Database Develop

[Q] Alternative eReader app ?

I was wondering if there was some other eReader out there that I could install on my rooted NC. The one that comes with the NC is pretty basic I was also hoping that I could find one that has text-to-voice.
Any advice ?

The only one I know that can do text to voice is called Wordplayer but it's a pretty clunky app.
You can try Moon Reader which is pretty good and has a fancy 3d page turning affect.
But my ultimate recommendation is to stick to the build in app since no other app will have access to B&N purchased stuff. And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.

Pinesal said:
And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.
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Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers

FBReader is what I use.. I didn't like Moon+ because it's WAY too easy to flick when I want to turn; and I don't like flicking to scroll personally.. I like to just tap and let it change the page..
I've found the B&N Book app is slow as balls, has anyone else noticed that? I have some epub's that load fine on my computer, Moon+, FBReader... but they take 2+ minutes to open in the B&N reader app.
I'll just keep using FBReader. If I actually have some B&N books (buy or borrow from wife) I'll use the built-in but otherwise.. Oh, and for night reading, I like white on BLACK with the brightness down, TYVM. No more white on grey.
FYI, this is how I set up FBReader:
First off, you gotta have Softkeys working so you can hit the menu button as the notification/status bar is hidden by default. I personally set the Softkeys tool to Double-click home button and launch Softkeys, works pretty well when I need to access it.
So then hit the Menu, pick the More option, then the Settings option. Fiirst thing I do is to make it easier to get to settings and such, I go into Appearance and check Show status bar. Then in the Scrolling options, I uncheck everything. That makes it scroll on tap, and scrolls "up down", ie: you tap the bottom half of the screen anywhere, and it scrolls down. top half anyway, scrolls up. If you like the left/right (like the Nook app does), leave the "Horizontal Scrolling" option checked.
As for book locations, you guys might have a place you put them.. I left it /sdcard/Books and just put my epubs there for now. I might revise this later so the Nook app and FBReader are looking in the same place.

Pinesal said:
And if you don't use B&N, you should return your nook.
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Thanks for telling us how to use our stuff.

Thibor69 said:
Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers
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Well, of you have a source of free ebooks then that's cool. But if you are buying books, B&N should be your first stop. They built the awesome tablet and some suspect that he hardware is subsidized by book sales. Just a recommendation. I mean if you can find book cheaper somewhere else, I guess the choice is obvious.

Thibor69 said:
Thanks for the recommendations I will look those apps up. I would never return my NC. Even tho I don't use the B&N store I have 100's of books that are ePub and work perfectly well on my Nook. B&N is not the only source for books.
Cheers
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Click to collapse
Forget using the B&N store. If your going to buy a book i'd recommend Amazon solely based on their whispersync.
As far as ereaders apps, i have tried most of them. FYI the smoothest browser i've found so far has been Opera 10. With skyfire being second and dolphin HD third although its pretty slow. My current favorites ereaders are Aldiko, and the Amazon Kindle reader. Both run much smoother on the nook than the stock app.
Aldiko: It will read several different types and will allow you to import epub files directly which is great if your have a lot of epub books. I like the layout of the books a little bit better than fbreader but thats a personal preferance. Fb reader has a lot of the same features. They both allow you to change the brighness of the screen on the fly but sliding your finger vertically along the left side of the page. I think thats a great feature that i wish more apps would incoporate.
Amazon Kindle:
I use this a little bit differently. If you have an account with them it allows you to use their whispersync. This basically syncs up the page number you are on across different devices, this works for books you already have not just ones you buy from them. This allows me to read things on my nook and on my phone without having to chase down my current position in the book on each device. I also like that it offers a sepia background option.
Importing books you already have or books from other sources is a little more involved with the kindle app. I use a free program called calibre to convert my ebooks, any format, to a .mobi format. Then you have to copy them onto the sd card of each device you want to read them on. Dropbox is your friend with this.
If you buy the book off amazon you don't have to go through this as you can just download them from amazon. But i'm not one to buy books really so i have to go through all the steps.
Anyway good luck, this post got long quickly.

