[Closed] Android devices and reading Mag issues from the archive

I find the default htc pdf reader best but tbh much as I try and want to I still struggle to enjoy reading a mag electronically.

ok will download a pdf and have a go.

Im sure the experience will be better on a tablet.

cheers clubber. Adobe reader seems to be up to it.

Android tablet - ebook (what ever comes pre-installed; I think that is what it is called) reading a pdf. Works fine for the text; occasionally have to soom in for the white text on black. The only real problem is that it only shows one page at a time so nice double page photos are lacking impact.

Sometimes the pdf's have titles so you can quickly scroll to the article; sometimes they don't so you just have to guess the page.

cheers M.
Will see what comes bundled on the Aurora when it finally arrives.

I use the free kindle app to read the .pdf version. I would download the kindle version but I haven't worked out how to do that on my phone and the .pdf has been fine.

I'm using the kindle app with the kindle files. I download them on my PC and throw them into my dropbox folder, then move them into the kindle app when I want to read them. This is on a galaxy s2.

just installing kindle now. will test it on the pdf and also the kindle version.

oooh, that's even better. (pdf in kindle)
thanks

Will now try kindle in kindle.

the kindle versions read well (obviously) but since they're basically devoid of pictures it takes the pleasure of reading the mag away.

I didn't realise the kindle versions had no pictures, I will stick with the .pdf files.

I'm getting an out of memory error on issue 70 reading the PDF with adobe reader but it's fine with the kindle reader. Adobe software had always been bloated.

well kindle cant find the kindle (*.mobi file) file, even when its in the kindle root directory on the sdcard. bit of a crap app really.

But kindle reading pdf seems the slickest. so will stick with that

I like the ePub format with the [url= http://www.aldiko.com/download.html ]Aldiko eBook[/url] app. I find the pdf's a little unwieldily on smaller screens. Kindle App is quite good to when used with the Kindle specific files.

Kindle App is quite good to when used with the Kindle specific files.

how do you get kindle mag files from the archive to open in the kindle app on the phone?

If you do like PFDs on your phone I recommend you stick to the low res versions were available. They have a much smaller file size.

We think the ePub is great for phones as the files are so small you can keep loads on your device. Yes, they lack the design and photography but we see it more as a train or bus reading option.

Talking of ePubs and their limited amounts of media. This looks like it will be changing. Doing some nice experiments with video in ePubs. While they are not part of the standard and do bloat the file sizes - they do offer a good experience for capable devices while falling back gracefully. As I say these are experiments but we hope to bring you more soon.

BTW, great to get feedback on android usage and our mag.

one thing that I really think is spoilt in electronic versions is the way that double page pics are split. reformatting them to fit on one page would be a big.improvement IMO as would maybe making fewer (one? ) columns of text for e reading as columns don't really work.

Basically, it's great that the mag can be read electronically but at the mo it just feels like there's little in the way of tweaking the layout to suit the format.

how do you get kindle mag files from the archive to open in the kindle app on the phone?

I put the files into the Kindle folder in the file system. I'll check that's still working and get back to you. Still works for PDFs as I just checked

one thing that I really think is spoilt in electronic versions is the way that double page pics are split.

We agree and hope to remedy that as soon as we can. However, it does mean designing the mag at least twice for each issue. We need to make sure what we deliver is sustainable with the staffing and finance we have.

The thing with ePub and Kindle files is they totally remove the majority of design elements. This is in fact the whole point of them. How they appear depends on the device being used to read them. The shift is from the publisher deciding how it should look to the end user.

That said, the way iBooks still DOESN'T display PDF double page spreads is hugely frustrating for us since we make great use of displaying big images across two pages. I sent Apple an email about this... They must be really busy cos I've not had a reply yet. I'm sure they will get back to me soon tho 😉

What we are working on is a version of the mag that is designed specifically for tablet ie not a replica of the printed magazine. That's going to take some time to get right and depends on us getting another designer 'installed'.

I've got a version of issue 71 in front of me that was put together using Apple's new ePub Authoring software. It's really quite nice. Major fly in the ointment is that Apple won't let us add that format to our mag archive under their current licensing agreement. But I'm sure there will be a solution to that coming along shortly. new formats and 'standards' are popping up almost every week 🙂

Cheers for the input STW peeps.

I've managed to get kindle to find both the pdf and the mobi files now (need to scan)

Kindle file is easier to read and nice to see the odd picture especially the grinder. Pdf still looks nicer but is more of a faff to read

I know you're working on it and I'm sure it'll be great once you do have a e specific (android friendly! ) version.

Glad you got it running Stoner. I tried yesterday evening but the office wifi was a bit flakey. I presume you put the files in the /kindle folder as I suggested?

yep. Copied over using a file manager app into kindle root.

when my new 7" android fondleslab finally arrives I'll see how it performs on that.