Let's talk Books and Magazines! - Galaxy Tab 10.1 General

What is your favorite app for books / magazines? I like Zinio, but I would really like an all in one app that will do both. Ideally one that will let me glance through all I have and see them listed with their covers. Also, one that will allow me to sideload.
I like Zinio for Magazines, but there doesn't appear to be a way to sideload and well.... if a Publisher thinks I'm going to pay two dollars more for a digital copy in an effort to save trees, they talking crazy talk.
So, where are you finding the latest media and which app is the best all around?

Related

Are Aldiko and other ePub apps available?

Are Aldiko and other ePub apps that are in the regular Amazon App Store still available on the Kindle Fire(actually in the store, I'm aware it can be sideloaded)?
Aldiko is in the app store but doesn't show as compatible with the Fire. I'm sure if you had the apk you'd be fine.
As far as available non-sideloading epub apps, there's a commercial app called Mantano but it's $7.49. Good reviews though.
And of course you could always just convert your stuff using Calibre for free.
I've installed MoonReader+ via the Android Pit app. I'd guess the free version would load also.
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I have a followup question on ePubs (I did not want to open up a new thread).
Using Calibre is not an option. I need to get ePubs to be easily accessible on the Fire without rooting (sideloading is an option). This is for someone who basically has no technical skills whatsoever and it needs to be ... ready for the cliched phrase?..."easy as pie".
I can do the setup/sideloading, but they need to be able to go on websites, download the ePub, know where it is, and hopefully in either an app or a file manager one-click and its opened.
They aren't books, they are small documents.
I tried to sideload Aldiko, and yes it does open ePubs, BUT you have to manually import them each time. (It would be ideal if there is an app that automatically scans your internal storage and just "puts" the ePub file out in the open to select -- kind of likeezPDF does with pdf's).
I am really trying to get this to work for them because they are an Apple family and will most likely will turn to an iPad.... (alternatively, I may recommend the Nook Tablet which I believe natively supports pdf).
If there is a stable ROM that doesn't required constant updates/maintenance, I MIGHT be willing to consider that if it means having access to the Android Market and making the ePub thing alot easier.
Any feedback appreciated here!
moon reader opens directly - but the handling is a little bit complicated
take a look by yourself - it's on the market
Eddog4DROID, an easy thing I'd recommend is getting the 'Overdrive Media Console' app from the market, free (https://market.android.com/details?id=com.overdrive.mobile.android.mediaconsole).
If you borrow books from any public library in ePub format, they download directly through that app.
Also, if you have any ePub format files on your SD card (like your own books) you can probably save them on the Overdrive folder and open them (not sure though, haven't tried).
Here's a FAQ about the app in case you want to give it a try (http://www.overdrive.com/Software/OMC/faq.aspx).
Let us know how it goes if you try it.
Eddog4DROID said:
I tried to sideload Aldiko, and yes it does open ePubs, BUT you have to manually import them each time. (It would be ideal if there is an app that automatically scans your internal storage and just "puts" the ePub file out in the open to select -- kind of likeezPDF does with pdf's).
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
get mantano reader https://market.android.com/search?q=mantano&c=apps
haven't really tried the Trial but I paid for the full software and I love it. Every book you have on fire (even pdf) will be sorted by author, Title, Series etc. in the Mantano Reader. It has also TTS so it reads your books for you if you want.
Aldiko does work for stock Fire. I use it all the time for reading scientific papers. For whatever reason, I had to grab the APK directly from their website; backing up the APK I had on my Droid X didn't work.
My first post, and I was able to supply an answer rather than ask a noob question.
Aldiko was very sluggish on my Fire, I went back to using the Kindle app from the Market. If the books I have/get are in epub format I either use Calibre to convert them or one of the free online converters.
Can Aldiko be setup the ePubs are automatically imported and shows up when the app starts?
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Can Aldiko be setup the ePubs are automatically imported and shows up when the app starts?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
so far as i know - NO
correct me if i'm wrong
Not sure Overdrive is what I need. These are custom ePubs that are not books from Libraries. Thanks for the feedback though.
Again, just want to download ePubs from a website and have a quick way to open them.
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as i said some posts ago: moon reader - nothing for you ?
Wow. Moon Reader. I over looked it but work great! Going with that one. It freezes up sometimes but well see... thanks again
Sent from my HTC Thunderbolt
FB reader for the win.. you will have to dl apk and side load. But from what I have seen on other devices this is the fastest and most reliable epub reader ive seen.
also a note Though I have not used this on the KF yet. I did notice some notes in the latest patch that are kindle related... so the dev has KF in mind..
I have ALDIKO on my kf.. its my usual go to reader though I think its sloppy and sluggish it does have a nice overal design. and I dont mind the import feature.. '
I like kobo myself
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Adding your own books to Play Books

