Bluefire Reader for Android

Oh, Why Not? · 08-30-2011, 09:56 AM

Bluefire Reader for Android now available on the Android Market!

=X= · 08-30-2011, 12:22 PM

I'll have to check it out. Right now I'm using Moon+/Mantano. Both excellent readers It will be interesting to see how Bluefile measures up. (Market link)

feenix1363 · 08-30-2011, 02:17 PM

That looks promising, I'll give it a look at myself thanks.

sherbs · 08-30-2011, 07:26 PM

Just had a quick look. Don't want to give a bad review just yet as it's got 5 out of 5s so far.

Initial thoughts - very good with pdf mags, the quickest I've come across.

Not much in the way of customising library or or appearance.

Couldn't find a way to exit the app. Pushing the back button did just that, took me back through everything I'd opened.

Don't like apps that force me to use a particular directory for books.

Still, I'm keeping it for pdfs if nothing else.

Using it on an Eee Pad, by the way.

DaleDe · 08-31-2011, 12:44 AM

Is the Home button not available to leave the app? That is how I leave most of them.

sherbs · 08-31-2011, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Is the Home button not available to leave the app? That is how I leave most of them.

Yes, you can leave all apps by using the home button. I'm just used to using the back button to close apps. This app's back button behaviour is just weird to me. Open library, open a book, turn a few pages, hit back and you're in the library, hit back again, you're back in the book, back>library, back>book and on and on. Never seen that in an app before. No big deal but enough to mention IMO.

Jabby · 08-31-2011, 06:44 AM

Yet another app with menu fonts so small and dim as to be usable. I can think of no reason to use this app.

Regards - John

rhari79 · 08-31-2011, 06:45 AM

some problems with this: several of their buttons are so closely laid out that its sometimes difficult to access them, (And that too in the Dell Streak).
Also the back button doesnt work to move out of the app like it does in most other apps.

Otherwise seems like the good old iphone app.

If only they add a file system browser..

=X= · 08-31-2011, 12:58 PM

This is a good first step and looks nice. It still does not compare to some of the better eReaders like Montano or Moon+, but it's a good first start. It's also a bit too iPhonish and doesn't make use of the Android file system. After they fix some issues it can be a nice reader.

=X=

tomsem · 08-31-2011, 02:37 PM

I'd like to see some tweaks for tablets, things like: smaller images in Library view, 2 column option in landscape, etc. And yes, ability to open an .epub/.pdf from Bluefire regardless of where it is located would be nice (having to put things in /mnt/sdcard/Bluefire/imports/ seems a little weird but I'm relatively new to Android and don't know what the conventions look like yet.

Bluefire is the only app that I've found (so far) that can 'verify loan' to open a library ePub that I downloaded previously with ADE on my desktop and moved over to Android storage. All the other Adobe RMSDK apps (including Overdrive) give an error.

However, Aldiko and Overdrive are the only apps (that I've found) that can open an .acsm file and fulfill the download. And then, only if I use a 3rd party file manager like Astro. None of the other Adobe RMSDK apps I have are available as choices (txtr, Mantano, Bluefire).

Ideally, I'd like to skip the ADE step and just download the .acsm on a computer, put it in my Dropbox folder, and choose the app for fulfilling after downloading to Android. Dropbox doesn't offer a way to choose an app for opening .acsm, however, so again I seem limited to using Astro and the 2 choices it gives me. Things are smoother on iOS...

Another example of weirdness: I can open .epub with Bluefire from Dropbox, but not from Astro: Bluefire doesn't appear on its list of apps that can open .epub. I tend to blame Astro for this and may have to look at a different file manager.

BluefireTim · 09-01-2011, 01:49 PM

=X=, you pretty much nailed it, we made the app to iPhone-ish, and we're learning to fix that now. In particular, we are changing the back button functionality so that it will pop you out of the app like a regular Android app does. That fix should be available as an update from the android market early next week.

Thanks for the note about .acsm issue on Dropbox/Astro. We will look at them and see if there is a way open them. As Tomsem noted, if you fulfill the book using ADE first and then drop it into dropbox, you can easily open it in Bluefirereader from the popup menu.

As for being able to open .acsm files in the browser, unfortunately this is appears to be a bug in the Android browser itself. It has been filed under Issue 17205. If anyone who is having this issue wants to look it up and star it, that may help to expedite the process of fixing it.

tomsem · 09-01-2011, 03:00 PM

Am also unable to open .acsm email attachments (which works on iOS). Don't know if that's the same issue as browser, or something else.

