Google and Amazon Push Android Tablets Into Full HD Era

Image Credit: digitaltrends.com

Last September Amazon updated the tablet product line with two Kindle Fire HDs. One year passed, the new generation of Kindle Fire is around the corner, and the significant improvement might still happen on the screen.

Someone found a device labeled "Amazon KFAPWA", this device equipes Android 4.2.2 and an ultra HD screen, the resolution is amazing 2560*1600. From the specs we can figure out this device is exactly the new generation of Kindle Fire HD 8.9.

To keep up with such a HD screen, the new Kindle Fire HD 8.9 uses Adreno 330 GPU and Snapdragon 800 CPU. The Spapdragon 800 is the top gear for tablet and cellphone at the moment.

And we can also guess, the Kindle Fire HD 7's screen will be 1920*1200 to differ from the HD 8.9. But I don't think it will use Snapdragon 800, instead the CPU will be chosen from Tegra.

The first tablet reaches 2560*1600 is Google Nexus 10, but it had little sales impact. And in Android tablet market, Google and Amazon are the duo who take the majority of the cake. Not long ago Google introduced the 2nd generation of Nexus 7 and the screen is 1920*1200.

With Amazon's two new tablets also reach 1920*1200 and 2560*1600, the Android tablet has officialy entered full HD era. No doubt Sumsung and Sony will follow throught quickly. Along with the new iPad mini with Retina screen, the 7-inch HD tablets are blooming.

Nexus 10's failure has a big correlation with the price, with Nexus 7 and new Kindle Fire HDs adopting full HD screen, the full HD screen will enter low-cost market. More white-label will join this wave before long and enhance the quality of Android tablet again, this will bring more pressure on Apple.

Don't forget, Apple just lost ground in tablet market by the first time, and Android made it.

Purchase and rent textbooks from Google Play Books

Compared to Amazon's digital content and apps, more and more people are moving towards Google's eco-system from Chrome browser to Google Drive cloud. Many folks even purchase eBooks from Google Books exclusively. At a press held in San Francisco last Wednesday, Google announced that it would integrate digital textbooks to its eBook business. Starting from this month (August this year), students will be able to purchase or rent e-textbooks from Google Play Books, which can be achieved on iOS, Android as well as desktop webpage.

Google Play Books acclaimed to offer a "comprehensive selection of titles" from the primary textbook providers, which means students will be able to get textbooks of different genres and subjects they need. Textbooks will be offered at a discount of 80% (at most) and students can rent textbooks for a period of 6 months. However, this service is only available for US students by far.

In the meantime, Google also released a new Google Play Books app for iOS with textbook purchase and rental service added, which is likely to impact Apple's iBooks textbook offerings.


When using Google Play Books to read textbooks on the mobile devices (Nexus 7, iPad, iPhone, etc.), students can search (through the book, web or wikipedia), highlight, bookmark, take notes and switch reading modes. All highlights and notes will be auto synced across different smart devices under the same Google account.

When using Google Play Books to read textbooks on the mobile devices (Nexus 7, iPad, iPhone, etc.), students can search (through the book, web or wikipedia), highlight, bookmark, take notes and switch reading modes. All highlights and notes will be auto synced across different smart devices under the same Google account.


All the time, textbook cost is a big burden to most students. Google Play textbook purchase & rental service will no doubt benefit those who read a lot but can't afford much. Refer to this page if you also want to rent textbooks from Amazon.

MS Office app available on Android phones instead of Android tablets

PC users who have been used to MS Office all the way hope Microsoft will release a version for mobile devices. After Office for iPhone app released last month, the Android version eventually came to Android market (Last Wednesday). Cheers!

Compared to similar office apps free offered in Google Play, MS version requires a $100-a-year-subscription to Office (Office 365 subscription) and won't be sold separately. In addition, MS Office package will come in a simplified version with complex features removed, which may be more stable and have better compatibility than non-MS office apps, but not that functional as the desktop version. Note that Office 365 app can't be installed on Android OS lower than 4.0.

As with iPad, Microsoft does not offer a version for Android tablets while the fact is that most users prefer to view or edit docs on larger-display tablets when they have to use Office on the go. Windows (8) tablet users are lucky in this case as Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint come with Windows OS by default.

Although there is no MS Office for Android tablets provided, customers can rely on other office apps such as Kingsoft, QuickOffice and Olive Office. Refer to this post to use Office on Android tablets (Kindle Fire).

