Best ereader app for Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 Edition

[seacity1]

I just bought a Samsung Galaxy Note 10.1 2014 edition yesterday & awaiting delivery. Reason I stuck with Android instead of getting the Ipad Air2 is I do not want to give up this great app! Right now I am using it on my Nook HD+ & it works great. Hopefully, there is nothing in Samsung's "Touch Whiz" overlay that will create a problem in using CC. If there is, please advise!

Also, I need some advice on what ereader app to get that will play nice with Calibre Companion. I use epub format exclusively & do not read on my phone so sycing is not a big deal. I looked @ Aidiko but the downside there is that it looks like when it imports it creates a duplicate copy of the file which takes up more room on the device. Please let me know what you recommend that will play nice with CC.

Also, how do I set things up so both CC & the ereader app are able to find the books? On my Nook HD there is no issue with this as the books are transferred via CC into myfile/books. I would like to recreate this situation if I can for purposes of ease of use. Which ereader would accomplish this with the least amount of hassle & without creating a duplicate book?

[eschwartz]

Mantano and Moon+ are both well-regarded Android ereader apps.

I believe either one will handle outside books in a reasonable manner, i.e. no duplication. Any book previously opened wil be remembered, there should also be options to scan and/or watch specified folders for books.

[seacity1]

Had some issues trying to install CC which I posted here.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=252400

Being my inpatient self I plunged ahead when I did not get a response within a couple of hrs - guess people have better things to do with their Friday night! Per that message I have no setting option on the top right side of CC where I would normally chose a folder location for the books to be stored. So I just loaded a couple of books hoping I would see where they installed after. They went into /sdcard/Calibre_Companion. I then installed Moonreader+. I clicked on "read" on one of the books in CC & the book opened in Moonreader. However, it appears that Moonreader's install created a folder called sdcard/books. Since I have no setting option in CC on the Samsung, like I do with my Nook HD+ , there is no way for me to change over to /sdcard/books. (I also have no options to change the folder location in Moonreader. Do you have any idea why no options are showing in CC & how I can get them back?

From here things get worse. There is something drastically wrong with Moonreader+ (paid app). When the book opens I can only scroll, I can't turn the pages. I also can't go back to a previous page or to the table of contents. The behavior is the same with both the 3 preloaded books & the books I added through Calibre Companion. I opened one of the books loaded through CC a second time & now I have 2 copies of the book on my bookshelf!

I know Moonreader + app has many ways to customize the reading experience but I can't find any way to access them. I tried tapping on both the top & bottom of both the main page & a book page thinking I could bring up a menu of options. Nothing happens. I looked under options at the top of the book shelf page and all I see are the basic options related to Home, My Shelf, Main Folder, Render Quality, etc.

I went to Moonreader website & read the FAQs & it said if there was strange behavior to delete the application, shut down the device & then reinstall it. I can't find a way to do that either. I went back to the Google store & the only options provided are Open & Refund. I emailed the developer (In Taiwan) but do not have high hopes for a response. Even if I ask for a refund I don't know that action will remove the app. Naturally, unless I can uninstall it & the Play store recognizes I have done so, I can't reinstall it.

Any help would be most appreciated!

[theducks]

With 2 fairly common ebook related apps failing, I would look to your device as a possible cause.

Are you running bleeding edge firmware or other non-stock configuration?

CC and Moon+ are on my 'stock' 7" TAB 2 and run without grief.

[seacity1]

No I am using an out of the box samsung note 10.1 2014 edition. Just got it Thursday. Last night it upgraded to kitkat but had already noted the lack of the settings icon in cc. I also downloaded a couple of other non reading apps I have on my other tablet but they are fine. Both cc and moonreader are paid versions. As mentioned I have no way to uninstall moon to see if a reinstall would help .

[chaley]

Originally Posted by seacity1

Had some issues trying to install CC which I posted here.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=252400

I answered there.