A side note, sightly off topic: The NC can view any epub or txt file uploaded to your SD card., so even if you don't get your material from B&N you can still use the NC very well.
http://www.androidtablets.net/forum/nook/3902-side-loading-books-not-buying-frm-b-n.html#post22438

Aldiko is my personal favorite. (epub format)

PDF Reader that Allows Making/Saving Highlights and Annotations

This has been mentioned in one or two other places I could find, but I thought rather than bury my thoughts deep in a less specific thread, I'd start a new one. Hope it isn't too redundant.
I really love the way highlighting and annotating works in the NC's native reader, but as of right now you can't export those notes/highlights in any usable format, such as an annotated pdf, or something like that. Furthermore, the two pdf's I have opened with NC Reader, while the reading experience is nice, won't allow me to highlight the same way the eBooks do.
My ideal solution would be to find a reader that handles pdf's (and maybe other formats) for me and also allows me to make and save highlights and annotations (basically something like the flash app at crocodoc.com). I would certainly be willing to pay for this if any dev's want to give it a whirl.
Currently, given the fact I have yet to find such an app, I use this solution:
I start with a given pdf. If it is not already live text (meaning it's just a set of scanned images of text), I take it into Acrobat Pro and use OCR to create a clearScan copy, which contains the live text elements separated from any charts/images. From here I take the pdf and convert it to ePub format. This can be done with a free program like Calibre or even over the cloud at a site like 2epub.com. Once you have the ePub doc, you just put it on your NC (I use Dropbox), and it looks just like any other book in your library. I use the Reader app, and I can add highlights/notes until my heart's content.
Of course I still can't save any of my highlights/annotations off the NC this way, but maybe one day B&N will allow for that functionality. There's also the hope they will get a deal worked out to allow Flash content, which would mean I could go back to using crocodoc from a browser to do collaborative highlighting/annotating.
Anybody found a better solution at this point?

I second this poster. I love having this feature in my Sony Reader, it helps a lot with reading the documentation.

I also second this request. I would pay 20 dollars for a pdf reader that used standards-based pdf annotations. It would also be nice if the app remembered where you left off reading.
Sent from my LogicPD Zoom2 using XDA App

I have been looking for something exactly like this for my Nook Color. I would be willing to pay the premium to get this feature in a native PDF reader.
madyogi, thanks for this method, I will try it now and see how it works. Just in time for my trip tomorrow

[APP][BETA] Bookviser - ebook reader

Hi,
I published a BETA of my new ebook reader, Bookviser. If you want to test it, please email me your Live ID associated with your Windows Phone 7 device, I will add you to the beta testers list and send you the Marketplace download link. My email is [email protected]
Bookviser can read EPUB, FB2 and TXT files. You can download books using incorporated Feedbook search or upload books from your computer.
Thank you.
Alex

Ebook readers without OPDS support are nonsense today. Also, you don't support hyphenation (especially for Russian), don't you?
New ebook reader app may have some sense, if you (at least!) implement all functionality of Jim Chapman's "Freda" ebook reader...

sensboston said:
Ebook readers without OPDS support are nonsense today. Also, you don't support hyphenation (especially for Russian), don't you?
New ebook reader app may have some sense, if you (at least!) implement all functionality of Jim Chapman's "Freda" ebook reader...
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Thank you for your comment . Honestly I did not think about OPDS support, but will add it for sure.
As to hyphenation, it was planned and will be added in new versions as well. This is only the beginning. I just decided to publish a version with basic features first and then add new one by one.

If there is dropbox support, that's enough for me.
UI looks way better than freda.
Also, single book pinning to start screen is a must.