Please bear with me, as I am new to the Android scene and just recently unlocked my bootloader and rooted my Nexus 7.
I am currently looking for a way to add my own .epub books to the Play Books app, as want to keep my books all in one place and keep it simple on me.
I thought there'd be a directory where it stores its books, but have not been able to locate it or find a successful way to have my books displayed in the Play Books app.
Any ideas or am I missing something?
After a bit of research, it seems the Google Play Books app only looks for books purchase in the Play Store?
There must be a way around it
Yung Lovah said:
After a bit of research, it seems the Google Play Books app only looks for books purchase in the Play Store?
There must be a way around it
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Interesting to know.
So, presumably you need to install a different epub reader and run it in parallel. Anyone here can recommend a good free one that works with the N7?
taltamir said:
Interesting to know.
So, presumably you need to install a different epub reader and run it in parallel. Anyone here can recommend a good free one that works with the N7?
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Try Aldiko, a pretty decent ereader app. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.aldiko.android&hl=en
There is a free and paid version.
As far as I know there is no way to import your own books to play books. I use the nook app for my epubs, I don't read enough ebooks to give you a better app than that though
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I started using Moon Reader.
I just wish I could have all my books in one spot.
Sent from my Nexus 7 using xda app-developers app
+1 moon reader. I made a folder called books, put all my books in there and pointed moon reader to it
+1 for Aldiko
Using Cool Reader right now. Its full featured and free without ads or nag screen. There's also an option to donate to support the developer, but its optional and no featured is taken out in the free version either ( unlike some of the other readers ).
i like the nook app, i can add my own books and i like the animations
Thanks for the suggestions. I am trying both alkido and moon+ reader.
taltamir said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I am trying both alkido and moon+ reader.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
Let us know which one you like better.
I use Caliber to convert files into .mobi , and then run them in the Kindle app.
You just plant them in sdcard/Android/Data/com.amazon.kindle/files and it will pick them up.
So now i'm settled with two library types.
Only downside is you don't get that cool page flip animation. lol
+1 Aldiko
+1 for cool reader. I also like FBReader. I actually use a combination of the two along with the B&N Nook app and the Kindle App... depends on where the book is... At one point I was using Calibre to remove the DRM, but I kind of like the bookshelf display of the the B&N app, etc...
i think this is a huge blunder on Google's part. This device is geared towards content, but yet I can't add ePub books I've purchased from other sites and use it with the included book app. I have to add a third party app that takes up storage and diminishes the Google experience. If I have to use a third party app to read ebooks, why bother purchasing them from the Play Store? Google seems to be severely deficient in their marketing dept.
Google Play books
ynnek63 said:
i think this is a huge blunder on Google's part. This device is geared towards content, but yet I can't add ePub books I've purchased from other sites and use it with the included book app. I have to add a third party app that takes up storage and diminishes the Google experience. If I have to use a third party app to read ebooks, why bother purchasing them from the Play Store? Google seems to be severely deficient in their marketing dept.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
I bought two books from Google Play yesterday, and one of them didn't offer the option of downloading the epub to a computer. This led me to check quite a few other books, especially those on sale, and I found that the majority also didn't allow downloading to a computer. Of course, this means the books can't be read anywhere but through the Google Books app, and it isn't possible to remove DRM to allow for backup of the books on customers' own hard drives or cloud storage choices.
I have only bought a few books from Google in the past, and hadn't encountered this problem before. I'm not sure if their policies have changed, or if I happened to be lucky in my previous choice of books. I won't be buying any more books from Google if I can't make deDRMed backup copies. Even if I didn't want to deDRM the books, this change means that they can no longer be read with Nook or Sony ereaders or tablets unless they allow the addition of the Google Books app. I feel this is unreasonably restrictive, and I am not aware of a way to circumvent their controls (unlike with Amazon's or even iTunes' DRM schemes).
I have not yet contacted Google to ask if the non-downloadable books are a temporary glitch, or if they have done this on purpose.
Has anyone else noticed this? Does it bother you?
TLDR: Anyway, my point is that you should check books you plan to buy from Google Play, if you don't want to have those books be unusable anywhere but in the Google Books app.
redb33s said:
I bought two books from Google Play yesterday, and one of them didn't offer the option of downloading the epub to a computer. This led me to check quite a few other books, especially those on sale, and I found that the majority also didn't allow downloading to a computer. Of course, this means the books can't be read anywhere but through the Google Books app, and it isn't possible to remove DRM to allow for backup of the books on customers' own hard drives or cloud storage choices.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
DRMed music went the way of the dodo, thankfully. But the moment books are very much DRMed.
The vast majority of books can only be purchased with heavy DRM restrictions, stores that only allow DRM free books simply don't have them. You either pirate them or you are stuck with DRM.
Google play store, amazon kindle, and B&N nook store all allow heavy handed DRM so they all have a full selection of books (those heavy DRM books can be found in all 3).
Cdoan34 said:
i like the nook app, i can add my own books and i like the animations
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
The nook app is cool.. If you download the kindle app you can place all your books in SD/kindle and it'll play most file types I think (PDF, epub, mobile, etc.)
+1 for Moon Reader Pro.

