eBooks are one of the most consumed formats of content in the digital world, not only are eBooks nearly twice as cheap (on average) as physical books, they’re also more convenient to carry around – given that you’ve got a modern smartphone that has the Android operating system installed.
You can find a lot of heated debate over the eBook vs Real Book trend, I’m one of those people who prefers to have a physical book at my disposal, but I’d never go as far as complain about the changes in market. I can only assume that it is because I have not – yet – published a book myself, and I don’t fully comprehend the changes. Are you an author? Have eBooks crushed some of your dreams?
Amazon has been actively trying to promote digital content for the past couple of years, and Kindle sales seem to go nowhere but all the way up. You might have heard of the Amazon vs Hachette scandal, it’s definitely worth looking into: the perfect example of two different opinions in a huge market.
I’m going to cover twelve Android eBook readers that will enable you to gain access to millions upon millions of eBooks, within seconds! Remember, these apps will function only on devices that are operating under the Android OS, if you’d like to see a similar roundup for other operating systems, please leave a comment and I’ll see what I can do.
1. Amazon Kindle
You won’t mistake this eBook reader for anything else, Amazon Kindle is a household name that any digital citizen knows of. With more than 50 million installs, Kindle ranks as number one in our – due to the fact that you can purchase new books that can be read on your mobile device. Not every app offers such functionality.
You don’t need to worry about having a Kindle either, as the app will seamlessly integrate everything in your Android device. Read free books, preview samples of new books, you can even borrow books from the digital library! It is one of the most convenient eBook readers in the market, offering a life-like reading experience.
2. Aldiko Book Reader
Aldiko supports all major eBook formats, including ePub; PDF; Adobe DRM, and also eBooks from public libraries. You get to have full control over what is happening, change the font sizes or types, colors, alignment of text and a lot more — if you’re looking for options to customize, this is the one to take a look at.
It does include a dictionary, and Aldiko also supports finding text across all the books in your private library. Never worry about where you left off, the app will remember where you left off! Small things make a big difference. Twenty million people have this app installed, it clearly does its job well.
3. Universal Book Reader
Universal Book Reader is a free eBook application allowing you to read EPUB and PDF files. The application comes with stylish and user-friendly interface and provides most comfortable reading experience for both Android smartphones and tablets. An integrated file browser allows users to read any eBook, stored on your device. UB Reader opens Adobe DRM protected files in EPUB format and PDF files.
UBR is all about user experience, the navigation that this app has is really great – you can flip pages, or use a scroll option if that’s your thing. Easily adjust your reading experience by adjusting settings of text, fonts and reading modes. You can import files from a memory card, or you can open a PDF file using a browser and have it imported in the app directly!
4. Moon+ Reader
The huge upside of Moon+ Reader is that it offers EPUB3 multimedia content support, so you can easily play audio and video content. It has also been translated into more than forty languages, making it appealing to international customers. By the way, it supports the following formats: epub, mobi, chm, cbr, cbz, umd, fb2, txt, html, rar, zip or OPDS.
5. Wattpad – Free Books & Stories
Wattpad isn’t just for general eBook content, you’ll also find thousands of stories that people have shared on your favorite subjects, making the application a little bit more community oriented. You can subscribe to stories as they’re being written, and receive instant notification updates as soon as new content has been added!
You can do things like download stories on your device, giving you the freedom to read and learn in places where you typically wouldn’t get internet access. And, if that isn’t enough – you can always sync Wattpad to all of your devices, be it a tablet or a computer!
6. Cool Reader
Cool Reader is quite traditional when it comes to its style, but it has some really epic features that other eBook readers can only dream of. How about that Text to Speech functionality to find things even quicker? The real winner for Cool Reader is the ability to customize it to however you like, no generalized themes or styles – you give this app the look you want it to have. Keep an eye on new updates, some people report issues with the mobi format!
7. FBReader
Yeah, don’t assume that this is an Android eBook reader built by Facebook, it’s not. That would be a freaking disaster, wouldn’t it! FBReader is a custom-built free eBook reader that supports majority of eBook formats, and provides a pleasant reading experience especially for .mobi type eBooks!
FBReader is fast, highly customizable. Can use external TrueType/OpenType fonts and custom backgrounds. Screen brightness can be changed during reading (slide finger up/down along the left screen edge). Supports different day/night color schemes.
8. Kobo
Looking for something modern, flat, and appealing? Kobo is definitely stepping its game up with the design choices it has made, it’s one of the nicest looking readers on the list! Just like Kindle lets you preview chapters of books you’re about to buy, so does Kobo.
The types of content range from typical eBooks, to children’s books, comics and magazines – there is definitely something for everyone. Other than that, all the features are quite similar to what others are offering, there’s plenty of ways to customize the reader to your own liking.
9. NOOK – Read Books & Magazines
NOOK has a massive collection of over three million eBooks (and nearly a million free ones!), which come at a price lower than ten dollars on average! This is the kind of reader you want to get. By signing up with your credit card details, you can enroll for a 14-day trial period to explore some new books, and the app itself.
Comics, magazines, newspapers, and other similar types of content is available from NOOK as soon as you get it working.
10. Google Play Books
This is the most installed book reader for Android, it has been developed by Google and it provides a similar reading experience to Kindle, one of the reasons why so many Kindle users have switched over to Google Play Books. Get access to millions of books and other reading materials, all from within the application.
You can read offline, you can use sophisticated search features, there is so much flexibility with this mobile eBook reader!
11. Mantano Ebook Reader Free
This user friendly reader has only one downside, the free (lite) version contains ads, but that should bother only those who’re super conscious of advertisements. The quality and features that you get in exchange for some lousy ads is far more superior!
12. PocketBook – PDF, EPUB, FB2 Reader
Enjoy having the freedom to read pretty much every eBook format out there. Immerse yourself in features like text highlights, rich search, and everything else that you’d expect to see from a functioning eBook reader. PocketBook is also marking the end to our roundup, a total of twelve readers were looked at! You’ve got so much exploring to do.
eBook Readers for Android
I could have written a little smaller piece, but I think that it’s better to have a larger variety at your disposal, as per some of the reviews I was reading – some of the readers are struggling with certain type formats, so it might be a good idea to have an alternative choice just in case. Again, nothing major, and most applications will function just fine.
I’m also eager to see more recommendations on this subject. You can always check out my post about platforms that allow you to build Android apps on the fly, perhaps you’d be able to find a way to build your own eBook reader using 3rd-party tools? I’m not sure, but definitely worth looking into.
