Related
So I'm sure there are similar threads out there dealing with general android devices, but I thought since I spent a good majority of my day yesterday looking through some ebook apps specifically for my nook, I'll post my findings.
First off, I'm going to talk about my top finds. Trust me, there are a lot out there and I didn't download them all, but I probably went through a good 15-20 apps. If you have an app that isn't listed that you like for whatever reason, post about it and I'll look into it! Make sure if you post an app below, that you give as much info as possible about it (and you've tried it on your nook)
App: Nook
Pros: Has a wide variety of books from major publishers, store sync's well with app, many options for viewing, allows you to import epub and pdf books.
Cons: Kinda basic, changing pages via the scroll bar doesn't work well, don't seem to be able to export books easily.
Bottom Line: Although it's a solid app, it doesn't have nearly as many books as the Kindle nor does it have as good a reading experience as other apps. With that said, it does offer some books that the Kindle store doesn't. I recommend this if you're loyal to B&N.
App: Kindle
Pros: Nice interface, huge store with major publishers (more than the Nook), good viewing options, allows import of epub and pdf books.
Cons: The app redirects to a webpage for the store, which doesn't work as flawlessly as other apps, Like the NOOK app, changing pages via the scroll bar doesn't work well. The mobi format isn't that common and doesn't add for easy exporting.
Bottom Line: The Kindle app offers more choice in books than any other app, but the reading experience still lacks somewhat. It has just as much options as the Nook, but being able to customize it more would have been nice. It is very similar to the Nook in terms of usage. If you are loyal to Amazon, it's great.
App: Overdrive
Pros: Free books rented from local library, also offers audiobooks.
Cons: Selection varies depending on your area, Library account needed, there is a wait on most books, the app itself sends you to a webpage.
Bottom Line: This is a good complimentary app IF they offer anything for you in your area. Out of the three area's I have tried, only one had support for it. Free is always nice!
App: Laputa (free version)
Pros: Free books from both major publishers and independent writers, many Public Domain books, support for Chinese books, allows for easy import/export (due to epub and pdf file types), Multiple sources from which to get books from, Virtual shelf interface.
Cons: Reading experience lacks, most books are bootleg (therefor illegal), small buttons make it almost impossible to touch, many links in the stores are broken, misspelled/missing text within downloaded books.
Bottom Line: If you don't mind getting books illegally, it has a lot of major series (Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Sword of Truth series, Holmes, and many more). Most (if not all) of the downloaded books are in epub format so importing them into another reader is easy. Right now (apparently with the last app update), book covers is broken, so to utilize that feature in any reader, you have to manually download and add them. Not many reading options don't help the reader at all. Good way to get free books, but not to read them.
App: Aldiko
Pros: Best reading experience, many many options (from font size to margins), multiple library views, categories, and tags, Store works OK with a lot of public domain and creative common books, along with paid books, importing books is really easy, as is setting up cover art (if the book doesn't already come with it), Support for Catalogs and easy "Last Read" button, also support for Adobe DRM (which I have not tried out)
Cons: The paid section of the store doesn't offer as many books as Nook or Kindle, but still has a good amount, plain Home interface and store.
Bottom Line: Although the store lacks compared to a big company such as Amazon or B&N, you can find many books with this app. There is no reading experience as good as this one, with options to change text, brightness, orientation settings, day/night colors, margins, and even advanced formatting to override the books initial formatting to suit your style. The library offers both "bookshelf" view and "list" views, which can be sorted to your desire independently. List view also offers tabs to view by Author, tags, and Collections (some books come preset with tags, others don't. Either way you can add your own, and your own tag types) By far the best way to view epub and pdf books, I just wish they had support for mobi and other formats so that I could import my kindle and nook books that I have.
Each of these offer different reasons to use them, but if you can find your ebook in epub or pdf format, Aldiko gives you the best reading experience by far. The fact that it makes it so easy to import, download, and use ebooks is refreshing compared to the Kindle and Nook. Although I do not fully understand Adobe DRM, because Aldiko supports it, it seems to only enhance it. On a final note, I downloaded the first book from Harry Potter from Laputa and imported it into Aldiko and read the first 4 chapters. The file was OK, with some spacing, spelling, and formatting errors that I KNOW and official release of the Harry Potter book would NOT have.
I will be updating this with further information and maybe other apps when I can. Let me know what you think and if you have different experiences than me (or I got something wrong)
PLEASE NOTE: I'd like to say that I do not condone getting ebooks illegally, however one of the apps I talk about above (Laputa) does allow you to do so (at the cost of spelling errors, formatting errors, etc.). I also believe (not 100% sure, but it makes sense) that the law on ebooks would be similar to the law on video game ROM's, that is if I won the book I can technically download a free version of the ebook if I can find it, such as the case with the Harry Potter book I mention.
I don't know about your legal interpretation of that. It's a different platform/format. If I buy a movie on DVD, I'm not entitled to download and burn a blu-ray copy of that same movie.