Leaked details of iBooks for Mac App

Months ago Apple announced they will release the latest version of Mac OS X in this fall in WWDC 2013, and the Mavericks will contains the iBooks for Mac app.

Days ago a Mac app developer shared some details of the iBooks for Mac app in his Mavericks developer preview on MobileRead. I extract the highlights and listed here:

• Text to Speech feature. It's no wonder that the iBooks for Mac supports TTS as the VoiceOver on Mac is pretty powerful and impeccable；
• Highlight a word to search the web/wikipedia;
• Share sentences by email, Message, etc.;
• Local ePub files loading;
• Collections feature like iBooks app for iOS;
• 7 fonts available: Athelas, Charter, Georgia, Iowan, Palatino, Seravek, Times New Roman;
• 3 themes available: White, Sepia, and Night;
• Sync last page read between different iBooks apps under same Apple account;

And the screenshot.

From the features list above, I personally think the iBooks app is more powerful than Kindle PC/Mac app. However, we will soon be able to get the official release.

Kobo to release a 10-inch Kobo Arc tablet

iPad, Nexus 10, Kindle Fire HD 8.9, Samsung Galaxy Note together with previous Nook HD + are what people talk about when it comes to a larger-display tablet. Yes, no Kobo Arc. I even have no idea that whether or not Kobo (the famous eBook&eReader provider from Canada) ever released a 9 inch or 10 inch model. I guess not. Anyway, the 10 inch model is rumored to come this fall, which is currently known as Kobo Arc 10 HD. Well, I personally think this title a bit too long. Kobo Arc 10 would be better, or simply a new name.

Strangely, that Kobo is to release an extra tablet model (the 10 inch model) more or less shows there is an appetite for android tablet while Barnes & Noble did a terrible job on the whole Nook HD line and was forced to vacuum up its Nook tablet models several months ago. At least, Kobo has profited from 7-inch Kobo Arc. It's likely that what Kobo indeed wants is simply a larger model, which can be used to counteract the larger models released by Amazon Kindle Fire, Google Nexus and Samsung Galaxy Note, instead of another costly yet striking model parallel to Kobo Aura (the best eReader by far). However, it is probably to be striking.

According to a post from GL Benchmarks, Kobo Arc 10 may come with following features (tech specs):
1. 10-inch display with a resolution of 2560*1600 pixels;
2. Powered by 1.5 GHz NVIDIA Tegra 4 ARM Cortex A15 quad core processor;
3. 2 G RAM supported;
4. Android 4.2 or 4.3 OS.

Kobo app comes to Blackberry Z10 and Blackberry Q10

Although most business people prefer to use Blackberry smartphones, apps for iOS or Android are far more sufficient than apps for Blackberry. Compared to heaps of Android reading apps with multi-formats supported, Blackberry 10 owners simply find it inconvenient to read eBooks on. Fortunately, one of the largest worldwide eBook providers, Kobo, eventually released Kobo app for BB 10 (or higher) last week (Jul, 14th), thereby users will be able to read Kobo EPUB books on BB phones, together with Kindle items.

Key features of Kobo app:

• Sync reading progress, bookmarks, notes and highlights across different devices.
• Reading mode customization supported: Day/Night mode, Portrait/Landscape mode, etc.
• Read and share eBooks/experiences/ideas in a social way: Reading Life and Reading Pulse supported. Readers are also able to share quotes, notes and book reviews to friends on Facebook and Twitter.
• 9 Languages supported: English, French, Spanish, Italian, German, Dutch, Portuguese, Brazilian Portuguese and Japanese.

What's more, people can transfer personal EPUB or PDF books to Kobo library via email, web and dropbox. eBooks from local public library are supported as well.

Previously, readers can only read Kindle books on Blackberry smartphones with Kindle app, which was released in March this year. Since Kobo has currently released reading app for Blackberry, readers have got more sources to get eBooks: Kobo eBook store, local library and considerable torrent sites offering EPUB/PDF books for free.

Kindle App Store Finally Meets NYTimes

If you can get an app in Google Play, it's not for sure you can also get it in Amazon Kindle App Store. New York Times app is was one of them.

But now, this app finally comes to Amazon Kindle App Store and available for all Kindle Fire users, who are also the group of people like reading most in the world.

In addition, the NYTimes app has specially customized for Kindle Fire to have a better performance on the hot Android tablet. To celebrate this event, NYTimes makes all of their contents free for users until Jul.31. After that users and read 3 articles for free per day and subscribe for more readings.

