MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Getting started with ebooks on an android phone

Storm27 · 03-24-2011, 12:58 PM

Probably not the best time to start an online conversation as I'm heading away on holiday at the weekend so I'll only be seeing replies for the next couple of days, but I've just got a fairly basic android phone, (running version 2.1) and I'd really appreciate some advice about e-book applications. My library consists of around 1 GB of books, mainly DRM free Mobi though with some EPUB. Unlike with my E ink reader, I'm not proposing to put everything onto my device, just a handful of things at any one time and I can always convert between formats, but would quite like not to have to do so.

From general browsing, I'm guessing that the best program for reading EPUB is Aldiko. Is that right? Would Kindle for android work for .mobi and .prc books? With either program, can I transfer standard formatted books to my phone by copying them directly on to the SD card and opening them from a file location or will I have to transfer them through the program itself or a web interface? Will I have access to he files ad be able to sort by gene etc? Any general comments about using either program?

I don't have a data plan on my phone, so I'm keen to use WiFi as much as possible and work offline when I'm away from home or the office. Will either program "dial home" automatically or can sync be disabled? If I install the Kindle app will I have to connect the Mobi books I already own with my Amazon account or will Kindle simply see them as local files that it can read? Do I have to connect the program with my Amazon account at all for it to work? If I do, will I have to turn on one click ordering on my account or can I do so only if I'm about to buy a book? (I've never had a Kindle so I've never bought ebooks from Amazon).

Any basic advice would be greatly appreciated -- I feel a bit as if the questions I have are on the level of "fire hot, tree pretty" compared to the general technical expertise in this part of the forum.

(Any links to good guides for new android users would also be much appreciated although I think I've probably got to grips with most of the basic functionality).

03-24-2011, 12:58 PM	#1
Storm27 Connoisseur Posts: 74 Karma: 201290 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS T3S, android phone	Getting started with ebooks on an android phone Probably not the best time to start an online conversation as I'm heading away on holiday at the weekend so I'll only be seeing replies for the next couple of days, but I've just got a fairly basic android phone, (running version 2.1) and I'd really appreciate some advice about e-book applications. My library consists of around 1 GB of books, mainly DRM free Mobi though with some EPUB. Unlike with my E ink reader, I'm not proposing to put everything onto my device, just a handful of things at any one time and I can always convert between formats, but would quite like not to have to do so. From general browsing, I'm guessing that the best program for reading EPUB is Aldiko. Is that right? Would Kindle for android work for .mobi and .prc books? With either program, can I transfer standard formatted books to my phone by copying them directly on to the SD card and opening them from a file location or will I have to transfer them through the program itself or a web interface? Will I have access to he files ad be able to sort by gene etc? Any general comments about using either program? I don't have a data plan on my phone, so I'm keen to use WiFi as much as possible and work offline when I'm away from home or the office. Will either program "dial home" automatically or can sync be disabled? If I install the Kindle app will I have to connect the Mobi books I already own with my Amazon account or will Kindle simply see them as local files that it can read? Do I have to connect the program with my Amazon account at all for it to work? If I do, will I have to turn on one click ordering on my account or can I do so only if I'm about to buy a book? (I've never had a Kindle so I've never bought ebooks from Amazon). Any basic advice would be greatly appreciated -- I feel a bit as if the questions I have are on the level of "fire hot, tree pretty" compared to the general technical expertise in this part of the forum. (Any links to good guides for new android users would also be much appreciated although I think I've probably got to grips with most of the basic functionality).