I prefer Nook from Android Market combined with Calibre ebook manager on the PC. You can pretty much feed Calibre any ebook format and it will not only convert it to which ever device you wish to read it on but it will load it onto the device in the directory that the device expects to find ebooks. (unless you tell it otherwise) Killer ebook combo.
Hi,
I have been using FBReader for my eBook reader and find it works very well. It
handles epub and a variety of other formats. (but not PDF). It has a good 'night
mode' and the ability to dim the backlight in the app.
There is a third party called FBSync in the market that will use the web to sync
book mark progress in books and/or the books to Dropbox. Particularly useful when
changing ROMs too often on the Nook Color!
I use Repligo for pdf reading, the reflow works reasonably well.
I know you are looking mainly at eBook readers, but you haven't mentioned Calibre
an opensource PC/MAC ebook library management program:
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Calibre will also download and manage covers, reviews and do format conversions.
Calibre works well with an Android app 'Calibre library' (paid) and FBReader.
I like your writeup and plan to try some of the other apps you suggested.
Thanks,
Peter
I'll put another vote here for FBReader.
I used Aldiko since I first got an Android phone in 2009. It was awesome, the absolute best reader software on Android. And then they lost their damn minds.
It is now 10 times bigger. And has one third of the options it used to have. I still haven't figured out what they did to accomplish that. When that happened I went looking for another option.
I had already given up on the Nook reader software because I keep a lot of books on my phone (and now on my Nook). The Nook reader software just couldn't handle it and basically self destructs when I try to load up my library. Laputa sucks in so many ways it isn't even worth mentioning.
I had tried FBReader way way back and it just wasn't good enough, but to my surprise when I tried it again all of the original issues were gone. It is easy to use, easy to configure to your liking, and can handle my 500+ book portable library with ease.
A. Nonymous said:
I don't know about your legal interpretation of that. It's a different platform/format. If I buy a movie on DVD, I'm not entitled to download and burn a blu-ray copy of that same movie.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Actually I just looked this up and you're right. I guess because I was thinking about digital rights and not literature rights, I thought that way. I'll update my post to reflect this.
Atahachi said:
I prefer Nook from Android Market combined with Calibre ebook manager on the PC. You can pretty much feed Calibre any ebook format and it will not only convert it to which ever device you wish to read it on but it will load it onto the device in the directory that the device expects to find ebooks. (unless you tell it otherwise) Killer ebook combo.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The nook app, IMO, lacks both features and usability. I'll have to check out Calibre, sounds like something i was looking for, thanks!
pmilford said:
Hi,
I have been using FBReader for my eBook reader and find it works very well. It
handles epub and a variety of other formats. (but not PDF). It has a good 'night
mode' and the ability to dim the backlight in the app.
I saw FBReader but decided not to download it after reading all the negative reviews of it. However, after seeing what you guys have said, I'll check it out and probably post my thoughts on here maybe tomorrow.
JMMusic said:
I'll put another vote here for FBReader.
I used Aldiko since I first got an Android phone in 2009. It was awesome, the absolute best reader software on Android. And then they lost their damn minds.
It is now 10 times bigger. And has one third of the options it used to have. I still haven't figured out what they did to accomplish that. When that happened I went looking for another option.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
What more options could they have? It has more than any of the others I've seen.
JMMusic said:
Laputa sucks in so many ways it isn't even worth mentioning.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The only reason I mentioned it was because of it's store. Also, the app used to work pretty well when it first came out, but basically has not been updated since then.
Thanks guys for your input, I'll check out FBReader!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks for the write up.
I'd like to note that Aldiko's PDF viewer is quite limited (no zooming or panning whatsoever) unless the device is running Android 2.2 (Froyo) and up, which spoils it for me running the stock ROM (Eclair). Not finding any free alternatives, I purchased ezPDFreader, the least expensive option, and am quite happy with it so far.
For compiled HTML files (chm), iReader is a good option. It's very customizable and handles zooming and re-flow pretty well... and it's free
I'm on stock ROM and using Moon+ reader, lovin' it so far.
that moon reader seems pretty good. nice tip.
I also read (and documented somewhere) that you can set up Calibre in a server mode to serve up your own library of books. It seems that Aldiko will interact with it remotely in this manner. I read about it and intend to do it when I have a chance but haven't tried yet so that's about the extent of my knowledge on it
The three best reviewed Ereader Apps are Aldiko, Moon+ and FBReader.
FBReader was one of the original apps, from something like 15 years ago.
Of course, all of these are designed to read DRM-free books, so the "store" references in your review are not really relevant.
pmilford said:
Hi,
I have been using FBReader for my eBook reader and find it works very well. It
handles epub and a variety of other formats. (but not PDF). It has a good 'night
mode' and the ability to dim the backlight in the app.
There is a third party called FBSync in the market that will use the web to sync
book mark progress in books and/or the books to Dropbox. Particularly useful when
changing ROMs too often on the Nook Color!
I use Repligo for pdf reading, the reflow works reasonably well.
