What is the most popular application for reading books online? - Page 2

hobnail · 08-10-2020, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The most popular program for reading eBooks online is a web browser. My guess is Microsoft Edge is the most used.

Aldiko and Moon+ are not used for reading eBooks online.

Some people, i.e., the non-tech savvy, consider using anything on a phone (or tablet) as being online. An understandable confusion when they're completely clueless about how these things work. And now with "the cloud" the distinction is even blurrier.

JSWolf · 08-10-2020, 02:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Deskisamess

I wonder if browser reading is the most used. Except to check out how it works, I've never read a book in the browser.

I use the Kindle app the most, especially since they added a scroll option. When using my iPhone to read, being able to scroll instead of a page turn works better for me, especially with a larger font.

I've tried other apps, and use the Apple Books app at times, but it is seriously lacking in features and options. I don't use my iDevices to read enough to really learn and appreciate the other reading apps. Some of the ones I have tried seemed too difficult to access menus and settings, and were not nearly as intuitive as the Kindle app. I can't give examples as I've not used any of them recently and don't have them on my phone.

I have used the Overdrive app a few times for library books not available in Kindle format. It doesn't happen often enough for me to give a real opinion, aside from the fact it only let me read on one device, which I didn't care for.

The Kindle app does not read online. It reads eBooks locally.

Overdrive Read needs a web browser. You can use the Hoopla app to read online. But most of the time it's using a web browser. Overdrive (for example) has the ability to read eBooks online. but again, it's using a web browser. You might be able to use the Overdrive or Libby apps.

But I still say a web browser is the #1 program used for online reading.

JSWolf · 08-10-2020, 02:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

Some people, i.e., the non-tech savvy, consider using anything on a phone (or tablet) as being online. An understandable confusion when they're completely clueless about how these things work. And now with "the cloud" the distinction is even blurrier.

Well, just because they've got it wrong doesn't make web browser any less the most used for online reading.

Uncle Robin · 08-10-2020, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hobnail

Some people, i.e., the non-tech savvy, consider using anything on a phone (or tablet) as being online. An understandable confusion when they're completely clueless about how these things work. And now with "the cloud" the distinction is even blurrier.

Some non-tech savvy people are also apparently unaware that Edge (a) hasn't offered epub reading for quite some time and (b) has a minuscule market share, making it vanishingly unlikely to be the primary way ebooks are read "online".

leebase · 08-12-2020, 11:29 AM

My favorite Android book reader is FBReader. It ticks all my "must have's" and has the added bonus of working on iPhone/iPads and Androids and syncing across systems.

- Easy to adjust lighting by dragging finger up and down the side
- Can set the forward/back targets. Top, Middle, Bottom of each side are configurable
- Handles Series
- Easy to load books via the FBNetwork (uses goggle drive)
- Configurable screen colors
- Night mode (also configurable)

If I'm lazy, I just read a book via the Amazon app (I buy almost all my ebooks from Amazon). But most of the time, I'll liberate the books, convert to epub and read them via FBReader.

fjtorres · 08-18-2020, 12:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The Kindle app does not read online. It reads eBooks locally.

Overdrive Read needs a web browser. You can use the Hoopla app to read online. But most of the time it's using a web browser. Overdrive (for example) has the ability to read eBooks online. but again, it's using a web browser. You might be able to use the Overdrive or Libby apps.

But I still say a web browser is the #1 program used for online reading.

The Kindle app doesn't read ebooks online but Kindle Cloud Reader does.
I've tried it using the XBOX browser and it works great. A fine way to read why peddaling on an exercise bike or walking on a treadmill.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/custo...QEMKHLBENNKWU2

Kobo used to have a cloud reader, too but I haven't heard if it's still working.

Beyond that a lot of universities store their ebook content as web-only HTML so you are probably right that browsers are *among* the most popular apps for reading ebooks. Some publishers offer online reading as an option (BAEJ, for one) and outside the US a lot of small publishers offer web-only ebooks.

People need to remember there tons of non-commercial ebooks out there and there is ebook life outside the commercial gardens.

fjtorres · 08-18-2020, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle Robin

Some non-tech savvy people are also apparently unaware that Edge (a) hasn't offered epub reading for quite some time and (b) has a minuscule market share, making it vanishingly unlikely to be the primary way ebooks are read "online".

Yup.
Some are even unaware that new Edge runs on Android and has over 10M happy users on android after just a few monthsm
Check the reviews at Google.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/d....emmx&hl=en_US

It also has a 6% share on Windows after barely a couple of months. This is on top of old Edge, which hasn't been EOL'ed yet, and (sigh) Internet Explorer. Seriously.

