I'm new to Android - tips?

[EowynCarter]

Originally Posted by Queensjoy

Indeed - and I specifically asked the sales person what file storage the Nexus 7 uses, if Macs can natively read it, if any part of the software / firmware is Windows-specific, if I'll have to download and install a driver, and he told me no. If he didn't know, that'd be fine; it's that he was positive that it would work "out of the box" with a Mac that bothers me.

In any case, I don't mind having Android File Transfer on my Mac - but Google really does need to make it clear that Mac users will need to download it. As far as Linux is concerned, I didn't even see a "download for Linux" link. (Though I could have easily missed it, as I wasn't looking for Linux.)

Nope. Ubuntu handle it now, mostly, but it's still real buggy. But peale are motivated to get MTP working properly now, so hopefully, we'll get someting stable someday.

[Jack Tingle]

Originally Posted by Queensjoy

Hello, readers.
I'd like to avoid downloading store-specific apps - I shop around extensively and will thus end up downloading plenty of apps, as well as an app for books acquired from places such as Baen Books, Collins Booksellers and Project Gutenberg - why cloud-manage some when I can sideload them all into one app?

I know that there are an enormous amount of reading apps, and that's where my problem is - it's going to take me a lot of time to download and test them all, so if you guys can help me get a shortlist going, that would be excellent!

• I'd prefer a free lite version of whichever app to be available so that I can 'try before I buy', so to speak.
• I don't like sepia pages when I read on friends' tablets (admittedly, iPads) - I prefer crisp white, and have no strong feelings one way or the other about 'night mode'.
• I'm not specific about fonts, and will find myself happy with Georgia, Amasis or any other serif font available. I also have glasses and so I don't need very big font.
• I'm using a Nexus 7, so I don't have much screen real estate - an app with small margins would be great!
• Shelving, collections, some way to manage my books would be excellent. I like to categorise by which store I've bought them from. I don't mind whether it's in-app collection or a calibre plug-in; I've done both (calibre plug-in for the Kindle and in-device for the Kobo).
• I live in Australia, so apps that are specific to America are unfortunately useless to me - I've heard the Nook app is pretty!

Personally, I tend to use CoolReader, with FBreader as the 2nd choice. That's due to the fact that I use my 5" Galaxy Player for short form reading, more than novels. (I have an eInk reader for that.) Moon+ is a good choice as well, but doesn't have the multiple format flexibility of the other two. YMMV.

WRT connectivity, someone upthread mentioned ES File Explorer and I heartily second it. It allows pretty much seamless file transfer over wifi connections and makes USB cable connections moot.

I do load the tied book apps. There's no real cost to having them available. I tend to use the Kindle app the most, since I have a Kindle eInk reader. The 5" reader is much more portable than my 6" Paperwhite.

Library management is a personal thing, and I'm afraid it's up to you. I tend not to worry about it much beyond a file tree that suits my needs for any books/formats that don't have DRM, etc. issues. Kindle uses tags, as does Goodreads, so there's no chance that anyone will ever have a universal solution that suits me.

If my Galaxy Player ever wears out, I'll probably consider the N7. I think it's a good choice.

Enjoy,
Jack Tingle

[orange!]

Originally Posted by cfrizz

I have the free version of Aldiko which I like a lot.

+1.

I don't read on my Nexus 7 very often (prefer my K3), but when I do, I've found Aldiko (free version) to be adequate.

[glnnjnsn]

I have tried out most of the free/trial versions of different readers over the past year that I've had my Nexus 7, and what I've found is... I'm a lot less discriminating than most reviewers I've seen posting. Almost all of them were adequate for my needs, and in the end I've just gone with what's most convenient for me - the Google Play Books reader. The widgits (the generic Google Play library one and the specific Google Play Books one) allows me to directly open my books - where I left off - with one touch from my homescreen. And I'm able to sideload my DRM-free titles as needed with it. I don't keep most of my collection on my device, but download works off various clouds as I need them. And I also buy DRM'd works from Amazon/B&N/Google on an semi-regular basis (and leave the DRM intact), so I also install/uninstall the Amazon and B&N apps when needed as well.

As for video options, I don't have a lot of international experience, but I've found the U.S. Google Play Store to have a selection range slightly worse than iTunes or Amazon, but still quite reasonable - and the pricing seems equivalent, helped a little by regular (if somewhat underwhelming) sales/deals. After getting a Chromecast, I've been spending a bit more in this area.

Don't know if any of that helps - fortunately looks like there's plenty of other recommendations!

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by Queensjoy

Thanks, folks. I've downloaded Moon+ Reader Pro and am thus far very happy with it - though I don't like having to access the file system to pull a book into the device (it's not the intuitive, clean access that I want for books - though it's fine for podcasts and movies), so I think I'll download Calibre Companion so that I have that better, optimised display of my books. Thanks for your suggestions!

Something that I found interesting was that I had to download Android File Transfer to sideload files onto my tablet - I very specifically asked the sales boy if I needed any additional software to use the Nexus 7 with a MacBook Pro, and he very emphatically said "no!". Lo and behold - I plugged my Nexus 7 in today, and while it charged, it failed to read. There weren't any instructions in the box, either, so I needed to resort to Google to find out my options.

Now, I know that Android tablets aren't the most popular option for Mac users, but some of us aren't using a Mac with the belief that Apple is competent.

If you use calibre on your mac then I would recommend getting calibre companion a paid app or calibre sync free app that connect to calibre over wifi and send books directly from calibre. I personally use both one for my nook touch that has an older version of android not compatible with calibre companion.
I like calibre companion as it has a great library viewer/browser and can open different formats on different reader apps.