I know you are looking mainly at eBook readers, but you haven't mentioned Calibre
an opensource PC/MAC ebook library management program:
http://calibre-ebook.com/
Calibre will also download and manage covers, reviews and do format conversions.
Calibre works well with an Android app 'Calibre library' (paid) and FBReader.
I like your writeup and plan to try some of the other apps you suggested.
Thanks,
Peter
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Totally support. Been using the FBReader for ages now and with FBSync app there's absolutely no fuss now with different gadgets I read on.
Been using Aldiko here. Though it is a little big size wise, I like the feature set as well as visibility. Looks and performs really well, and allows you to import any other online catalogs you favor.
Combining that with Calibre, got a pretty nice pair.
Also, theres a portable test version of calibre incase you wanna throw it on a stick, or even your phone:
portableapps.com/node/20518
Cool Reader
Seems to work well on Rooted 1.1 - lots of options and very little bloat.
Another vote for Moon+ reader here! Been using it since day one and it's awesome.!
Sorry it's taking me so long to update my post guys, I'll be doing it soon, I promise! It's been a busy week on my end and I haven't had much nook time. Thanks for everyone who has replied!
Still waiting lol
Since this thread has popped up again, I would just put out there that Mantano has replaced both aldiko and any other PDF reader out there for me. The PDF reading experience is the most complete I've found to date, and with its new support for OPDS catalogs, should now be able to interact directly with calibre in server mode (although I haven't tested this yet... been too busy to read anything in the last month).
I've been using Kobo for epubs, it's pretty cool it gives you stats on your reading. It works great with the default dpi, unlike the nook app. Also, there's no need to move your files around in the sdcard since the app searches for all supported files in the card.
Another vote for Kobo! Lighter than Aldiko and with similar options.
Playing around with CM7 and I'm not all that keen on the Nook app, so I want to try and find a replacement. I use calibre on my PC and I also use the calibre library app, which will allow you to specify the download location.
The problem with Aldiko seems to be that you have to put the book on your NC first (doesn't matter where) and then import it. I'd like to have it so that when calibre puts it there, the reader sees it and we're good to go, but with Aldiko, I have to import after it's on the NC and then I have two copies of every book, unless I do some sort of cleanup.
Any suggestions on a cleaner way to use Aldiko or a different app, given what I'm using? I don't have to use the calibre library app either - if I can just set a download location that the reader will pick up without jumping through hoops.
ive never had a problem with aldiko duplicating books on import i was under the impression that it just indexed the location on the sd card
mooja said:
ive never had a problem with aldiko duplicating books on import i was under the impression that it just indexed the location on the sd card
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Double check it. It duplicates for me by moving the book into it's library structure on the sdcard and leaving the old one where it is.
I think I'm liking FBreader right now. Surprised no one has any input on this...
I'm a fan of moon reader myself.
I use coolreader but I don't use Calibre so I can't help you there. I suspect your problem with Aldiko has to do with importing books into Aldiko rather than just opening them. I noticed that if I choose import after pointing the program at the book location on the sd card it makes a copy and puts it on my shelf thingie. if I don't import (and let it make the copy) I don't get the cover on my shelf.
Doesn't anyone here use the Nook for Android app? The most latest one look pretty slick, although it can get a bit laggy, especially if you're like me, who has like thousands of ebooks.
Aldiko is great but I have the same problem. I would love to use the "Send to device" function, in Calibre.
I image the problem lies in the setup, there must be a way to setup a custom device and tell it where the files should go.
les02jen17 said:
Doesn't anyone here use the Nook for Android app? The most latest one look pretty slick, although it can get a bit laggy, especially if you're like me, who has like thousands of ebooks.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Maybe I'm old-school, but I use the Nook app for all my B&N books, which is mostly what I have. It's generally my go-to so far for the public domain books too, but I haven't read much lately outside of PDFs for work using ezPDF. The last update that added magazines etc made it much nicer and more stable for me.
I like the B&N Nook app okay, but the organization seems to be a tad lacking to me. You can only do 'recent', 'title' and 'author' and you can't do a simple list (just words) either.
Aldiko, for example, will do series. FBreader will do tags and you can set favorites. And so on.
At least the app has a decent night mode vs the grey that's on stock. But shelves might be nicer I think. And adding some of the other stuff as well.
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111978
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=917926
I was on aldiko previously until they have issues with calibre opds format lately. I have moved to fbreader as opds works great but now I have another issue. Fbsync doesn't seem to work when trying to sync bookmarks. Whenever I click sync it will force close. It works on my attic though...
Sent from my MB860
khaytsus said:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1111978
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=917926
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thanks a lot khatsyus! I missed those!
One thing I *really* like is the ability to use Aldiko and put a shortcut to a book right on the home screen.
Hm...My ideal reader:
Shortcuts to open books on home screen (like stock)
Recognize books in directory without need to "import" (everything but Aldiko, I think)
Autoscroll (moon+)
Recognize Tags (all but nook)
"Last reading" - FBReader opens right to the page of the last book you were reading which is essentially just like the stock "Last Reading" button from the status bar.
