Android App Review: Must-Install eBook Readers

17.12.11 The Reporter 0 Comments

The Android, whether it comes in Tablet or Phone form, has effectively sidestepped, if not killed the eBook reader market. Thanks to the proliferation of e-Reader apps on the Android Market, there is no longer any need to purchase a separate machine for your eBook reading needs; rather, if you can stand reading from a 3.2" screen, or if you own a 7" to 10" Android Tablet, you can now enjoy the pleasures of the written word from your Android.

Here are must-have e-Readers for your Android:

Amazon Kindle app. For those who buy e-Books, there's no denying that the Amazon Kindle Store is one e-Book marketplace you cannot afford to skip over. The Kindle Store is probably the best-stocked among all the other e-Book marketplaces, and if a reader/user would have to choose just one e-Book store to frequent, it would really have to be Amazon Kindle Store. Thus, for e-Book readers on the Android, the Amazon Kindle app is a must-have.

Not only will it let you read your Amazon Kindle Store purchases, it will also sync your cloud-based library to your device. You may also just pick and choose from the books you've downloaded or purchased.

One major bonus of having an Amazon Kindle app is access to Amazon Kindle's free eBooks. Amazon Kindle Store and its authors/publishers periodically offer some titles for free. Having an Amazon Kindle app allows you to download these free titles. Who could refuse a freebie, right? Thus, keeping an Amazon Kindle app is worth the space that it may take up on your Android device.

A warning for the space-conscious, however: Amazon Kindle will increase in bytesize consumed, as your Amazon account's library grows. So ensure that when you download the Kindle app, your memory is ample enough to handle the initial sync, then delete all the books on your device except the ones you want to read at the moment. You will still be able to access your downloads and purchases through your Amazon.com account.

Aldiko. Aldiko reader is possibly the best ePub/PDF app on the Android Market. The graphics and navigation are all smooth, beautiful and fast, even on low-spec devices. One downside for Aldiko is that it doesn't have the Text Reflow function for PDF files. Text reflow is very crucial for those who want to be able to have their PDF texts resized to a font they can read best. If there is one major dealbreaker for Aldiko, it would have to be this function, or more accurately, the lack of it.

Another dealbreaker may be the app's size. Though Aldiko is definitely much better than Amazon Kindle in this respect, for those who are on lower Internal Storage sizes, this may discourage them from keeping the app.

AReader. Android Reader, or AReader is a smaller-sized alternative to Aldiko. It behaves and functions almost like Aldiko, though there are a few less settings and customizations on AReader. The big plus to this app is that it takes up the least space of most of the readers I've tried. It can read both ePUB and PDF, but the PDF capability requires the download of a plugin. It's a very worthy alternative to Aldiko.

Adobe Reader. While the latest version of the app is severely crippled in functionality, compared to the older versions, this still makes for a good, light, beautifully simple PDF reader. The older version of the Adobe Reader has a Text Reflow function, but it's puzzling to note that the newest version tossed out that function altogether. We're not sure yet if and when Adobe plans to restore that function, but the lack of text reflow is pretty disappointing. Either way, though, if you don't mind that text reflow is not available, this is still a fair PDF reader.

The other eBook readers I've personally tried are slow, buggy or are just too confusing to use. These are the best, so far. Runners-up are Google Books, Moon Reader, txtr, and Cool Reader.