Welcome to our App of the Week series where we highlight Smartphone and iPad applications for business.

The ability for a person to read on a mobile device has evolved incredibly over the past decade.  Technology has grown from glorified calculator screens (remember the old Motorola StarTac 3000?) to the amazingly sharp “Retina display” soon to be released with the iPhone 4G.

The iPad represented a strong step forward in the area of mobile reading with its large, easy to view screen, 3G+ internet access and extensive battery life.  Applications such as iBooks also make is easy to purchase, download and read your favourite novel or classic literature. However, a mobile worker faces special challenges when it comes to reading – namely large files of a variety of different types.

Mobile workers are sent a variety of files that we need to read on the go: Word docs, PowerPoint slideshows, HTML pages, videos, PDF’s, spreadsheets, etc.  Out of the box, the Apple iPad doesn’t open them all and even if it does, they often just don’t look right.  Furthermore, large files sizes on an iPad can be like kryptonite to Superman, slowing or locking up the iPad.  Fortunately there is a very low cost application available help.

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GoodReader ($0.99 from the iTunes Store as of June 17, 2010) is a simple, yet very sturdy, reader application for the iPad.  Once installed, it integrates with applications like Mail to allow for the opening of attachments in GoodReader instead of the standard viewer (hold your finger on the attachment to get the option for GoodReader).  When it comes to large PDF, PowerPoint or Word files, the difference is quickly visible.  Loading and navigation time is fast and the files look much closer to the full computer original.

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It has been reported that users can open files up to 1 GB in size using GoodReader without ill effects (the standard viewer would hang).  In the viewer, a variety of reading aids are available including text searches, screen contrast and page navigators. The zoom feature is excellent – clarity is retained all the way up to the highest magnification.

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GoodReader shows it’s flexibility by handling a variety of file types.  Those types include: .doc, .ppt and .xls from the Microsoft Office suite, all of the iWork 08/09 suite, HTML, the majority of image files including gif, jpg, bmp and others, plus many common video types.  Files open quickly and cleanly and through a few weeks of regular business use, only one tested file type didn’t open (.flv Flash video file).

Specifically for PDF files, GoodReader has an option called PDF Reflow.  This feature creates an easy to read text only version of the PDF file, stripping out all pictures and formatting.  A great option for scanning through large documents or de-cluttering a document.

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Read and manage?

So far, we have been focusing on the reading strengths of GoodReader – but there is more. GoodReader is also a file management and transferring solution for the iPad.  For example, you can setup GoodReader to transfer files between your iPad and Mac or Windows PC via WiFi.  It also facilitates the direct download and storage of files from the web over both WiFi and 3G+ (not just files emailed to you!).

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YouTube User Dannyar10 has put together an excellent review focusing on the file management features (10 min long, but comprehensive).

Bottom line: For business users, this application does what it is designed to do – make it easy to view and read large files.  It also is excellent at managing downloaded files.  For $0.99 it’s a deal.

Do you have this application?  What do you think?  Join the conversation by adding a comment below.