Saturday, December 15, 2012

GoodReader

Category: Text, Productivity

($4.99) - GoodReader has been my primary choice for a PDF reader since first owning an iPod touch six years ago. I have to say that GoodReader isn't the friendliest app to use. It's dense and complicated - perfect for the geeky me, and perhaps too fussy for someone who "just wants something to work." 

The best parts about GoodReader:
  • You can rename and organize files in folders. I have a lot of PDFs, and inevitably their names as downloaded are something like "100_es-us_ug206_112.pdf," so making it something like "Sony 100ES User Guide" is a necessity for later reference.
  • You can download files from within GoodReader, and if you open a PDF file from a Web browser or email app on your iOS device, you can tap "Open In..." and direct your device to open the PDF file in GoodReader.
  • GoodReader can open and view many kinds of text, html, Microsoft Office and media (images, audio, video) files. 
  • Annotation of files.
Worst parts:
  • Complex, cluttered interface.
  • Manual screen rotation only, and in only TWO possible orientations (landscape mode with the Home button on the RIGHT - I'd like it the Home button on the left, where I hold the phone).
(NOTE: Apple's own free iBooks app make a fine alternative PDF reader for users for whom GoodReader sounds too complex.)

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