Key Features about NYTimes for Kindle Fire:

• Create a customized library of Times content. Save an article on your Kindle Fire then access it later from any computer or any device.
• Quickly search favorite articles to read, save and share.
• Read more comfortably in low-light situations with "Night Mode."
• Sit back and have your articles read aloud with text to speech.
• Join the conversation. View, add as well as speak your comments to articles and blogs.
• Quickly navigate, share and enjoy The Times's world-renowned journalism and multimedia.

So you have got a Kindle Fire or Kindle Fire HD, what the hell are you waiting for?

Sony PRS-T3 is coming

In last year's FCC (Federal Communications Commission), Sony PRS-T2 showed up and just one week later, they officially introduced PRS-T2 to market. And in this year, we saw PRS-T3, we guess it is T3 from the appearance, there is not a formal confirmation yet.

And at the moment, we just know it equipes a 3.6Wh battery and 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi, from the image we can get the size will be similar to T2.

According to some rumors, PRS-T3 uses the same HD e-ink screen as Sony's 13.3-inch Mobius, and will continually integrate Overdrive app.

And Sony will release PRS-T3 and the 13.3-inch HD reader in September, can't wait to see them.

Barnes & Noble to shift overwelming priorities to mobile area

Barnes & Noble nook business has been amid rumors of being purchased by Microsoft over the past few months. As a result of the unbearable losses in the hardware line, Barnes & Noble eventually gave up its own OS platform (customized Android OS) with Google appstore and related services integrated. What's more, although father's day was already over, Nook tablet promotion is still available with 7" HD tablet starting at $129 and 9" HD+ tablet starting at $149, which makes it evident that Barnes & Noble is taking a big clearance on Nook tablets.

In the meantime, Barnes & Noble mysteriously removed Nook for PC and Nook for Mac app download links from its webpage but remained Windows 8 and mobile versions (Nook for iOS/Android/). Although Barnes & Noble soon officially confirmed for this behavior, perhaps out of remarkable complaints from readers, it mysteriously added back the download links for PC and Mac in weeks.

No one knows what Barnes & Noble will do about Nook next. But a post from GoodeReader last Friday seems to show that Barnes & Noble will shift overwhelming priorities to the mobile area. It is said that Barnes & Noble will release an updated version of Nook for iOS app this summer with a full support of EPUB 3. Nook books are expected to sell on iOS as well. While Nook Kids app keeps performing well and has taken around 60% market share, there is no further saying about Nook tablets or Nook clients.

Since Nook only wants to close down the Nook hardware business, why did it try to discontinue Nook for desktop service? Whatever the real reason is, Nook customers are bound to suffer loss from it and probably lose their purchased Nook books. People paid for the books, but would no longer have access to them once Barnes & Noble Nook discontinued Nook DRM server at last. If you hope to save your Nook books, you can partly refer to this sideshow and strip Nook DRM in time.

4 Best IFTTT Kindle Tricks

IFTTT is a genius web service which simplify your internet life like a charm. I am addicted to it as soon as its release. Now there are dozens of recipes are working for me, they sync my files, push contents to my Kindle, send notification with SMS, etc.

As a Kindle user, I certainly want to make the most of IFTTT, so here I collect some most useful Kindle related IFTTT tricks.

1. When a new book is added to Kindle Top 100 Free eBooks, send me an email

This recipe is suitable for Amazon.com users, in another word, US Kindle users. The trigger is amazon.com's top 100 free book rss feed, once there adds a new item, IFTTT will send you a notification email.

Get the recipe: https://ifttt.com/recipes/37024

2. Convert and send books and documents (PDF, doc...) from Dropbox to your Kindle as .azw ebook

First you need to create a new folder in dropbox and name it as "convert2kindle" and make it public, when a new file is added into this dropbox folder, it will be converted to .azw ebook and push to your Kindle. And the file must be convertable, for instance, you can't add a zip or avi file for converting.

Drop your documents in the folder dropbox/public/convert2kindle and they will be converted to Kindle's .azw ebook format and sent to your device via email (to your @free.kindle.com address.) Remove the files after sync or they will be sent multiple times. You can change the subfolder to whatever you want, it will be created automatically.

Get the recipe: https://ifttt.com/recipes/11827

3. Rss Feed Items to Kindle (via @free.kindle.com)

In this recipe you need to customize these 2 blanks, in "Feed URL", fill in the rss feed url you want to subscribe, for example, if you want to auto-push our blog's new post to your Kindle, please input "http://feeds.feedburner.com/blogspot/zvVPQ", and "To address" please input "your userid@free.kindle.com".