Organization/Collections (aldiko, moon+)
Ability to see and use TOC from details without opening book (nook)
Multiple bookmarks (can't figure out how to even add a bookmark in nook app, it just puts one wherever you left off automatically.
On a side note, does anyone else find that the nook app does't honor screen timeouts or anything? It just keeps the display powered up and running. Accidentally ran my nook down completely because of it.
Slightly off the main topic, but I found this article yesterday about how to use either Aldiko or Moonreader along with Calibe and Dropbox to access your entire ebook library anywhere. I currently have 646 ebooks on my laptop and don't have them all on my different devices, so as long as I have WiFi or 3G I can connect and add any books I want to my Nook or phone.
http://www.anamardoll.com/2011/03/ereader-library-in-cloud.html
I'm using Aldiko now (and the Nook app for any of my downloads from B&N, which is actually pretty few) and the only option it doesn't have that I want is the ability to synch the app between devices so if I'm reading on my Nook it will remember the page so I can continue from the same spot on my phone. Does Moonreader have an option like that?
I've been using coolreader for months and really like it. Free and I haven't found anything that I want to do frustrated.
I had been using the nook for android app, and it does work quite well. However I figure there are alternative readers out there and I would be doing myself a dis-service if I did not check a few of them out to see what else is available. So I installed moon reader and so far it is working nicely for me. I particularly like the night themes as they are very easy on my eyes.
reaper12 said:
I'm a fan of moon reader myself.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 for moon reader
What kind of sharing options does Moon+ have? Is there any type of option that will post the page you're on or percentage complete like Goodreads does? (I can't get the Goodreads app to work on my rooted Nook)
Definitely souring on Aldiko. Have some books that it is chopping up on-screen (dropping words/sentences from end/beginning of pages). Pulled up the same pages in fbreader and no problems. I've never had that issue in the nook app. Gotta try moon reader now...
Moon reader +1
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk
I put some pdfs and an m4v and flv video on the device, organized in folders. I go in acrobat reader and it seems to find the pdfs, but just puts them in a single list, rather than showing the file hierarchy.
I would like to be able to browse the file hierarchy and touch a file and have it open. I have a lot of pdfs to put in the device and they need to be organized, not one big list.
Also would like to search for text in PDFs.
Ideally I am looking for something similar to ipad's Goodreader wher you can organize a hieararchy of mixed file types, PDF and video, and view any of them.
Acrobat reader and Quick Office seem to be a little slow to load. I am wondering if there is an app for this that is quick loading.
Any ideas?
Agree that Acrobat reader is one of the worst PDF readers all across the pad platforms. But unfortunately it seems that's the only choice on webos. Hope this wave of TP can bring some new PDF reader to it.
[Q] How to search through a PDF?
please excuse the question but I tried google a few times and couldn't get anything. Can the default adobe PDF viewer even search documents? If it can how the hell can I find the option? Is there anything 3rd party that allows searching through pdfs?
[Q] PDF Reading and Citrix?
To current owners, how is reading pdfs on the TP? Is it snappy like Ipad 2 and how about large pdfs like 100mb or greater? I dont really care about annotations.
Also does Citrix work? I saw an ad showing Citrix working. Thx
For the pdf file it's very fast and snappy,very usable, but only tested with a couple of 50Mo one, if you have bigger to test give me a link.
About citrix, take a look here:
http://forums.precentral.net/webos-development/190779-request-citrix-app.html
And
http://blogs.citrix.com/2011/02/09/...ake-webos-devices-enterprise-ready-at-launch/
Ok, I couldn't resist the temptation and got a Touchpad to play with. The two hospital pages where I use Citrix to access medical records don't work. The demo on Youtube looks so smooth . Adobe Acrobat on the WebOS is just as horrid as on the Android platform. There is no way, I can sit there read the PDFs in this condition. The letters all look fuzzy, and I don't think this is purely an issue with resolution and display. The software doesn't fully render it.
The good part is that flash works really well from the browser. Very well done. Also the cards arrangement of the overall OS is the best I have seen out of all 3 tablet platforms. It's unfortunate. I think it just take a little more work from HP to make it competitive.
1. A better screen. It's listed as IPS display but no where close to the Ipad.
2. Work out the small bugs in the WebOS
This pad desperately needs Alkido.
darkamulet said:
please excuse the question but I tried google a few times and couldn't get anything. Can the default adobe PDF viewer even search documents? If it can how the hell can I find the option? Is there anything 3rd party that allows searching through pdfs?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Not to the best of my knowledge, I've looked through every option and nothing. I also asked this same question about searching PDFs and never got a response. FYI I have a few 40mb+ pdfs w/ schematic drawings and it has the tendency of chugging along or even worse it loses the menu bar uptop where I can select pages from. I'll get stuck on page 230 out of 500 and will have to close the card down and open it up again to get the number list.
Hi all!
