Thursday, May 21, 2015

Top 7 E-reading Apps for the Sony Z3

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Once upon a time, the dilemma facing bibliophiles was where to store their latest page-turner so they could sneak in a read on the go. Then came e-readers, which let bookworms carry all their favorite reads on one device the size of a small paperback. Just when you thought reading couldn’t get any more portable than a Kindle or Nook, e-reading apps debuted, transforming cell phones into uber-portable mini libraries.

While almost all smartphones have e-reader capabilities, you’d be hard-pressed to find one that delivers a better reading experience than the Sony Xperia Z3. With its Android platform, the Xperia offers an endless selection of the latest and greatest e-reading apps. The only question is which of these apps can do the powerful Z3 justice while also giving you an immersive e-reading experience. Read on to find out which e-reading apps are best suited to the Sony Z3.

Google Play Books

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One of the coolest features of the Sony Xperia Z3 is its waterproof design, which makes it the perfect beach or poolside reader with the right app and the right network. The only problem is that most e-reader apps are backlit, making them almost impossible to see in direct sunlight. Fortunately, Google Play Books is the answer to all your beach reading woes. In addition to its impressive selection, the Google Play Books app comes with a brightness option that will automatically adjust based on the amount of available light.

Cool Reader

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The Xperia Z3 comes equipped with Google’s latest operating system, Android 4.4 Kitkat. This OS has a long list of new features, one of which is full-screen immersion. This means that the top notification bar is transparent and the bottom menu bar disappears in full-screen mode. With your whole screen to play with, you want an e-reader app with a visually striking appearance. Cool Reader is that app, with a dizzying array of theme and text options.

FBReader

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The screen of the Z3 is incredibly vivid and clear thanks to its 5.2 inch HD display. With resolution like that, you owe it to yourself to choose an e-reading app that’s as easy on the eyes as your phone screen is. FBReader offers theme options specially designed to minimize eye strain, such as wood and sepia.

Aldiko

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If you have a voluminous e-library, you can put the Z3’s massive 3 GB RAM and 32 GB ROM memory to good use. Aldiko is a great e-reading app if you have a lot of books you want to import on your phone. It has advanced library management features and even lets you import your own PDF and EPUB files.

Moon + Reader Pro

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Everyone has had one of those moments when you want to read but your screen-weary eyes aren’t cooperating. That’s when it’s time to channel your inner child and let someone else read to you, even if it’s just a robot. The Xperia Z3 delivers booming, crystal-clear sound with its dual front-facing speakers, making it an ideal medium for e-reading apps capable of text-to-speech (TTS). One of the best such apps is Moon + Reader Pro, which offers TTS within the paid version.

Kobo

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It would be a shame not to experience the power of the Z3’s state-of-the-art keyboard, which boasts lightning-quick response times as well as gesture-based typing. With Kobo, you can make use of this sophisticated tool even when you’re lost in a book. Kobo lets you actively comment on your book while you’re reading it.

Nook

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Nook is one of the best reading apps out there for any phone, including the Sony Z3. With the Nook app, the biggest selling point is access to Barnes & Noble’s staggering selection. Another impressive yet underappreciated feature of the Nook app is its dazzling page-turning animations, perfect for the crystal resolution of the Z3.

When you have a phone with the power and features of the Z3, it’s hard to go wrong with an e-reading app. Still, some are better suited for this phone than others. Z3 owners won’t be disappointed with any of these seven apps.

Top 7 E-reading Apps for the Sony Z3 is a post from: Good e-Reader

How to Load e-books on the Kobo Glo HD

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Whenever a new e-reader hits the market, many users are purchasing one for the first time. Inevitably people will want to load their own EPUB or PDF files on it, whether they were bought from other retailers or downloaded from random websites. Today, I will teach you how to load e-books on the Kobo Glo HD using Calibre, Adobe Digital Editions and Windows Explorer.

It is important to note that in order to load e-books on the Kobo Glo HD they have to be in EPUB or PDF format. Kindle books bought from Amazon are totally incompatible. If you have a book that does not have DRM, that is in a different format, you can convert it from one format to another using Calibre.

In the video below you will receive a step by step guide on how to load e-books. If you have any questions or concerns, please comment below.


How to Load e-books on the Kobo Glo HD is a post from: Good e-Reader

15,000 Free e-books Now Available on Entry Level Samsung Phones

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Samsung is trying to make their entry level smartphones viable in Africa. The South Korean company has ironed out a partnership with Worldreader and Jumia to offer over 15,000 free e-books.

