)

It is a paid app which supports DRM free ePub format books, and has features like high fidelity rendering, two column layouts in both portrait and landscape (iPad), control page warmth and tint in addition to brightness for comfortable night-time reading, Dropbox integration and so much more. It has powerful tools to highlight and annotate, library management tools and so much more. Download from: https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/marvin-classic-ebook-reader/id667361209?mt=8

Today’s e-reading devices offer a reading experence better than paper

2) TotalReader (iOS )(Free)

One of the most diversified eBook apps available on iOS, it is compatible with a variety of eBook file formats like EPUB, MOBI, AZW, PDF and many others. It has built-in integration support for popular cloud services like Dropbox, Google Drive and OneDrive so you can easily download your eBooks directly from there. The app has a built-in speech synthesiser, night mode support, easy user interface for navigation, page layout option in documents (single page, double pages, double pages with cover), bookmarks and much more. Its Pro version can be unlocked by a $3.99 in-app purchase. Download here: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/totalreader-best-ebook-reader/id832489932?mt=8

3) FullReader+ (Android) (Free)

FullReader+ supports a wide variety of formats that includes EPUB, MOBI, PDF, DOCX and support for audio books as well. It has day/night reading modes, built-in search system to highlight and find text, built in translator for five languages, creation of bookmarks and colour notes in a book, E-reader widget for desktop with a display of the last opened books. It has support for themes as well and the advertisements in it can be removed by a $4.99 in-app purchase if required. Download here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.fullreader

4) Moon+ Reader (Android (Free)

Moon+ Reader includes support for built in themes, and various file formats EPUB, PDF, MOBI, FB2, TXT, HTML, RAR, ZIP, OPDS, CHM, CBR and CBZ, including a variety of scroll modes to make reading easy. It offers annotation, highlighting functions alongside offline / online dictionary support, and translation services are also available for use within this app. Backup / Restore options to cloud via DropBox, and syncing reading positions between phones and tablets is also available. Download here: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.flyersoft.moonreader

The writer is a freelance columnist with diversified interests in technology, finance & history. He tweets @MohammadFarooq_

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, July 31st, 2016