Still trying to figure out how to get something other than Overdrive to download a book from Overdrive's web site. With Safari/iOS it required a 'bookmarklet' (some javascript that's run when at the download page) or a different browser that lets you set an appropriate user agent. No doubt something like that might work here too—haven't had time to investigate further.

At any rate my goal is to be able to do the whole library borrowing workflow on Android without having to use a second device (and using an application other than Overdrive).

Marseille · 09-03-2011, 02:03 PM

Welcome to Mobileread Tim

I'll give this a try. Moon+ is perfect for my non-library books, but I'm still missing features for library books. Overdrive lets me turn pages with my arrow keys, but won't lock the screen orientation. Can't recall how customizable it is in terms of viewing options. Aldiko will lock the screen in portrait and is super customizable, but won't let me turn pages with my arrow keys (last time I checked at least). My attempts to convince Aldiko to add the arrow key option have been unsuccessful thus far.

I'd love to find an overdrive replacement that locks screen orientation, can turn pages with whatever button you like (or at least with the arrow keys), and allows me to custom set color and size and spacing and other visual options.

DT_br · 09-15-2011, 04:50 PM

Just downloaded and tried it. For Epub books the functionality is OK - although limited. The menu system is very bad so maybe I missed something, but here are my thoughts:
My main interest in using it is for .pdf books. Almost no (actually none that I could find) options for adjusting .pdf books. No night view. Doesn't seem to have reflow - which is really bad for Android system used on everything from phones to netbooks. Result - couldn't read most of my non-drm pdf files - even instruction manuals the print was hard to get right and had to resize each page. Also no exit feature which means its operational until you turn it off through system.

luqmaninbmore · 09-15-2011, 06:49 PM

Actually, there is a night mode and, unlike some other readers, it works with image based PDF.

08-30-2011, 09:56 AM	#1
Oh, Why Not? Groupie Posts: 176 Karma: 13065 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Galaxy Note 2; KindleFireHDX	Bluefire Reader for Android Bluefire Reader for Android now available on the Android Market!

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08-30-2011, 12:22 PM	#2
=X= Wizard Posts: 3,671 Karma: 12205348 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Galaxy S, Nook w/CM7	I'll have to check it out. Right now I'm using Moon+/Mantano. Both excellent readers It will be interesting to see how Bluefile measures up. (Market link)

08-30-2011, 02:17 PM	#3
feenix1363 Lost and clueless Posts: 194 Karma: 233336 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: UK Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Glo, Kindle for Andriod, Kobo for Android	That looks promising, I'll give it a look at myself thanks.

08-30-2011, 07:26 PM	#4
sherbs Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 1000 Join Date: Jul 2011 Device: Eee Pad, Galaxy S2	Just had a quick look. Don't want to give a bad review just yet as it's got 5 out of 5s so far. Initial thoughts - very good with pdf mags, the quickest I've come across. Not much in the way of customising library or or appearance. Couldn't find a way to exit the app. Pushing the back button did just that, took me back through everything I'd opened. Don't like apps that force me to use a particular directory for books. Still, I'm keeping it for pdfs if nothing else. Using it on an Eee Pad, by the way.

08-31-2011, 12:44 AM	#5
DaleDe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 11,470 Karma: 13095790 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Grass Valley, CA Device: EB 1150, EZ Reader, Literati, iPad 2 & Air 2, iPhone 7	Is the Home button not available to leave the app? That is how I leave most of them.

08-31-2011, 06:44 AM	#7
Jabby Jr. - Junior Member Posts: 586 Karma: 2000358 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Alabama Device: Archos, Asus, HP, Lenovo, Nexus and Samsung tablets in 7,8 and 10"	Yet another app with menu fonts so small and dim as to be usable. I can think of no reason to use this app. Regards - John

08-31-2011, 06:45 AM	#8
rhari79 Addict Posts: 375 Karma: 2200000 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Chennai Device: .*	some problems with this: several of their buttons are so closely laid out that its sometimes difficult to access them, (And that too in the Dell Streak). Also the back button doesnt work to move out of the app like it does in most other apps. Otherwise seems like the good old iphone app. If only they add a file system browser..

