Earlier this year Google cracked down on devices that were not certified and blacklisted them from accessing the Google Play Store and various core services. This was done to help curb the onslaught of cheap Android phones and tablets from China, as well as custom ROMS. This whole situation also had a tremendous effect on the e-reader industry, since there are tons of players … [Read more...] about This is how you get Google Play working on Android e-readers
Android News
Google is considering a paid app subscription package
Google is working on a monthly subscription package that will offer hundreds of paid apps for free. The program is tentatively named the "Play Pass" app subscription service and it was discovered by XDA deconstruction of the recent Google Play Store update. There are few lines of code, but one clearly references “PLAYPASS_SUBSCRIPTION.” It would be quite interesting for … [Read more...] about Google is considering a paid app subscription package
Pocket Redesigns iOS App and now has Amazon Polly for Article Playback
Pocket has just redesigned their flagship app for the iPad and iPhone for the first time since 2012. They have a more minimalist interface with more white space and a tremendous reduction in information density. If you prefer a dark mode or sepia mode, you can also choose that as your app-wide color scheme. Even the typography and fonts have also been updated with ones that are … [Read more...] about Pocket Redesigns iOS App and now has Amazon Polly for Article Playback
These are the challenges for developing apps for an Android e-Reader
One of the big trends in the past four years has been companies developing E Ink e-readers that use Google Android. This OS provides users with the flexibility to sideload in their own apps or download them via an accompanied app market such as Google Play. There are two major challenges for app developers that want to make a customized e-reading app that has support for an E … [Read more...] about These are the challenges for developing apps for an Android e-Reader
This is how Android Lite and Go apps perform on an e-reader
Android developers have released a series of Lite and Go apps in the past few months. These were primarily designed for the developing world, where people tend to have lower end smartphones with 2G internet connections. Lite apps tend to be 2MB to 10MB fully installed and lack many of the animations and features of their berethron. Good e-Reader has just conducted a video … [Read more...] about This is how Android Lite and Go apps perform on an e-reader
Walmart ebooks now available for Android and iOS and it’s abysmal
Walmart has just launched an ebooks app for Android and iOS. Walmart is hyping that this new app has a built in ebookstore to purchase content and a fully functional audiobook player. When you install it for the first time Walmart says they will provide you with a free $10 credit to be used towards anything you want. There are over 6 million ebooks and audiobooks to select … [Read more...] about Walmart ebooks now available for Android and iOS and it’s abysmal
E-Reader companies should be adopting Android GO 9 Pie Edition
E-Reader companies have been using Android 4.04 and 4.4 for a number of years and the vast majority of devices on the market run it. Android Go launched last year with Oreo support and it is optimized for devices that have between 512MB and 1GB of RAM and a 1 GHZ single core processor. This makes the open source OS ideal for e-reader companies, who do not need to bundle Google … [Read more...] about E-Reader companies should be adopting Android GO 9 Pie Edition
Android Lite apps are breathing a second life into e-readers
Major companies are releasing a series of Lite and Go apps that are optimized for lower end smartphones and countries with poor internet connection. Amazon released Kindle Lite for this very purpose, and there are Lite versions of Facebook, Spotify, Instagram. There is also a myriad of communication apps such as Skype Lite and Line Line. This is having a really positive impact … [Read more...] about Android Lite apps are breathing a second life into e-readers
Goodreads launches new Android App
Goodreads has been quietly working on a beta version of ebook discovery and social community Android app. The company published the beta in May and socilited a number of users in their community to test it out and give their feedback. Today, GoodReads has discontinued their old app and are now using the new one and it is available now to download. Whether you want to scan … [Read more...] about Goodreads launches new Android App
Google launches dedicated Podcast App
Google Podcasts launched a couple of months ago, but it was incorporated into the Google Music. It has a confusing layout and it suffered from being lost in the shuffle. Google is now supporting podcasts directly and in a more meaningful way with a standalone Google Podcasts app for Android. Google Podcasts, will use Google’s recommendation algorithms in an effort to … [Read more...] about Google launches dedicated Podcast App