Uploading books to Google Play

https://play.google.com/books/uploads
Google now allows you to upload up to 1000 epubs to you Google Books account.
Anyone have any thoughts on how that'll work in practice? I don't use Google Books because I never rooted my Touch. I've rooted every other nook and android device I've owned, but left the Touch alone because I didn't want to be tempted to have it do anything other that be an ereader. I actually have a couple hundred epubs, but don't keep very many on the Touch because it's hell trying to browse through the library when you can only see a handful of titles at a time.
The nook simple touch runs 2.1 android and google play requires 2.2 or higher so that wont work. Just transfer thru usb.
Baka no Kami said:
https://play.google.com/books/uploads
Google now allows you to upload up to 1000 epubs to you Google Books account.
Anyone have any thoughts on how that'll work in practice? I don't use Google Books because I never rooted my Touch. I've rooted every other nook and android device I've owned, but left the Touch alone because I didn't want to be tempted to have it do anything other that be an ereader. I actually have a couple hundred epubs, but don't keep very many on the Touch because it's hell trying to browse through the library when you can only see a handful of titles at a time.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
damn, i was really hoping to have an easy and sleek method for getting books on my nook w/o cables. the syncing would've been a huge plus too.
i suppose there's still dropbox...
I just keep the master library on my desktop.
I use adbsync.exe (see signature) to sync my Nook over WiFi (can also do USB).
My latest Library.apk (ditto) will filter the books by an entered word fragment.
I can usually find what I'm looking for with just a few letters.
I use dropbox and the android app dropsync to sync between my pc and my NST, works really well

[Q] How to show all downloadable apps in Google Play

When navigating through google play, you can view top free, new top free, top paid, new top paid, grossing and separate categories.
Google play has hundreds of thousands of apps.
Through navigation, you can only see probably under 500 total apps. Something like top free only displaying up to 90 results, new top free 80 results (most are even the same as in top free), etc.
Some apps are really good even if theyre not popular. How can I get to browse through those apps? Basically, the only way I know that you can find all the apps in google play is searching for them by tags, but thats not good if you just want to browse and have no idea of what app youre looking for.
glennlevi said:
When navigating through google play, you can view top free, new top free, top paid, new top paid, grossing and separate categories.
Google play has hundreds of thousands of apps.
Through navigation, you can only see probably under 500 total apps. Something like top free only displaying up to 90 results, new top free 80 results (most are even the same as in top free), etc.
Some apps are really good even if theyre not popular. How can I get to browse through those apps? Basically, the only way I know that you can find all the apps in google play is searching for them by tags, but thats not good if you just want to browse and have no idea of what app youre looking for.
Click to expand...
Click to collapse
theres an app called appreciate in google play which helps you discover new apps and it even learns what you like and show apps which may be interesting to you:laugh:
So basically I have to download another app to be able to browse more apps? I've tried that before, but the problem is, those apps dont know whats compatible with SGY. It just shows all the apps, which are mostly incompatible with our phone

Glowlight plus and metadata tags, any good solution?

So I love my Glowlight Plus, I actually like the stock Nook reader, although I still prefer CoolReader. Either way, every time I root my Nook and install a bunch of stuff, it either rruns slower, or is a total PITA to navigate and launch books from, and I don't want to use this for anythng else, so I'm happy to leave it as-is.
EXCEPT...
Book sorting/shelves absolutely sucks. I can sort by any category I want, as long as those categories are either "Author" or "Most Recent". I use Calibre to manage my books, and I know it's got a huge list of things I can do, but I'm not sure if I can add metadata tags. Sorting by author is fine when I'm looking for fiction, but I also like to read books on crime, the history of capital punishment, stuff like that. And I don't always know those authors... So my normal choice would be to edit the tags and then sort by tag, but Nook's software doesn't seem to do that.
Any suggestions to at least leave the stock launcher intact and maybe use a library program for looking up books? Or is there a good app to use that will let me just turn on the Nook and easily pick up where I left off? Will Calibre Companion work as my "library" app, and I can use either the default reader or CoolReader, and not have to mess with anything else unless I want? I'd love to have the thing as easy to operate as it currently is; with all of the rest of the features accessible through the settings screen or something.
I once briefly tried an app named Calibre Go with the Calibre Catalog moved to a OneDrive folder but found it unreliable, or at least it didn't download the books on "real time", although most of the times they appeared next time I turned on the thing. It seemed promising to browse Calibre catalog and select a book to download, I don't remember if it launched the built-in reader app, but surely the book appeared in "Recents" category in the default library app.
I didn't give it much further thought and uninstalled, but you may have better luck (or skills). BTW I didn't try Google Drive for the Catalog since it required Play Services.
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