08-31-2011, 12:58 PM	#9
=X= Wizard Posts: 3,671 Karma: 12205348 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: Galaxy S, Nook w/CM7	This is a good first step and looks nice. It still does not compare to some of the better eReaders like Montano or Moon+, but it's a good first start. It's also a bit too iPhonish and doesn't make use of the Android file system. After they fix some issues it can be a nice reader. =X=

08-31-2011, 02:37 PM	#10
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	I'd like to see some tweaks for tablets, things like: smaller images in Library view, 2 column option in landscape, etc. And yes, ability to open an .epub/.pdf from Bluefire regardless of where it is located would be nice (having to put things in /mnt/sdcard/Bluefire/imports/ seems a little weird but I'm relatively new to Android and don't know what the conventions look like yet. Bluefire is the only app that I've found (so far) that can 'verify loan' to open a library ePub that I downloaded previously with ADE on my desktop and moved over to Android storage. All the other Adobe RMSDK apps (including Overdrive) give an error. However, Aldiko and Overdrive are the only apps (that I've found) that can open an .acsm file and fulfill the download. And then, only if I use a 3rd party file manager like Astro. None of the other Adobe RMSDK apps I have are available as choices (txtr, Mantano, Bluefire). Ideally, I'd like to skip the ADE step and just download the .acsm on a computer, put it in my Dropbox folder, and choose the app for fulfilling after downloading to Android. Dropbox doesn't offer a way to choose an app for opening .acsm, however, so again I seem limited to using Astro and the 2 choices it gives me. Things are smoother on iOS... Another example of weirdness: I can open .epub with Bluefire from Dropbox, but not from Astro: Bluefire doesn't appear on its list of apps that can open .epub. I tend to blame Astro for this and may have to look at a different file manager.

09-01-2011, 01:49 PM	#11
BluefireTim Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 2000 Join Date: Sep 2011 Device: Xoom, Nexus S, iPhone, iPad, etc	=X=, you pretty much nailed it, we made the app to iPhone-ish, and we're learning to fix that now. In particular, we are changing the back button functionality so that it will pop you out of the app like a regular Android app does. That fix should be available as an update from the android market early next week. Thanks for the note about .acsm issue on Dropbox/Astro. We will look at them and see if there is a way open them. As Tomsem noted, if you fulfill the book using ADE first and then drop it into dropbox, you can easily open it in Bluefirereader from the popup menu. As for being able to open .acsm files in the browser, unfortunately this is appears to be a bug in the Android browser itself. It has been filed under Issue 17205. If anyone who is having this issue wants to look it up and star it, that may help to expedite the process of fixing it.

09-01-2011, 03:00 PM	#12
tomsem Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,478 Karma: 26425959 Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: USA Device: iPhone 15PM, Kindle Scribe, iPad mini 6, PocketBook InkPad Color 3	Am also unable to open .acsm email attachments (which works on iOS). Don't know if that's the same issue as browser, or something else. Still trying to figure out how to get something other than Overdrive to download a book from Overdrive's web site. With Safari/iOS it required a 'bookmarklet' (some javascript that's run when at the download page) or a different browser that lets you set an appropriate user agent. No doubt something like that might work here too—haven't had time to investigate further. At any rate my goal is to be able to do the whole library borrowing workflow on Android without having to use a second device (and using an application other than Overdrive).

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09-03-2011, 02:03 PM	#13
Marseille Guru Posts: 687 Karma: 5700000 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: kindle	Welcome to Mobileread Tim I'll give this a try. Moon+ is perfect for my non-library books, but I'm still missing features for library books. Overdrive lets me turn pages with my arrow keys, but won't lock the screen orientation. Can't recall how customizable it is in terms of viewing options. Aldiko will lock the screen in portrait and is super customizable, but won't let me turn pages with my arrow keys (last time I checked at least). My attempts to convince Aldiko to add the arrow key option have been unsuccessful thus far. I'd love to find an overdrive replacement that locks screen orientation, can turn pages with whatever button you like (or at least with the arrow keys), and allows me to custom set color and size and spacing and other visual options.

09-15-2011, 04:50 PM	#14
DT_br Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2010 Device: Galaxy Tab	Just downloaded and tried it. For Epub books the functionality is OK - although limited. The menu system is very bad so maybe I missed something, but here are my thoughts: My main interest in using it is for .pdf books. Almost no (actually none that I could find) options for adjusting .pdf books. No night view. Doesn't seem to have reflow - which is really bad for Android system used on everything from phones to netbooks. Result - couldn't read most of my non-drm pdf files - even instruction manuals the print was hard to get right and had to resize each page. Also no exit feature which means its operational until you turn it off through system.

09-15-2011, 06:49 PM	#15
luqmaninbmore Da'i Posts: 1,144 Karma: 1217499 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Baltimore Device: Toshiba Thrive, Kobo Touch, Kindle 1, Aluratek Libre, T-Mobile Comet	Actually, there is a night mode and, unlike some other readers, it works with image based PDF.