Just used the app for some time. UI is smooth and beautiful. Page transition is smooth too.
Sent from my SGH-i917 using XDA Windows Phone 7 App

What about navigation and font sizes ?

help
I am trying to use bookviser and even downloaded the sync tool, there is no confirmation it is uploaded, can't view online library. And it appears to be available to download on my device but then it errors out am I doing something wrong, epub is about 170mb

sp_sheffield said:
What about navigation and font sizes ?
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The font sizes are going from 25 to 40, but I will add smaller sizes by the time of release.
What do you mean by navigation?

Loving this app, just what I needed.
The "goto page" is great, nice interface, smooth page flip. Once you get the skydrive support working (or do folders/management of Bookviser account storage) this thing will be top shelf!

Looking good! Serious alternative to Freda and Raccoon. But please add DropBox support! All my books are there.

I think there's a bug somewhere. When I try to open a book in epub, downloaded from net, 1.74 mb of space, the app crashes. And also, a dropbox support would be great. In rest, if dropbox will be added, I will uninstall FREDA and never even try other ebook reader. Cross my heart. Cheers and great work

shtresatu said:
... I will uninstall FREDA and never even try other ebook reader. Cross my heart. ...
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Well I hope you'd at least take a look at the new Freda update (2.5) and send me feedback about how you'd like it to be improved

still needs settings for line spacing to be usable

What is best ereader?

I use the NC as a 50% ereader and though I installed the Mirage-Kang ROMwhich has given it fantastic Android performance and stability, none of this changes an iota in terms of the best app to read with. I've installed a wide variety of apps, and will share my favorites, but would like yours on which is your favorite and why.
Obviously ebook format is not an issue with Calibre. I don't view using it as an ordeal either and usually have fun perusing the Amazon or Google pickings for the best cover. In any case, spending a few minutes before spending many an hour with a good book is obviously nothing.
Among the ereaders I have installed and tested are Aldiko, Kobo, Moon, Cool Reader, FBReader, and Kindle. I live in Brazil, so the Android market Nook app is not available to me.
My top two are Aldiko and Kindle. They are my favorites for proper epub/mobi formatting and overall reading experience.
Aldiko - Aldiko achieves the best font size for my eyes with a customizable size 18 (one larger than the default), and it also renders the book formatting perfectly. Many ereaders get this wrong with odd spacing after a paragraph and other, and do not respect the epub coding. The page color, which is also an infinitely lightly tinged yellow, just enough to reduce glare, is perfect. I also enjoy its bookcase opening screen. The one mark against it, but a big one, is the lack of dictionary.
Kindle - Kindle is a remarkably good ereader which gets the important things right, but is second best in a few others. The formatting and fonts are perfect, and my only complaint is the lack of choices in font sizes. Personally, my ideal would be between the default (a fraction small), and the next larger, though the next larger is still a great reading experience. The Kindle actually gets my nod as best due to the reading experience and its fantastic dictionaries. I read in more than one language, and while fluent, enjoy fine literature so will find words I do not know. Kindle is quite incredible in supplying dictionaries in all these languages for easy and instant look-up.
Kobo - Kobo deserves a special mention even though they get essential things wrong such as bad formatting, an onerous note system, and no dictionary. They have some very innovative ideas on the other front, such as fun achievements for reading at night, finishing a book (I presume) and others, which make a less assiduous reader get into the experience. Their front presentation and bookmarker are also very attractive.
The other ereaders such as Cool Reader, FBreader, Moon+, didn't really impress. They are very good of course, but for basics, Aldiko was better, even if it does not have ten thousand configuration options like Cool Reader. CR, for example, has fancy old-looking pages, as well as a graphical page turning effect, with sound effect and all, but once you actually start getting involved in a book, these effects are unimportant at best, and distracting at worst. Also, none had the Kindle dictionary.