Worldreader is well known in the e-book world with providing African schools with e-readers that are full of great free content. The non-profit has been doing it for years and has finally caught the attention of smartphone makers in order to expand their brand, but also get their e-books in front of more users.

In the last year, Worldreader has received a massive amount of support.  CEO of Amazon,Jeff Bezos contributed $500,000 and received an undisclosed sum from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

The Worldreader Android app will be pre-installed on the Samsung Ace 4 Lite, Ace 3, Trend Lite, J1, Star 2 Plus and Ace 4 Neo. Samsung has promised that the app will be regularly updated in order to provide the best experience. Incidentally, the phones will be available only on Jumia.

15,000 Free e-books Now Available on Entry Level Samsung Phones is a post from: Good e-Reader

Scribd Brings Bestselling eBooks to Australia

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Australia has proven itself a major growth market for Scribd. Subscriptions have more than tripled in the country in less than a year. This has prompted Scribd to negotiate with their publishing partners to bring modern bestsellers to Australia in a bid to appeal to serious readers.

Scribd has just added more than 200 front-list e-books to the catalog available to Australian readers, including best-selling titles from Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt and Harlequin Australia.

According to a Scribd spokesperson, the company is focused on taking a targeted approach to international growth, "and one of the main ways we're accomplishing that is through localization."

That strategy operates in two ways. Not only is Scribd working with the large, global trade publishers it's already partnered with in order to make more of the titles in its catalog available in more territories, it's also striking deals with local publishers and divisions to bring exclusive content to readers in key markets.

"Testing the success of front-list books in key markets internationally is a great sign for the future of even more front-list everywhere" Scribd operates, the spokesperson added, describing the cooperation of some of its biggest publishing partners as proof of their "growing faith in the model."

Scribd Brings Bestselling eBooks to Australia is a post from: Good e-Reader

Reader’s Advisory Project collections are live!

The Reader's Advisory project collections, Book Club Picks and Fantastical Fairy Tales, are ready to Publish in the curation interface in OverDrive Marketplace! Boost circulation and reader engagement by publishing the collections to your site today.

Public your curated collection:

• In Marketplace, select the Shop drop-down menu and choose Switch to curate.* The curated collections landing page is displayed and, in the Draft collections section, you'll find Book Club Picks and Fantastical Fairy Tales.

• Click on the collection title to open the draft, or put a check next to the draft, and select Publish Draft.

Note: The first time you publish a collection, you'll be asked for your "curator details" (your name and title). You can always change your curator details by clicking the Update your Curator information link in the upper-right corner of the site.

• In the popup that opens, select where you'd like the collection to be published on your public-facing site.

• Once you've selected your location, select Publish to publish your collection.

Note: You may need to refresh your public-facing site after you publish a collection in order to see it added on your site.

Don't forget to visit our Recommended Lists page for inspiration and take a look at the Marketplace User Guide for information on creating additional curated collections.

If you have any questions, please reach out to your OverDrive team (you can find the team members and their contact information in OverDrive Marketplace > Support tab in the right column)."

*"Library Site Admin" permission is required for Marketplace users to access the curation interface. For consortia, the curation interface is available at the consortium level only.

Google Introduces New Literata eBook Font for Google Play Books

This week Google announced on Twitter that they’ve introduced a new font type called Literata for their Play Books app that was designed specifically for ebooks. Literata is now the default font for Google Play Books, replacing Droid Serif. Google claims that their new font is perfect for long reads on all devices, and that […]

Huateng Flag D1 Dual Screen E Ink Smartphone (Video)

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Pocket PiGRRL: is that an emulator in your pocket?

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Huge, city-destroying robot for scale (Photo: Adafruit/ Ruiz Brothers)

Last year we went into full retronerd dribble mode over the PiGRRL, a Pi-powered Gameboy. Our friends at Adafruit have brought the project up to date with the Pocket PiGRRL. It has a 3D printed case and uses the smaller Raspberry model A+ plus a 2.4″ PiTFT HAT to bring the size down. Emulation is handled by RetroPie.

Adafruit say that "it's easier than our previous PiGRRL build" and the use of components such as the amplifier and charger means that it's suitable for a confident beginner—at the very least you'll earn your soldering skills badge.

The post Pocket PiGRRL: is that an emulator in your pocket? appeared first on Raspberry Pi.