This may have been asked before (actually I'm pretty sure, but combing through the last 5 pages of threads I'm having a hard time finding it), but my question is this: I've got a lot of ebooks in epub format (gotten from.... other places that I won't discuss here lol) that I am wanting to get loaded onto my Galaxy Tab 10.1 (16gb wi-fi only) that I just got last week. I have been looking into several programs that say that they will transfer from my desktop to the tablet (Calibre and Adobe Digital Editions in particular both state that they will work with the Tab). And both say I have to have an ebook reader app on the Tab.
I say all that to ask this: 1.) will both Adobe Digital Editions and Calibre do what they say well (or if someone has a better preference please let me know!) or do I need to look at using a different program to transfer my ebooks; 2.) will the default Google Books app work to read those epub formatted books or do I need to get a different ebook reader app (and which one should I get)?
Sorry for the horribly long post! Just wanted to state my question with the most background info that I could! Thanks a ton guys! You're the best forum in the world!
I use calibre to convert my eboooks to .mobi format to use with the kindle app on my tab. It works great, is open source and it will match the meta data of the cover art to the mobi file so the covet art actually shows up on my tab. A few pdf files i coverted did not turn out so good (spacing errors and such) but other than that i thimk it is a good program.
FillTheVoid said:
I use calibre to convert my eboooks to .mobi format to use with the kindle app on my tab. It works great, is open source and it will match the meta data of the cover art to the mobi file so the covet art actually shows up on my tab. A few pdf files i coverted did not turn out so good (spacing errors and such) but other than that i thimk it is a good program.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok well what's the difference between .mobi and .epub formats? I haven't really found a good definitive answer to that (even on trusty wikipedia). Is one really better than another?
Honestly I really dont know. I do know that it is the format the kindle app uses and that is what I needed. Sorry I cant be more help with that.
Haha! Thanks for the info though. Really appreciate it!
I've tried several but find that Manotano Reader works best for me. Handles ADE DRMed files no problem. Just copy the files to a folder and Import them into MR.
Not inexpensive but so much of a time saver that I don't mind. I Copy the files to a Dropbox folder on my PC. DL them from the DropBox Folder to eBook folder on My ST. Import and done.
Jay Evans said:
I've tried several but find that Manotano Reader works best for me. Handles ADE DRMed files no problem. Just copy the files to a folder and Import them into MR.
Not inexpensive but so much of a time saver that I don't mind. I Copy the files to a Dropbox folder on my PC. DL them from the DropBox Folder to eBook folder on My ST. Import and done.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Ok! I'll have to give that one a shot. Depending on the price that is haha! Thanks for the helpful info!
eBook reader is already included
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 already includes an ebook reader. It was a part of the Touchwiz update. It can read the epub and PDF formats. It is compatible with the Adobe DRM if you are borrowing books from your library or buying other copy protected books, so you can give it your Adobe ID username and password, and it should be able to read them.
It is simply named "ebook" in the apps screen.
for transferring the books,
turn off the USB debugging under settings->Applications->Development
plug you tablet into your computer
browse to your tablet under your computer.
find the ebook folder on the tablet, put your ebook files in the ebook import folder
the path from my computer was "Computer\GT-P7510\Tablet\ebook\import"
After the files are copied, open the ebook app,
go to the menu and choose import to let the ebook reader app see the new books.
Barnes and Noble's Nook app supports .epub. Just drop your files into sdcard>Nook>MyDocuments and you're good to go. Not sure about DRM though.
For pdf's, I use ezPDF Reader. It's not free, but it's got some pretty nice features.
I use Aldiko, handles ePub and PDF which are my 2 main formats. I use Samba Filesharing for Android to create a network share, dump the files in and then use Aldiko's import folder feature to get them into it's library.
brandonyoung said:
The Galaxy Tab 10.1 already includes an ebook reader. It was a part of the Touchwiz update. It can read the epub and PDF formats. It is compatible with the Adobe DRM if you are borrowing books from your library or buying other copy protected books, so you can give it your Adobe ID username and password, and it should be able to read them.
It is simply named "ebook" in the apps screen.
for transferring the books,
turn off the USB debugging under settings->Applications->Development
plug you tablet into your computer
browse to your tablet under your computer.
find the ebook folder on the tablet, put your ebook files in the ebook import folder
the path from my computer was "Computer\GT-P7510\Tablet\ebook\import"
After the files are copied, open the ebook app,
go to the menu and choose import to let the ebook reader app see the new books.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's actually a pretty simple seeming way to transfer ebooks (all of mine are in epub (and for sure I'm not worried about DRM)) from my computer to the Tab. However, here's my sticky part. I HATE the look of the TouchWiz UI update. Loved the plain Jane Honeycomb that came with it (don't get me wrong, I think it added some very good features and needed updates), but the skin just makes it look silly to me. So my plan is to root and install a custom ROM of vanillia Ice Creme Sandwich when it comes out. That's why I'm looking for a third party (or Google) ebook reader.