Being my inpatient self I plunged ahead when I did not get a response within a couple of hrs - guess people have better things to do with their Friday night! Per that message I have no setting option on the top right side of CC where I would normally chose a folder location for the books to be stored.

As I said in the other post, looking at pictures of the Note I think that its menu button is on the bottom of the device, just to the left of the largish button.

So I just loaded a couple of books hoping I would see where they installed after. They went into /sdcard/Calibre_Companion. I then installed Moonreader+. I clicked on "read" on one of the books in CC & the book opened in Moonreader. However, it appears that Moonreader's install created a folder called sdcard/books. Since I have no setting option in CC on the Samsung, like I do with my Nook HD+ , there is no way for me to change over to /sdcard/books. (I also have no options to change the folder location in Moonreader. Do you have any idea why no options are showing in CC & how I can get them back?

The same button I mentioned above should open Moon+'s settings.

I am not sure what you are trying to do by making Moon+ and CC use the same folder. The only reason I can think of to do this is if you want to use the Moon+ library bookshelf, which isn't something I do. I use CC for all searching/selecting etc, then use Moon+ only as a reader.

From here things get worse. There is something drastically wrong with Moonreader+ (paid app). When the book opens I can only scroll, I can't turn the pages. I also can't go back to a previous page or to the table of contents. The behavior is the same with both the 3 preloaded books & the books I added through Calibre Companion. I opened one of the books loaded through CC a second time & now I have 2 copies of the book on my bookshelf!

I think that the Moon+ default is tapping the screen edge to page forward and back. I don't think that I changed to options to do that. I also think that tapping the center of the screen will bring up a mini-menu that lets you get to all of the moon+ settings.

On the other hand, it could be that the Note is intercepting taps and the like and doing something different. Someone with a Note will need to chime in about this.

I know Moonreader + app has many ways to customize the reading experience but I can't find any way to access them. I tried tapping on both the top & bottom of both the main page & a book page thinking I could bring up a menu of options. Nothing happens.

Tap the center.

I looked under options at the top of the book shelf page and all I see are the basic options related to Home, My Shelf, Main Folder, Render Quality, etc.

I went to Moonreader website & read the FAQs & it said if there was strange behavior to delete the application, shut down the device & then reinstall it. I can't find a way to do that either. I went back to the Google store & the only options provided are Open & Refund. I emailed the developer (In Taiwan) but do not have high hopes for a response. Even if I ask for a refund I don't know that action will remove the app. Naturally, unless I can uninstall it & the Play store recognizes I have done so, I can't reinstall it.

Any help would be most appreciated!

It seems that almost all of your troubles are related to not noticing the little button on the bezel. If I have guessed correctly, that will open the settings menu of the currently running app.

[DoctorOhh]

If you need more info on the menu button and uninstalling apps look in the Samsung manual.

As pointed out you get to the book settings for Moonreader+ by tapping the center of any page in a book.

From Moon+Reader FAQ:

How to adjust reader options in Nexus 7, Galaxy Nexus or other android devices which haven't a menu key?

After you open a book, you can tap middle of the screen to invoke the reader bar for all customizable options.

Since your device has a menu key I'm guessing you need to use it, but tapping the center still may work.

Any more questions feel free to ask.

[seacity1]

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=252066

Thanks for your response. The link above describes what happened after I installed the paid versions CC & Moonreader+. My tablet has not been modified in any way, it is a brand new out of the box Samsung Galaxy 10.1 2014 Edition. Kitkat did install last night but that was after I installed CC.

I have installed CC before on another tablet so I was aware there had to be a settings button somewhere & so I did examined all parts of the screen. CC is now installed & there is still no settings button where it should be at the right hand top of the screen. All I have are the layout button, the grouping sort button & connect. On the other device I have CC installed on settings is the button furthest to the right.

In hindsight I probably should have installed Moonreader+ first as it would have created the sdcard/books file I could not find to start out with. It now seems it may be best to uninstall both apps & reinstall them. I believe the Play store gives me the option to uninstall/reinstall CC, but there is no option to uninstall Moonreader. The only options for that app are open & refund. I do not know if refund would uninstall it but it sounds like that it might result in my having to buy it again. However, it is not useable in in its current state so it does need to go. I emailed the developer of Moonreader but have heard nothing yet.