I've tried most of them and I have stopped and went ahead with Mantano Reader. It serves me best.

votinh said:
I've tried most of them and I have stopped and went ahead with Mantano Reader. It serves me best.
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Ditto for Mantano. I was a big Aldiko user, and also had to use a couple different PDF readers before, but once I found Mantano, I got rid of all the others and just use the one. I especially like how it reflows and zooms/crops the PDFs to improve readability.
added: although I still use Kindle for actual kindle books. I never use dictionary functions, but I also don't read in foreign languages, so I can see why you might want that functionality. Perhaps pair Mantano with a standalone dictionary app?

I mainly use Kobo because of the achievements and the widget, despite the bad formatting stuff, which doesn't bother me much. I began using Moon Reader Pro because it has TTS features, for when I want to have a quick read. For PDFs I use EZPDF Reader for its awesome annotation features, most things I read on PDF are for College, so there's a lot of highlighting and commenting.

I looked at it and agree it is a superb PDF reader, and also has excellent management functions, but as an ebook reader for epub/mobi I think Aldiko and Kindle have an edge. Still, thanks for the recommendation, as it is now my de facto PDF reader.

votinh said:
I've tried most of them and I have stopped and went ahead with Mantano Reader. It serves me best.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I just tried it on both CM7 and CM9 and found it to be a lot slower when handling my large (1000+ page) files. Changing pages takes a few seconds with Mantano, whereas the Kindle app has pretty much no lag at all. Did you somehow get it to run smoother or are you just a lot more patient than I am ?

I use Kindle for Kindle books, Books for Google books, and Nook app for Nook books. I use ezpdf for pdfs. Before putting CM7 on the nook I used Calibre but it is not worth it anymore. I boot into standard nook for some kids books that require the nook for read aloud functions. I use golden dictionary and appreciate how much easier it is to switch back and forth btw dictionary and book with CM9.
Sent from my NookColor using Tapatalk

I suppose this question must pop up at least once a month, although it'd be nice if people would search and look at previous suggestions rather than a new post. Even bump an old thread and ask if anyone has new suggestions as necessary.
As for me, my answer is always FBReader. I don't read PDFs unless absolutely necessary.

Tried nearly all of them, Moon+ is it for me. Read probably 50 ebooks in the past 6 months, maybe half with Moon+, half with Aldiko, and tried several others for less than a whole book. Moon+ all the way.

I used Aldiko a lot until I switched to CM9 and was unable to get the Adobe authentication (for books from my local library) to work (they only allow a limited number of authentications per user). I switched to the Kindle reader, which isn't as versatile but if you have an Amazon account there are not authentication issues (most of the books I read are from the library).

bigbob23 said:
I used Aldiko a lot until I switched to CM9 and was unable to get the Adobe authentication (for books from my local library) to work (they only allow a limited number of authentications per user).
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YOu can fix this in 10 minutes with Adobe support using their online chat. Go to the Adobe site, log in using the same credentials you used for ADE and find the support->chat button. I forgot what screen it's on, and it's a pain to locate it, but once you do, they can clear your 6 prior registrations quickly. I've done this twice.

mr72 said:
Tried nearly all of them, Moon+ is it for me. Read probably 50 ebooks in the past 6 months, maybe half with Moon+, half with Aldiko, and tried several others for less than a whole book. Moon+ all the way.
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mr72,
Have you found a way to get Moon+ to display page numbers (in the total book) rather than position in the chapter? I use Mantano because it always shows me I am on page 293 of 500 or whatever the situation is. It also doesn't change the total number of pages based on font size like some readers do.
Other than this little nit, Moon+ and Mantano both seem pretty comparable for the features that I use.

davidr415 said:
mr72,
Have you found a way to get Moon+ to display page numbers (in the total book) rather than position in the chapter? I use Mantano because it always shows me I am on page 293 of 500 or whatever the situation is. It also doesn't change the total number of pages based on font size like some readers do.
Other than this little nit, Moon+ and Mantano both seem pretty comparable for the features that I use.
Click to expand...
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Actually I find that you can set Moon+ to display the % in a mini status bar.
Options -> Miscellaneous -> Show mini status bar when reading (checked)
What I like about this is that it shows the % of completion of the book, without regard for font size, number of pages, etc. However, I can see how knowing how many pages there were total might be helpful.
If the epub is formatted correctly, then it will also show page#/of (like 2/8, etc) for your progress in the current chapter.
Haven't tried Mantano. I suppose maybe I should.