I second the Nook App from B&N. Had a Nook color for about a year though and got used to the way the software works. Gave Nook to my wife and got the GT10.1. Just copy your epubs into the folder via varelawarfare's instructions and they'll turn up in your library. Haven't used the Kindle app much, but I prefer Nook over Aldiko, Google Books and the Samsung reader (but may just be because I'm used to it). I also use Overdrive reader as it is pretty good at seamlessly downloading DRM-ebooks (library for instance).
On my 8.9 the nook app seemed to be very sluggish, does it happen to everyone? I ended up using the book app that came with the tablet, its actually pretty good but some books it doesn't override the fonts thus doing weird stuff like keeping text black when I choose a dark background.
So it's really looking like the top picks for most people are either the Nook or Kindle readers or Akidio and Calibre for loading them onto the Tab? These are some great responses and suggestions from everyone! Super appreciative!
cardsharp234 said:
So it's really looking like the top picks for most people are either the Nook or Kindle readers or Akidio and Calibre for loading them onto the Tab? These are some great responses and suggestions from everyone! Super appreciative!
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
My take on this, since I spent a LOT of time looking for a good book / epub reader:
- Kindle: Need to convert to .MOBI format, no page-flip transitions
- eBook: Maximum number of files supported is 200, but does a good job otherwise
- Moon Reader+: Excellent reader, quirky but highly configurable, however cuts off last line of text for each page for some .epubs
- Aldiko Premium: Chokes when trying to load shelf, otherwise fine
- Mantano Reader: Very polished interface, developers listen to user feedback, handles PDF apart from .epub, no page-flip transitions
- EZ PDF Reader: Excellent for PDFs, but no .epub support
Bottom-line: I use Mantano
/would go for Moon Reader+ if Mantano were not available...
I tried several and Moonread it's my fav (never used Mantano, I'll check it out) since it offers alot of options and it allows to scroll smoothly between pages.
For loading books I use Calibre with "connect/share start content server" so it can be used wireless as a web store directly from the ereader or from the browser.
What I hate about all these ereaders is that none use the same folder for storing the epub files, some use /book, other /ebook or /ebooks
I'm using Aldiko for Epub and EZ PDF Reader for PDF. EZ PDF Reader is the only tool on Android with acceptable PDF quality (tried them all including Mantano, small text is unreadable).
Revils said:
For loading books I use Calibre with "connect/share start content server" so it can be used wireless as a web store directly from the ereader or from the browser.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So (if I'm reading this right) I can basically wirelessly update what new content I have on my computer to my Tab via wireless home network??? That beats having to use that freaking short cord that comes with my Tab. Heck... Thought just hit me. If I can remotely access my computer, wonder if (though that remote access and assuming of course that I'm in a wireless area) I could update my Tab content even when I'm away from the computer..... Interesting concept to me right there.
cardsharp234 said:
So (if I'm reading this right) I can basically wirelessly update what new content I have on my computer to my Tab via wireless home network??? That beats having to use that freaking short cord that comes with my Tab. Heck... Thought just hit me. If I can remotely access my computer, wonder if (though that remote access and assuming of course that I'm in a wireless area) I could update my Tab content even when I'm away from the computer..... Interesting concept to me right there.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Yup! check on Calibre menu "preference-sharing over the net".
If your computer can be reached over internet it can be done everywhere otherwise just when you are connected on the same wireless router
Revils said:
Yup! check on Calibre menu "preference-sharing over the net".
If your computer can be reached over internet it can be done everywhere otherwise just when you are connected on the same wireless router
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
That's freaking amazing that Calibre can do that! ...God bless that/those developer(s)!
So I've been having a blast obsessing over my NT. I find that I actually like the stock Home for reading & browsing books, pdfs & comic book archives. These are some quick observations:
Sideloading via USB to My Files... will use the "reserved for B&N" space.
Any compatible formats will show up in the Library, Home Screen & the Daily Shelf if they're side loaded via USB. But if they're transferred over a network, using ES File Explorer, they won't. You can still find them through search, or browsing through "my stuff" in Library. I'm wondering if there is a way to "refresh" the Library, so they know they're there, as is done when transferred via USB.
PDFs: Covers don't appear. Titles & Author will be displayed if the info is available. I used PDF-Xchange Viewer to edit Title & Author in unlocked PDFs. Cover art does NOT display, which doesn't make sense because they work with CBZ.
CBZs: Comic Book Archives that are ZIP work really well. I used a batch script that I found here: http://www.advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/diary.html?start=363 to convert all CBRs to CBZs. It's way quicker than manually converting. The first page will show up as cover art, which is really cool.
epub: Some, obviously, are better produced than others. If there is cover art, it'll show up. If not Title & Author will be displayed over the generic icon if it's available. I was able to edit (add) that information in FBreader (a super simple windows epub reader.) I wish there was just as simple way to add cover art.
gaaamer said:
Not only can you get good covers for your epubs, but I actually know the ideal resolution. And even covers that are embedded in the epub that are misaligned, crappy resolution, or generally garbage I've learned how to fix and perfect.