What do you advise? Is there another ereader that would work better?

[chaley]

Originally Posted by seacity1

I have installed CC before on another tablet so I was aware there had to be a settings button somewhere & so I did examined all parts of the screen. CC is now installed & there is still no settings button where it should be at the right hand top of the screen. All I have are the layout button, the grouping sort button & connect. On the other device I have CC installed on settings is the button furthest to the right.

Did you try tapping the icon on the bezel I referred to?

In hindsight I probably should have installed Moonreader+ first as it would have created the sdcard/books file I could not find to start out with. It now seems it may be best to uninstall both apps & reinstall them. I believe the Play store gives me the option to uninstall/reinstall CC, but there is no option to uninstall Moonreader. The only options for that app are open & refund. I do not know if refund would uninstall it but it sounds like that it might result in my having to buy it again. However, it is not useable in in its current state so it does need to go. I emailed the developer of Moonreader but have heard nothing yet.

If you want to uninstall an app, use Settings/Apps on your Note. You can get to Android Settings by dragging down the action bar (the top bar) from the right then tapping the appropriate icon.

Moon+ works fine for me. I don't know what else would work better.

[chaley]

Description of the buttons on the Note, taken from the manual DoctorOhh pointed at:

[seacity1]

Thanks for the link to the Samsung manual. A lot of problems could have been solved had I had it before. All that comes in the box is a tiny booklet with start up info.

Pardon my ignorance but I was looking for settings within the apps, not the menu on the bezel which I thought was just for general tablet functions, not those that were app specific. In Moonreader the bezel menu button only brings up the general setting info I described above. You need to tap the middle of the book for more settings choices. So, I guess the menu button does not function the same way for all apps. I was also confused by the app screenshots that showed a settings button within the apps themselves. Apparently, Samsung has hi jacked the apps's menu to it's own menu button in some, but not all, apps. In some apps, the bezel button has little interaction with the apps setting & the settings are within the app itself. It does get confusing.

All I want to be able to do is tap "read" in CC & have the book open in a decent reader. I want to be able to manage my books in CC & only use the reader app to read the book. That being the case, I guess I can just let the books copy to the CC default older /storage/sdcard0/Calbre_Companion & not worry about the folder Moonreader+ has created, sdcard/books, nor do I actually have to import the books into Moonreader's folder. That way if I decide to replace Moonreader & use something else it won't screw up where the books are located. If this is not correct, please let me know! The only books in the Moonreader created folder now are the 3 books that come with Moonreader. All the others are in the CC folder as noted above.

I found I am able to get the pages to turn in Moonreader by tapping either side of the page but it seems quite "laggy" & there is no page turn simulation like there is on my Nook HD+. Perhaps there is a setting that will provide an similar "page turn" option. I will explore this when I have more time, but if someone could let me know if it is possible I would appreciate it.

Until I bought the Samsung I was using my Nook HD+ to read & the Ipad3 for everything else. I purchased an Android tablet so I could continue to use CC & had hoped I could combine both reading & other functions in one device. I had planned to gift the HD+ but I think I will hold onto it for a while. The tablet is great & very fast
but overall, reading does not seem as satisfying, or natural, as it does on the Nook HD+. I don't know if it is the slightly larger size of the tablet, or if it is the reading app I am using. I guess only time & some experimentation will tell.

Again, many thanks for everyone's help. I could tell you were getting exasperated with me but I didn't understand you were referring to the bezel button & not the usual setting icons found within the apps. I appreciate your hanging in. I guess sometimes it does take a village!

[chaley]

Originally Posted by seacity1

Thanks for the link to the Samsung manual. A lot of problems could have been solved had I had it before. All that comes in the box is a tiny booklet with start up info.