Interestingly, I never hear AReader ever mentioned in any of these kinds of lists and can't help but wonder why not.
I don't have a lot of experience with ebooks other than buying a few Kindle books, having quite a few .epub and .mobi books, and many .pdf files. AReader does it all for me. Anyone else have any critiques of this app?
As an aside, specifically for a PDF reader, I HIGHLY recommend ezPDF Reader for its speed and very well-implementer text-flow mode.

CoolReader. I got rid of the page turn effects and the page texture and set it up for cream on brown as night mode. The programmable tap zones rock. Also, I installed Fora Dictionary which Cool Reader can use for dictionary, Wikipedia, and translation. It does have a lot of settings so if you become familiar with them you can get it to do whatever you want and look however you want. I also like that it shows page numbers as well as a progress bar. It never tries to sell me anything. <3
I didn't like the pseudo-shelves all the other apps use to show my books. I have hundreds and that kind of highly graphical interface takes forever to find anything.

I honestly haven't area more than a few books on my hacked nook I can say that I have used the nook app,kindle app, and cool reader. In the past I have aldiko and moon reader as well. I really like the kindle and nook applications where cool reader seems to be my favorite 3rd party reader. That being said moon reader is a damned good reader as well. I haven't put too much thought into what would be the ideal reader for me, but this thread has given me food for thought.

My only issue with Cool Reader is that I could see a way to set up an OPDS database so that I could access my ebook collection online.
I manage the library with Calibre and generate an OPDS database on my Drobox with a program called Calibre2OPDS. Then I have access to my library via the Internet.
I can do this with Moon+, Aldiko, Mantano, and FBReader

davidr415 said:
My only issue with Cool Reader is that I could not see a way to set up an OPDS database so that I could access my ebook collection online.
I manage the library with Calibre and generate an OPDS database on my Drobox with a program called Calibre2OPDS. Then I have access to my library via the Internet.
I can do this with Moon+, Aldiko, Mantano, and FBReader
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting idea, thanks!

I forgot to mention, you also have to have Dropbox as the location for your Calibre library...

Does Mantano has in built dictionary ?? After reading in iBook I am kinda addicted to in-app dictionary

eBook reader

Hey guys, can anyone recommend a good ebook reader that I can use to read downloaded books and PDFs?

Moon reader is my new favorite. Have used aldiko and nook before.
My life for Aiur

Moon+ looks to be pretty good, what I'm wondering is if the pro version is worth forking over 5 bucks for?

Moon + pro its the only one that has both text to speech and can synch across devices (using dropbox). Its the only one I use. (Use calibre on your PC with dedrm plugins to convert to epub and you can buy books from anywhere.)
You just have to wait for the upcoming update, because the current version doesn't work with jelly bean. However the update should be released any time now, since the developer has a version that fixed the disappearing text in jelly bean. If you email the developer I'm sure he would send you a link. I would post it, but I'm not sure its OK with him. I think the free version doesn't have text to speech, otherwise it seems the same. When you upgrade, make sure to try it with ivona voice to read to you, all other voices are way too robotic. Ivona is good enough to use on long drives, out during mindless chores.

Thanks for the tips, gonna check out Aldiko and Moon. Seems like Moon for jelly bean is out on market now!