It's been a while but there's a browser arms race again:

https://www.businessinsider.com/micr...0for%20hogging.

https://www.laptopmag.com/news/googl...rowser-is-best

As to the OP, both Edge and Chrome accept the same plugins, so both browsers *can* be used for offline reading of DRM-free ePubs.

https://chrome.google.com/webstore/d...gkeebkbiadflb/

GlenBarrington · 08-18-2020, 02:04 PM

I have used Aldiko, and have Moon reader pro for my ePub books, which I like very much. But in the USA, for casual readers, I think the Amazon Kindle Reader for Android is hard to beat.

With the Kindle infrastructure, you not only can read on virtually any device (and sync among the devices), but you have the optional Kindle unlimited service (which I love. Oops, not to mention the smaller Amazon Prime version, whatever it's called).

And I suspect there are more quality free ebooks available for download in that environment than any other. Certainly, it seems that way to my casual observation.

fjtorres · 08-21-2020, 07:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

. Oops, not to mention the smaller Amazon Prime version, whatever it's called).

Prime Reading:

https://www.amazon.com/kindle-dbs/fd/nonprime-pr

Prime subscribers also get a free book (out of 8 choices) every month.

Every one a guaranteed best seller.

hollowpoint · 08-27-2020, 05:09 AM

As others have said, I doubt that you want to do a ton of reading books actually 'online' in a browser--but you sure can if you choose to.

Here are three common, easy-to-access options for reading 'online' books in your browser (there are many more):
* If you buy Amazon Kindle ebooks--you can read them in their 'cloud reader' (browser)
* If you buy Google Play ebooks--you can read them in your browser
* If you read free ebooks at Gutenberg.org--you can read them in your browser

Since you run Android, you probably want to download an app like one of the following examples that I'd recommend to read ebooks on your device:

* Amazon Kindle app: For Amazon-purchased ebooks
* Kobo app: For ebooks you purchase at Kobo, probably one of the best ebook stores that's an alternative to Amazon.
* Readera app: A free, very lightweight Android ebook reader that can read ebooks in many of the popular formats (you'd use this app for 'free' ebooks or any that have had the encryption removed)

After you get used to working with ebooks, you'll want to learn to use a free, open source software app called Calibre to manage the ebooks in your library, convert them to other formats, etc. For example, I use Calibre to remove the encryption from all the ebooks I purchase, not to do anything illegal, but simply so that I can convert the books I have bought to other formats and read them on any device that I choose. After you get used to working with ebooks and choose a favorite ebook store, Calibre will be a really useful tool to do things like buy books from other places, convert them all to a single common format such as epub, and read them all on your favorite device and your favorite reading app.

JSWolf · 08-27-2020, 05:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fjtorres

The Kindle app doesn't read ebooks online but Kindle Cloud Reader does.
I've tried it using the XBOX browser and it works great. A fine way to read why peddaling on an exercise bike or walking on a treadmill.

You are still using your web browser. It's not Kindle Cloud Reader that is displaying your eBooks on your screen. Is there any program that will display an eBook that's online? This does not include mapping online storage to a drive letter and then using a program like you would locally.

JSWolf · 08-27-2020, 05:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GlenBarrington

I have used Aldiko, and have Moon reader pro for my ePub books, which I like very much. But in the USA, for casual readers, I think the Amazon Kindle Reader for Android is hard to beat.

With the Kindle infrastructure, you not only can read on virtually any device (and sync among the devices), but you have the optional Kindle unlimited service (which I love. Oops, not to mention the smaller Amazon Prime version, whatever it's called).

And I suspect there are more quality free ebooks available for download in that environment than any other. Certainly, it seems that way to my casual observation.

But you are not reading eBooks online with either program. So they don't count in terms of what the OP is asking.

Quoth · 08-28-2020, 09:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Is there any program that will display an eBook that's online? .

Probably only by pretending to. PDF plugins for Browsers DO NOT read online like a web page is read. It's actually temporarily downloaded.
Really only actual web pages are online. Google Books previews are generating web pages as is the Amazon "look inside".
I don't know how the earlier version of Edge that did epubs worked. It likely tried to load the entire ebook into RAM. Sometimes feasible for PDFs. Anyway that's gone. Edge is now a skin on the Chromium Engine which while in theory open source is really controlled by Google for Chrome.

simurq · 08-28-2020, 12:09 PM

Indeed, your choice of an app for reading ebooks depends on many factors, some of which are mentioned above.
E.g., the language you prefer reading books, your book shopping/borrowing habits (Amazon, Gutenberg, Archive.org, Libgen, etc.), format of books, even your country of residence, however strange this might sound...
For years, my all-time favourite has been Moon+ Reader Pro. It can read almost all well-known book formats, including FB2 (which is very simple structurally, yet widely used in publications in my part of the world, although I sometimes prefer the eye-candiness of EPUBs too). Recently, after I encountered a few problems described in another post, I tried Pocketbook Reader as well. I can say that it is as powerful as Moon+ Reader, but in some aspects even exceeds it (e.g., it didn't cause the problems I ran into in Moon Reader, and you can use it for listening to audiobooks too).

