Introduction to JetReader

[Erlend]

Hi there!

A few years ago, I was looking for a reading app that could track the kind of stats I care about, and also integrate well with Calibre. I didn't find quite what I wanted, so I started building my own. It's called JetReader.

JetReader is aimed at readers who:

• Like seeing their reading stats
• Want to sync their device library with Calibre
• Read on multiple devices and want their progress and data kept in sync

Syncing works through Dropbox, WebDAV, or a free JetReader account. It is also possible to use JetReader only to synchronize books with Calibre, and open the books in another app.

I've been using the app myself for about three years, gradually improving it and adding things I found useful. In addition to the core features mentioned above, I've also added a simple web page to view and share reading stats, and an AI-based tool that explains words or phrases in the context of the book, which has been really helpful when I'm reading in other languages than my mother tongue (which is mostly all the time).

The app supports common formats like epub, mobi, azw, fb2, txt, and html. It's currently Android-only, but it's built with a cross-platform framework, so iOS support is possible if enough people are interested.

At this point, JetReader does most of what I need it to. I'm now looking to hear what others might want from it. If this sounds like something you'd use, I'd really appreciate your help testing it and hearing your thoughts.

If you think this sounds interesting, here are some links:

• Web page,
• Download from Google Play,
• Shareable stats example
• FAQ
• Roadmap (very open for suggestions!)

--
Erlend

[church mouse]

I downloaded the app (trusting the Google refund policy as the app has no trial period) onto my ageing Boox Poke.

I was interested in it purely in terms of it as a reading app rather than the syncing functionality (I use Calibre Sync for that).

Pros:
Easy to locate my downloaded books and very quick to scan and load them into the library view.
The e-ink mode seemed to display nicely on my Poke.
A good range of options for information in the top and bottom bars - I particularly valued the progress in chapter option (something too few apps have).
Both the top and bottom bars can be resized very easily.
Opening a book was quick. There was a slight delay in moving between chapters but nothing bad.

Cons:
Font selection seemed limited. I could find no way of using locally held fonts.
My Poke has no back button, nor volumes rockers and navigating out of settings options would have benefitted from a back arrow (I realise that this is a common problem with Android devices which do not display the standard navigation panel).

Unless I missed some hidden setting, the killer fail which caused me to seek a refund and uninstal: dictionary look-up appears to be online only with no use of in device dictionaries.

[Erlend]

Thanks, that's extremely valuable feedback! Great to hear that not only did it (mostly) work, but that some of the features I've added for my own benefit actually were useful for others as well.

About the cons:
- I'll add a browser for locally held fonts immediately, that's a good idea that I had simply not thought of.

- The full page options should have a back button in the upper right corner (unless there are some stylistic changes on this device that I am unaware of?), and the popups are mostly dismissable by tapping outside of them. However, some of them are a bit too large, and leave very little "outside space" for dismissing them. I'll try to improve on this!

- Dictionary is only online right now. I would very much like to add an offline dictionary as well, but I'm struggling to find good, open dictionaries that I can integrate in the app. If you (or anybody else) has suggestions for this, I'd be very happy to check them out! My plan is to expand the dictionary support, and add a dictionary history, to make it very easy for people reading foreign languages (like myself) to repeat words that had to be looked up.

[JSWolf]

con: no iOS/iPadOS version

[church mouse]

Dictionary - I have two Android offline dictionary apps: Colordict and Livio. My Onyx reader also has its own dictionary app. Some Android reader apps allow me to choose to use any one of the three dictionary apps whilst some only seem to recognise the Colordict app.

[Erlend]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

con: no iOS/iPadOS version

It's coming! I've gotten my Mac set up now, and will start testing for iOS immediately after finishing up the current update.

Originally Posted by church mouse

Dictionary - I have two Android offline dictionary apps: Colordict and Livio. My Onyx reader also has its own dictionary app. Some Android reader apps allow me to choose to use any one of the three dictionary apps whilst some only seem to recognise the Colordict app.

Thanks, good suggestions! I'll look into these. I'm also looking into providing an offline (strongly compressed) Wictionary, but that only looks like it's usable for the 10 or so most popular languages.