I actually Like the Kindle App... But I'm a little Biased... I have a eInk kindle that I read on and all my books are stored on the amazon cloud (I just convert ePub to Mobi) also I love that my Spot in books is synced across my kindle iPhone and Nexus 7 (yes I have a little bit of everything)

Mantano is my reader of choice at the moment. I was previously using Aldiko. Can't stand Kindle or Nook apps, margins are way too wide and pointless book titles at the top of every page.

kisrita said:
Moon + pro its the only one that has both text to speech and can synch across devices (using dropbox). Its the only one I use. (Use calibre on your PC with dedrm plugins to convert to epub and you can buy books from anywhere.)
You just have to wait for the upcoming update, because the current version doesn't work with jelly bean. However the update should be released any time now, since the developer has a version that fixed the disappearing text in jelly bean. If you email the developer I'm sure he would send you a link. I would post it, but I'm not sure its OK with him. I think the free version doesn't have text to speech, otherwise it seems the same. When you upgrade, make sure to try it with ivona voice to read to you, all other voices are way too robotic. Ivona is good enough to use on long drives, out during mindless chores.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I think you may have just helped me decide what to spend some of the $25 on . The dropbox sync alone is worth it. I've been using aldiko premium, but moon+ seems to have a lot more options.

For anyone else looking for solutions,
i tried aldiko and moon and they were great but I had a ton of .mobi files from my OG kindle days and it seems like FB reader is the best one that supports the most formats.

I noticed these programs do not have the page turner smooth animation like Google Play (Books) blue icon. Any app that has this smooth animation?

Is google books nice to? cant install it on my nexus one
is there a way to import books into google books?

Try GO Book reader. I have tried quite a few and found it to be the best. Aldiko is quite good too.

mparack said:
Try GO Book reader. I have tried quite a few and found it to be the best. Aldiko is quite good too.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
+1 on Go Book, this would be my e-reader of choice

You can try Kindle, it has plenty of reading options and text spacing etc.

I tried allot of readers, and I'm using them often
So if you ask me, have a look at mantano reader!!!
Best Allroundtalent to read PDF and epub books.
Moonreader pro is my second reader but I only use it to read epub books.
Hint: try tts option within both readers and use ivona tts engine from playstore!!!
Sent from my sweet little Blackbox

ky0nkyon said:
Moon reader is my new favorite. Have used aldiko and nook before.
My life for Aiur
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I use Moon+ reader. It syncs settings and book positions with dropbox (has to be activated within the settings) which is great if you hop from one rom to another. I've been using it on my phone for months and love it.

phoneaddict13 said:
I noticed these programs do not have the page turner smooth animation like Google Play (Books) blue icon. Any app that has this smooth animation?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Moon Reader has page transitions. What's more, they are even better than Google Books' transitions, because they vary based on the direction of your swipe, and from what position, if you pull from the bottom right hand corner, the page "turns" from the bottom right hand corner.
Just dig around in the settings, the page animation is there.
---------- Post added at 03:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:00 PM ----------
Alkido or whatever it's called sucks. They haven't updated it since march, and all 7" tablets revert to phone interface, which makes the menu button inaccessible. They haven't released a fix for this, despite 2 very high quality 7" tablets being released in this timeframe (Gtab 2 7.0 and the Nexus 7).
I would refrain from buying Alkido until the fix this problem.
Moon Reader all the way.

I've been using moon for awhile now too. You have several types of page turning animations if that your thing and in landscape you can set it up for dual pages like a regular book. Just play around with all the options there's tons. Since I have a kindle also dropbox is what really won me over so I can just convert everything or I even like the kindle app but more out of convenience, but since they've updated it alot lately you can mail yourself pdfs or other docs which will be converted for you and look perfect,which was a feature I missed from the actual kindle.

Any reader app out there (besides Moon) that supports syncing page positions? That's the only thing I miss from iBooks

ctbear said:
Any reader app out there (besides Moon) that supports syncing page positions? That's the only thing I miss from iBooks
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Mantano Reader Pro?
Sent from my sweet little Blackbox