For reading on my desktop computer and to view and test the way my own creations look on the screen, I use Calibre Viewer, which is part of a bigger suit called Calibre, and Kindle Previewer!

JSWolf · 08-28-2020, 06:33 PM

Why are some of you taking about different eBook programs when there isn't one that will display online eBooks?

It's a web browser you need to use. So the answer is a we browser is the most popular program for reading eBooks that are online.

08-28-2020, 12:09 PM	#29
simurq Member Posts: 20 Karma: 1000010 Join Date: Jul 2015 Device: Kindle Paperwhite v1	Indeed, your choice of an app for reading ebooks depends on many factors, some of which are mentioned above. E.g., the language you prefer reading books, your book shopping/borrowing habits (Amazon, Gutenberg, Archive.org, Libgen, etc.), format of books, even your country of residence, however strange this might sound... For years, my all-time favourite has been Moon+ Reader Pro. It can read almost all well-known book formats, including FB2 (which is very simple structurally, yet widely used in publications in my part of the world, although I sometimes prefer the eye-candiness of EPUBs too). Recently, after I encountered a few problems described in another post, I tried Pocketbook Reader as well. I can say that it is as powerful as Moon+ Reader, but in some aspects even exceeds it (e.g., it didn't cause the problems I ran into in Moon Reader, and you can use it for listening to audiobooks too). For reading on my desktop computer and to view and test the way my own creations look on the screen, I use Calibre Viewer, which is part of a bigger suit called Calibre, and Kindle Previewer! Last edited by simurq; 08-28-2020 at 01:42 PM.

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08-12-2020, 11:29 AM	#20
leebase Karma Kameleon Posts: 2,960 Karma: 26738313 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: iPad Mini, iPhone X, Kindle Fire Tab HD 8, Walmart Onn	My favorite Android book reader is FBReader. It ticks all my "must have's" and has the added bonus of working on iPhone/iPads and Androids and syncing across systems. - Easy to adjust lighting by dragging finger up and down the side - Can set the forward/back targets. Top, Middle, Bottom of each side are configurable - Handles Series - Easy to load books via the FBNetwork (uses goggle drive) - Configurable screen colors - Night mode (also configurable) If I'm lazy, I just read a book via the Amazon app (I buy almost all my ebooks from Amazon). But most of the time, I'll liberate the books, convert to epub and read them via FBReader.

08-18-2020, 02:04 PM	#23
GlenBarrington Cheese Whiz Posts: 1,986 Karma: 11677147 Join Date: Jan 2010 Location: Springfield, Illinois Device: Kindle PW, Samsung Tab A 10.1(2019), Pixel 6a.	I have used Aldiko, and have Moon reader pro for my ePub books, which I like very much. But in the USA, for casual readers, I think the Amazon Kindle Reader for Android is hard to beat. With the Kindle infrastructure, you not only can read on virtually any device (and sync among the devices), but you have the optional Kindle unlimited service (which I love. Oops, not to mention the smaller Amazon Prime version, whatever it's called). And I suspect there are more quality free ebooks available for download in that environment than any other. Certainly, it seems that way to my casual observation.

08-27-2020, 05:09 AM	#25
hollowpoint Groupie Posts: 155 Karma: 6672188 Join Date: Apr 2019 Device: Ipad Mini, Kindle PW5, Libra 2	As others have said, I doubt that you want to do a ton of reading books actually 'online' in a browser--but you sure can if you choose to. Here are three common, easy-to-access options for reading 'online' books in your browser (there are many more): * If you buy Amazon Kindle ebooks--you can read them in their 'cloud reader' (browser) * If you buy Google Play ebooks--you can read them in your browser * If you read free ebooks at Gutenberg.org--you can read them in your browser Since you run Android, you probably want to download an app like one of the following examples that I'd recommend to read ebooks on your device: * Amazon Kindle app: For Amazon-purchased ebooks * Kobo app: For ebooks you purchase at Kobo, probably one of the best ebook stores that's an alternative to Amazon. * Readera app: A free, very lightweight Android ebook reader that can read ebooks in many of the popular formats (you'd use this app for 'free' ebooks or any that have had the encryption removed) After you get used to working with ebooks, you'll want to learn to use a free, open source software app called Calibre to manage the ebooks in your library, convert them to other formats, etc. For example, I use Calibre to remove the encryption from all the ebooks I purchase, not to do anything illegal, but simply so that I can convert the books I have bought to other formats and read them on any device that I choose. After you get used to working with ebooks and choose a favorite ebook store, Calibre will be a really useful tool to do things like buy books from other places, convert them all to a single common format such as epub, and read them all on your favorite device and your favorite reading app.

08-28-2020, 06:33 PM	#30
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,758 Karma: 145864619 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Why are some of you taking about different eBook programs when there isn't one that will display online eBooks? It's a web browser you need to use. So the answer is a we browser is the most popular program for reading eBooks that are online.

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