I WAS going to make a tutorial video showing how to do all of this.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Omg nirv come back again xD
Thanks for your observations. Its good to know sideloading will go into the B&N space rather than the 1Gb of space. Now I know you are doing it for books etc - but can you tell us if sideloading mp3s and say a movie file will do the same and go into the reserved space? Please try it out and let us know.
Its a shame that the covers of PDFs dont show. Thats kind of a bummer. I don't even understand why that wouldn't just work by default. Is there somewhere official we can go to complain about that so they might fix it? I want to throw lots of pdfs on there and hope to see the covers!
PDFs are legit and supported files, so it wouldn't hurt to comment or suggest that the stock home support PDF covers.
The stock library or home page does not display videos as far as I can tell. The way that media, like pics, music and video work they show up join the Media Gallery, which sucks. But again those are supported file formats, so it's something worth commenting and makings suggestions about. Email their support at [email protected]
I second the notion that cbz work very well on the NT.
Though the lack of some features that actual dedicated comic reader apps offer is really evident when you're stuck with the stock viewer.
Double pages are often shrunken down onto one page, you can't automatically advance to the next comic, you can't create shelves within shelves so you can organize your comic series, etc.
It'll do in a pinch, but the stock reader will never replace stuff like comic reader mobi and perfect viewer. If only those would show up in the B&N app store and become "official."
reverenddak said:
epub: Some, obviously, are better produced than others. If there is cover art, it'll show up. If not Title & Author will be displayed over the generic icon if it's available. I was able to edit (add) that information in FBreader (a super simple windows epub reader.) I wish there was just as simple way to add cover art.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Download calibre. It is a free program for windows (maybe mac too..dunno) that you can add/edit any information for the epub books and convert from/to most formats. I have a lot of mobi ebooks that I have converted to epub and added the cover art and it shows in the stock library. It also has a nifty search program that automatically searches for cover art from multiple sources.
Has anyone experiamented with pdfs > 50mb? I am mostly worried about RPG pdfs... hoping to not have to lug a ton of books to the gaming table...
reverenddak said:
Sideloading via USB to My Files... will use the "reserved for B&N" space.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Could you or anyone please explain this in detail for a noob?
You're saying this uses the 11GB of B&N "reserved" *hijacked* RAM, not the 1GB left for the user?
When I plug my rooted NT into my computer, the MyNOOK drive is mounted, but it's only 1GB. (Also my SD card mounts). Copying to My Files reduces the 1GB. So there must be more to 'sideloading via USB' than this, so what am I missing? Or is it just certain files and formats go to the B&N space?
You can still find them through search, or browsing through "my stuff" in Library. I'm wondering if there is a way to "refresh" the Library, so they know they're there, as is done when transferred via USB.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
So far the closest I've found is clicking 'Edit' in the My Shelves section- a list will pop up with media on either internal or SD card and let you individually select each item to add. Would be a real PITA with a large number of files though.
Thanks for the conversion to CBZ script. I was batch-extracting my .CBR files, zipping them, then changing the extension to .cbz but the script is obviously much faster for large collections.
PrinceMorganti said:
Has anyone experiamented with pdfs > 50mb? I am mostly worried about RPG pdfs... hoping to not have to lug a ton of books to the gaming table...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Stock reader works great for RPG book PDFs. I've used files with sizes ranging from 1-2MB to upwards of 75MB (I've got all of DnD 3rd,3.5, and 4th ed and quite a bit of 2nd scanned and OCRed), and only very rarely notice lag, even when reading off of SD. Only real downside is the PDF cover problem that has existed since the NC. For me, it was enough of an annoyance that I started using Mantano Reader (the paid version) on my rooted NT until such time that it ever gets fixed, since it allows browsing by cover thumbnail.
PrinceMorganti said:
Has anyone experiamented with pdfs > 50mb? I am mostly worried about RPG pdfs... hoping to not have to lug a ton of books to the gaming table...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've loaded a few 60MB+ pdf files that I use for work. Paging through them is reasonably fast. The stock viewer has really clumsy navigation and bookmark controls though.
I'd rather use QuickPDF, but it has an issue where all the options are trapped under the status bar
zaptoons said:
I've loaded a few 60MB+ pdf files that I use for work. Paging through them is reasonably fast. The stock viewer has really clumsy navigation and bookmark controls though.
I'd rather use QuickPDF, but it has an issue where all the options are trapped under the status bar
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I was reading on another post where someone turned off the status bar, accidently at first, but then liked it better that way.
Here it is:
http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?p=19761265&highlight=status#post19761265
Nook native reader chokes on some PDFs
I got my NT to be a universal ebook reader. It works great for that with Calibre.
The native PDF reader is good for selecting text passages, but it will choke and hang on certain PDF's that don't appear to handle text flow correctly. I get a PDF subscription to Monitoring Times, and I've run into that problem. The reader will hang, and then suddenly present you with two sentences of selected text smushedtogetherwithoutspaceslikethis.
The NT comes with QuickOffice Lite and you can read PDF's with it. I decided to buy the Pro version--I needed to be able to edit Word/Excel docs, and the PDF reader on QO Pro is quite a bit smoother. It's worth $7 bucks (and I can't stand Angry Birds anyway...)