It is amazing that companies go to the trouble of writing a manual then don't even include a link to it in the box, much less an electronic copy.

All I want to be able to do is tap "read" in CC & have the book open in a decent reader. I want to be able to manage my books in CC & only use the reader app to read the book. That being the case, I guess I can just let the books copy to the CC default older /storage/sdcard0/Calbre_Companion & not worry about the folder Moonreader+ has created, sdcard/books, nor do I actually have to import the books into Moonreader's folder.

You are correct, there is no reason that you need to use the Moon+ folder for CC and there is no reason to import the books into moon+ if you are using CC as your library manager.

That way if I decide to replace Moonreader & use something else it won't screw up where the books are located. If this is not correct, please let me know! The only books in the Moonreader created folder now are the 3 books that come with Moonreader. All the others are in the CC folder as noted above.

Again, you are correct. Most of the reader apps are happy to load the book from CC's folder. The exceptions I can think of are Kindle for Android, Aldiko, and possibly the Kobo app.

I found I am able to get the pages to turn in Moonreader by tapping either side of the page but it seems quite "laggy" & there is no page turn simulation like there is on my Nook HD+. Perhaps there is a setting that will provide an similar "page turn" option. I will explore this when I have more time, but if someone could let me know if it is possible I would appreciate it.

You can also tell moon+ to use the volume button(s) as page down/up.

There is a page turn animation setting in the Visual options near the bottom.

Until I bought the Samsung I was using my Nook HD+ to read & the Ipad3 for everything else. I purchased an Android tablet so I could continue to use CC & had hoped I could combine both reading & other functions in one device. I had planned to gift the HD+ but I think I will hold onto it for a while. The tablet is great & very fast
but overall, reading does not seem as satisfying, or natural, as it does on the Nook HD+. I don't know if it is the slightly larger size of the tablet, or if it is the reading app I am using. I guess only time & some experimentation will tell.

I would think that the shape of the Note isn't optimal for reading, compared to some of the 7" tablets. But that is water under the bridge, given that you now own it.

If I had your machine, I would read in portrait and try using largish side margins so that the text block is shaped more like a physical book. I am not sure whether the empty space would be disturbing or not.

Again, many thanks for everyone's help. I could tell you were getting exasperated with me but I didn't understand you were referring to the bezel button & not the usual setting icons found within the apps. I appreciate your hanging in. I guess sometimes it does take a village!

I am glad things are now clearer.

When you have time and energy, try the free versions of some other apps like FBReader or Cool Reader. You might prefer them.

[seacity1]

Thanks so much - all has been illuminated! I found the setting for the page turn. I think you are right about the shape of the Note. The HD+ is a little over 9", closer to the size of my Ipad3 (I can use the same case for both of these). Could not agree with you more on the manual issue. All it would take is to list the dl URL in the tiny booklet they provide. Would probably cut way down on support calls. I am one of those people that do read the manual so I am so glad I now have one.

I'll work with Moonreader for awhile as it has PDF support. I increased the font size & that helps a lot. It has almost too many options. I have found that with many apps the more features that are added the less the app works well on a basic level. Just more ways for things to get screwed up. BTW - if I add another reader for test purposes is it going to "confuse" CC when I click read? Did not see a setting for a default reader but I assume there must be one.

Thanks again for the quick response & all your help. I recommend CC to everyone!

[chaley]

Originally Posted by seacity1

BTW - if I add another reader for test purposes is it going to "confuse" CC when I click read? Did not see a setting for a default reader but I assume there must be one.

If more than one reader app can handle a book format, CC will ask which one you want to use. The dialog asking which reader app to use has a "Set as default" checkbox. You can undo that selection in CC's settings near the bottom.

Thanks again for the quick response & all your help. I recommend CC to everyone!

You are welcome.

[DoctorOhh]

Originally Posted by seacity1

Thanks for the link to the Samsung manual. A lot of problems could have been solved had I had it before. All that comes in the box is a tiny booklet with start up info.

You're welcome.