If you are a least bit interested in reading, its a given that you would use your Android smart phone for the purpose. So, you are all set to go into ebook reading but can’t decide which ereader to use? There are several ereader apps available in the Google Play store and going through them one by one is a daunting task.
To make your choice easier, we’ve rounded up the best ereader apps from the Google Play store to help you decide which one you to install on your Android devices. Most of these ereader apps are available for free, so you can try them all and then decide which one you favor. But if you don’t want to get all of them, our brief review of the apps will help you get started.
Top Ereader Apps for Your Android Devices
1. Aldiko Book Reader
Unlike the Kindle, Kobo, and Barnes & Noble Nook, Aldiko Book Reader for Android is not an app to get too much attention from the press. Given the quality of the app, the lack of attention is unfortunate.
Aldiko is an excellent app and has millions of users. It lets you read and download ebooks, browse huge catalogs of ebooks including bestsellers, new releases and classic and import your own ebook in ePUB for PDF formats. Hundreds of these books can be downloaded for free.
Aldiko is one of the best looking ereader apps. The app is not lacking in features as well. Day/night mode, settings for brightness, font size and orientation make reading ebooks a pleasure. If you want to read across multiple devices, Aldiko Sync is useful to sync your books and bookmarks across multiple devices.
In case you haven’t tried Aldiko yet on your Android device, give it a shot. It’s free and you might just love it.
2. Moon+ Reader
Honestly, this is the first time that I’ve heard of this ereader app. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that it is a pretty popular app and has had quite a number of downloads already. Checking the app on my Galaxy Note, I appreciated the app’s various themes which I can switch through while reading an ebook as well as the app’s various operations including screen click, swipe gesture, hardware keys, and auto-scroll modes.
In short, the app pays attention not only to displaying ebook texts but also on the overall usability of the app. The day/night mode switcher is healthy for your eyes, especially for prolonged reading. In addition, it even has a real-page turning effect. This feature, though not really useful for reading, adds a lot of visual value to the app and makes reading on your phone more fun.
3. Cool Reader
While checking out Cool Reader on the Google Play store, I couldn’t help but notice the number of file formats it support. The list is long – epub, fb2, txt, doc, rtf, chm and lot more. In other words, you can pretty much rest assured that you can transfer any ebook from your computer to your Android device and start reading without any problems. Cool Reader will surely be able to read it.
Aside from superb file format support, the app also features page flipping animation, tablet of contents, bookmarks, built-in file browser, text to speech and other nice features. Choosing this app or Moon+ Reader will be a tough choice since both almost have the very similar features.
4. FBReader
This ereader app may support only three file formats namely, epub, oeb and fb2(.zip) but that should not discourage you to download the app. If your ebook collection is of those three formats then you’ll be glad to know that FBReader works fast and can be easily customized to suit your needs and preferences.
The app even has a browser/downloader for network ebook catalogs/stores including sources from English, French, Russian, Chinese and Polish libraries. The app is also integrated with external dictionaries and supports ColorDict, Slovoed dictionaries, Fora Dictionary, FreeDictionary.org and Leo dictionary.
5. Nook for Android
The three remaining ereaders on this list do not need an introduction. First up is Barnes & Noble’s Nook for Android. One of the app’s strongest feature has to be the fact that it gives you access to more than 2 million ebooks from the catalog at Barnes & Noble. It would be fun to explore which of these ebooks you can have for free and which are worthy of your money.
The app also allows you to sample paid books and magazines for free before you decide to purchase them. These include major titles such as National Geographic and USA Today.
Like most ereaders, Nook for has a nice interface that lets you customize your reading experience. One feature unique to Nook for Android is in-app lending of eBooks.. The app also lets you sideload ebooks in epub formats.
6. Kobo
In face of strong rivalry with Nook and Kindle for Android, Kobo continues to improve its Android app. The app has stood its ground and has became one of the best ereader app for Android with several nice features that you’ll appreciate. Like Nook Android app, Kobo has an extensive catalog of ebooks available for download.
One of the app’s nicest feature is Reading Life which lets you earn awards for reading as well as track your reading habits with interesting stats. Of course, it has social sharing features as well via Facebook. Side-loading ebooks from your computer for as long as they are in epub and pdf formats is also possible.
It would be tough to choose between Kobo and Nook as a choice for your ereader app. If you are caught in a dilemma over which app to use, maybe the the next ereader app on this list may come to your rescue.
7. Kindle
Undoubtedly, the Amazon Kindle Android app is one of the best, if not the best, ereader app for Android so far. Backed by the largest ebook reseller, what could possibly go wrong with this app? It has all the bells and whistles that you will look in a great ereader app.
Swift page turning of books, nice interface, access to the Amazon Kindle bookstore, synchronization across various platforms, reading customization with font adjustments, screen brightness and background color are just some of the major features of this app.
Unique to the Kindle app is the ability to borrow ebooks from the participating local Libraries and have them deliver the ebooks wirelessly to your Android devices. It is indeed a nice feature to have in case you do not want to own a book but just read it.
Honorable Mentions:
It may not be the best ereader app, but Google Play Books surely deserves a mention. The book collection at Google Books is pretty nice and the app is decent but it has a lot of ground to cover to go head-to-head with the other ereader apps. Another reason is that Google Play Books is not available in all countries. That is perhaps the biggest downside to it.
Mantano Reader is an app that falls just short of perfection. Though its not as feature rich as some of the other apps in this list, it has its own set of nice features. It even supports some specific fonts if you prefer to read in your own language. Problem is that the book catalog is not that great and the app is a bit buggy and unstable. Perhaps, Mantano Reader can be the app for you if you have your own collection of ebooks.
Depending on your interests in reading, you may find Wattpad interesting. It is not exactly an ereader app but it does give you access to millions of stories contributed by a huge community of writers. The app does not have a long list of features but it is good enough for a comfortable reading. The quality of the books may not be up to the mark but the sheer variety of stories makes up for it.
Final Thoughts:
There you go, these are the best ereader apps that you can get from the Google Play store. Having explored all these apps, I am still not sure which one I am going to use. Perhaps I will end up having two or three of these. Hope you have easier time choosing your favorite app.
Have you decided which of these will be your ereader app for your Android smartphone or tablet? Did we miss any good one? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below.
