Barnes & Noble today launched its free BN eReader app for iPad joining Amazon and Borders as the latest company to develop an app for the popular Apple device.

Using Barnes & Noble’s LendMe option, BN eReader for iPad users can share eBooks with others and read them on almost any device.

"We’ve designed the most easy-to-use, highly customizable eReading experience for the iPad. Ours is the only app that enables iPad users to share eBooks with friends, shop Barnes & Noble’s vast catalog of eBooks and periodicals and access your personal Barnes & Noble digital library across multiple devices," said Douglas Gottlieb, Vice President, Digital Products for Barnes & Noble.com

Key features of the BN eReader App include:

*Choose from two views: Library Grid view displays covers in a large format. Library List view displays titles and eBook covers next to a second larger section that provides product details.

*Bookmark pages, make highlights and write notes. Tap a word or drag a across a section to highlight a note. Bookmarks, highlights and notes will also appear on other devices with BN eReader software.

*Sync the last page read of an eBook, magazine or newspaper with PCs that have BN eReader software.

*Tap a word on the screen and an in-text dictionary offers the word’s meaning. Alos access Google or Wikipedia to find out more about a word.