For those who are still waiting to take the plunge into the e-world and thinking how good a reader the galaxy tab can be, please read on!
Before you actually start reading on your TAB, get a scratch-guard for your tab. Opt for the matt finish guard if you want to prevent finger prints on the screen. I would also recommend to get a nice flap cover as well. That way, carrying the tab will be easier and it will have a diary like feel in your hands.
Once done with the accessories, lets come to the real part!
I can feel the hardcore book lovers lining up with their doubts and concerns...
Can I read any book I want?
Can I get books easily? Are e-books cheaper than real books?
Can I get free books?
Can I read in any language I want?
Can I get old classics to read ?
Can an ebook make a 'chikk' sound when I flip pages ? Can I place bookmarks?
Can I adjust the brightness of the screen ? Can I adjust the font-size or even the font styling?
Can I read it at night without any lights ON?
Well, let me try to answer some of them.
To begin with, get the books(files) you want to read and put it in any folder in the TAB after connecting it via the USB. Yes,it is as simple as a drag and drop! If you are not aware of the sources from free ebooks, please continue reading..
There are various apps that are available in the Android market for free which makes reading a pleasant experience.Though most of these apps support various formats like .doc,pdf,txt etc but to make your life easy, try to get an epub version of the book that you want to read.
Lets have a look at some of the apps that I've used. I'll primarily talk about those apps which allows you to read your own content easily:-
1) Aldiko
This is one of the oldest and most popular e-reading app in the market.
Upon opening the app you are presented with a virtual library, which will initially be empty or will contain a pre-loaded book from Aldiko.
Click on the Home button on the left top of the screen to check the various options available.From the HOME screen,you can visit the online stores, view your recent read, configure how you want your library to appear and yes, import your own books.
Considering you have already placed the epub files in the TAB, just click on 'SD Card' option and navigate to the folder where you have placed your files.Select the files you want to load into Aldiko and click on Import. Once done, you can go back to your library to view the books you have just added.On the library screen you'll see the book's cover, the book's title and the author's name. You can sort the books in different ways like Title, author,rating etc.
When opening a book you're taken to the beginning of the book or to the last page you were reading.You can override the publisher's setting and change the font size, the margin etc.Just tap the screen while reading and click on Settings to play with the various options given. Click on the Night-mode to change the background to black with white fonts which is perfect for night reading. This is my favourite option and I usually prefer reading in this mode.
While reading you can adjust the brightness of the screen just by moving your finger vertically on the left hand side of the screen. You can easily add bookmarks by clicking on 'Bookmarks' after tapping the middle of the screen and a simple touch on the right hand side of the screen flips the page.
If you want to check the online store, click on the 'Visit-Store' button and it will bring up catalogs for Feedbooks,All Romance eBooks, Smashwords etc. The free content of the store is also good which primarily offers old classics like Dracula,Pride and Prejudice etc.
Along with epubs,I tried opening a pdf doc using Aldiko and it worked just fine.
2) Samsung inbuilt e-reader
This one gets a big 'THUMBS-UP' from me! Honestly,I didn't expect the app to be this good. It can do almost everything that others can do along with the page animation.
For those who don't know about the page-animation, it is a way you can turn pages and it resembles exactly the way you turn pages when you read a real physical book. Also it makes a 'chikk' sound, yes yes...similar to the sound you will generate when you flip pages of a book.
I remember when I was showing (rather showing off) my tab to others, this particular animation drew the most accolades.
Also,the settings here offers you to choose different backgrounds along with the day-night mode to read.For example, if the white background is 'non-bookish' for your liking, you can opt for the brown or the standard paper-like background.
The only 'drawback' of this app is it takes about 10-15 secs to load any book but I can live with that.
Importing books, adding bookmarks, font style/size updates,sorting books etc can be done easily.
However,you cant buy books from any online store using this app.
3) FBReader
Another popular app in the market and is a lot similar to Aldiko in terms of features and look-n-feel.
One of my favourite feature of FBReader is that when you put a bookmark, it saves them as few lines from the beginning of the page.
So rather than selecting "Bookmark no 12", I get something like 'Bosch walked into his room and ..." which sets the mood and kind of reminds you where you were the last time.
Good thinking!
Few of you would like to know about few of the other e-book apps like Google Books, Kindle and B&N Nook.
I downloaded them but due to limited exposure for these apps in Singapore region, I couldn't explore them at all. Also, I don't prefer these apps as loading/reading free content using them are troublesome eg Kindle reads only .prc/.mobi format and to read your own books in Nook, you will have to keep them in the Nook/My documents folder.
When there are so many other apps offering so much of flexibility, I didn't allow these giants to bully me and uninstalled them after a few days.
I've deliberately not divulged much details about the apps listed as I want you guys to explore and find out few hidden things yourself.I've just given you the footmarks, now is it up to you to delve into the woods!
Remember that all these apps are designed based on a normal reader's requirements and his/her desires. Hence these are easy to use and an absolute delight to explore.
Confused?? If yes, then forget about opening the apps and reading them. Just go to the folder where you have stored your books and click on the one you want to read.It will either open with the default app or ask you to select any one app of your choice.Just open and start reading...
I cant make it any more simpler than this!
Now for those who wants to know about the sources for free epubs,you can always google it. There are many blogs and users who are sharing their stuff for free.Else, you can check these places:
www.gutenberg.org
epubbooks.com etc
(You can also search for torrent files)
If you don't get epubs, don't worry.Get any format that is available and use the fantastic e-book converter named Calibre to convert into epubs and move into your device.
For more details, please visit:
Keep reading and keep sharing!
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