I haven't yet found an upper limit for PDF size--a lot of files I have are scanned computer manuals from bitsavers.org, but I regularly read PDF's of 50-60 megs or more on the device.
Otherwise, it's a great first tablet. I had whole folders of PDF's, .mobi, Plucker, .doc and plain text files that just went right in, at least after I used Calibre to convert them.
HMG10 said:
I was reading on another post where someone turned off the status bar, accidently at first, but then liked it better that way.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Haha, yeah that was me. Unfortunately, this was specific only to GoLauncher. No way to turn it off in QuickPDF.
Fortunately, it doesn't matter; I got rid of the paid QuickOffice entirely. (I got it free from Amazon. I'm glad I didn't pay for it, because it sucked on the NT)
I've since found (thanks to someone here) that I prefer Mantano Reader Free. It's available straight from the market.
It has an awesome interface, it's own bookshelf, it generates/shows PDF covers, and it's blazing fast. It seems tablet aware; it only shows the status bar when you tap the bottom of the screen, and it's own menu is high enough not to get stuck behind it. I highly recommend it.
dmoisan said:
I got my NT to be a universal ebook reader. It works great for that with Calibre.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
2nd this. Calibre is amazing. I use the 'Fetch News' feature to gather content from various sources, and it creates a perfectly formatted mini-magazine out of them. I was surprised when I attached my NT; Calibre recognized it as a Nook Tablet, and automatically copied my news 'digests' to My Files.
reverenddak said:
So I've been having a blast obsessing over my NT. I find that I actually like the stock Home for reading & browsing books, pdfs & comic book archives. These are some quick observations:
Sideloading via USB to My Files... will use the "reserved for B&N" space.
Any compatible formats will show up in the Library, Home Screen & the Daily Shelf if they're side loaded via USB. But if they're transferred over a network, using ES File Explorer, they won't. You can still find them through search, or browsing through "my stuff" in Library. I'm wondering if there is a way to "refresh" the Library, so they know they're there, as is done when transferred via USB.
PDFs: Covers don't appear. Titles & Author will be displayed if the info is available. I used PDF-Xchange Viewer to edit Title & Author in unlocked PDFs. Cover art does NOT display, which doesn't make sense because they work with CBZ.
CBZs: Comic Book Archives that are ZIP work really well. I used a batch script that I found here: http://www.advogato.org/person/AlanHorkan/diary.html?start=363 to convert all CBRs to CBZs. It's way quicker than manually converting. The first page will show up as cover art, which is really cool.
epub: Some, obviously, are better produced than others. If there is cover art, it'll show up. If not Title & Author will be displayed over the generic icon if it's available. I was able to edit (add) that information in FBreader (a super simple windows epub reader.) I wish there was just as simple way to add cover art.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
How did you get the items you sideloaded into the reserved space via USB?
When I copy files from my computer to "/media/my files/Books" they go into the 1gig space.
Are you sure they are in the 12gig reserved space? In which directory do you see them with root explorer?
I have the same experience.
I did not root my NT coz I am scared (noob here), so I am just sideloading.
Most of the ebooks I downloaded actually go to my library which means it uses the 11 or 12gb that BN reserved for "their" content.
I am not sure if this go to all other files but all the things I downloaded from the browser go to the MyFiles (Downloads) folder of the library, be it ebooks or apps. I haven't tried to download anything from the browser other than ebooks and apps at the moment.
I am using an mp3 download app from the market and the mp3s I downloaded from the app goes to the sd card...
You will load into My Files/Books. If it's on the main storage, this folder is in that 1G area. If you have a SD card, then it's on the SD card. SD card shows on your desktop as another drive.
Possible PDF Cover solution?
PDFs: Covers don't appear.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I've been annoyed by this issue for a few months now, I think I might have made a little headway though.
I made a post on the nookdevelopers.zendest.com, where one user recommended dropping a PDF into an ePub since it's basically a Zip file. It took me awhile to learn the ePub format since it's a little more involved than just zipping the cover/pdf together.
My final product was a PDF w/ a cover, which showed up nicely on the Nook Tablet "Desktop"!! However now when I open the PDF (well, it's like an PDF/ePub hybrid now), it renders horribly, the page turns are slow, and if I navigate to any page past 80 or so it crashes. This blows my mind because the naked PDF works just fine in the reader app.
Here is a link the now unresponsive Zendesk post: Can't link yet
Here is the ePub/PDF & Cover I created: Can't link yet
Here is a link to the raw PDF: Can't link yet
(Until I can link, head over to the zendesk and search for 'pdf in epub with nook tablet', there are 2 different threads, the newest one has links to the PDF and ePub wrapped PDF I created)
I'm hoping this is a clue that will tip someone off to breaking this problem wide open.
Once the kinks are worked out, I can throw together an app to auto-wrap PDF's into ePubs. A complete bandaid to the problem, but since the Nook developers are asleep at the wheel, it's at least something.