Get the recipe: https://ifttt.com/recipes/1291

4. Sync Pocket to Instapaper (for Kindle reading)

Instapaper offers a built-in send to kindle feature, but Pocket has gathered more users since it changed name from "Read it later", therefore this recipe is pretty useful for Pocket users.

First please register on both Pocket and Instapaper, and setup your Kindle account in Instapaper setting page.

Then active Pocket and Instapaper channels in IFTTT and use this recipe: https://ifttt.com/recipes/12637.

Now when you add a content into Pocket, it will push to your Kindle via Instapaper.

New eBook (document) DRM named SIDIM is coming

It has been disputed for long that whether or not eBook DRM protection should be abolished. Although DRM scheme is able to stem eBook piracy, it does make it tough to read eBooks on multi-platforms or share books with family members despited of some limited remission. At present, most eBook stores keep selling DRM-protected eBooks, but there have been a small group of providers thinking of customers and selling DRM-free titles to readers, such as Tor and O'Reilly.

Besides Amazon Kindle DRM and Barnes & Nook DRM (eReader PDB DRM), most EPUB and PDF books on the market are protected with ADE (Adobe Digital Editions) DRM, which can be easily cracked as long as the owners of the books read the protected books on ADE authorized with their Adobe ID and then use an Adobe DRM removal tool such as Epubor. Some other eBooks are protected with watermark, which does not encrypt the book content specifically but marks the books with the book owner's info.

According to GoodeReader, a new type of German eBook (doc) DRM named SIDIM is coming, aiming to crack down on document DRM piracy with content encryption as well as invisible marking technique. It is funded by the Federal Ministry for Education and Research and launched by Fraunhofer project.

How does SIDIM (Secure documents by individual marking) work?
When the owner gets the book with SIDIM for the first time, the book comes with correct content. But every time it is copied, the content of the book will be partly replaced or encrypted at random. The variation will be applied to every generated version and people who get the book after many copies will find it simply unreadable. In the meantime, publishers have tools to detect the pirated copy and find out the real owner.

The new DRM scheme seems to prevent piracy and content copy in an excessively rigorous way. Although it is said to enable users to transfer books to another device more efficiently, there are no more details. Another question is, how can we share a doc (or an eBook) with another computer of ours? Will it be treated as a behavior of transfer or copy?

How IOS 7 Learns Design from Other Apps and OS

Apple introduces iOS 7 in WWDC 2013. Many people think this is the most important and bold update for iOS in last 5 years, and many new designs and features are "deja-vu" in our eyes.

So I collects some iOS 7 elements which can find an aspiration source.

 Many built-in apps

Weather

Photos

Calendar

Safari

Navigation Bar

And More...

• Wallpaper --- Phase Beam (Android)
• Swipe to backward --- Swipenav (Jailbreak Plugin)
• Folders --- FolderEnhancer (Jailbreak Plugin)
• Lock screen notifications --- Bulletin
• Password to unlock --- Meizu Flyme (Chinese cellphone's customized Android)

Will you prefer the $149 ASUS Memo Pad HD to the $199 Google Nexus 7?

Google Nexus 7 is an excellent tablet coming with terrific tech specs at a reasonable price ($199). It is actually recommended by many geeks to guys who want to have a good tablet but can't afford a more expensive device, such as iPad or iPad mini. Despite of the Tegra quad-core processor, 1280*800 pixel screen and a series of useful sensors, Nexus 7 can be a bit cheaper. Or for people who are after budget tablets, it is still a bit expensive. Fortunately, the ASUS Memo Pad HD is coming, at a cheaper price of $149.

Speaking of cheaper tablets, you may immediately think of Kindle Fire (not HD) and a few other unpopular models. However, you will spend money on none of these items as long as you know something about them: Kindle Fire is based on a terribly customized Android OS and other models are too lousy to use. This is not the case when it comes to ASUS Memo Pad HD. Do you remember the manufacturer of Nexus 7? Yes, Nexus 7 is manufactured by ASUS, so does Memo Pad HD!

So we don't need to worry about the quality about this cheap gadget. Now let's talk about hardware. To cut costs, Google removes rear camera and SD card slot from the device. As an owner of Nexus 7, I feel very unpleasant when I have to turn to my small-size phone every time I want to take pictures and share on social communities. It is great that the ASUS Memo Pad HD adds a rear camera and SD card slot. So it is complete! What's more, it sells at $149 only. It is said that there will be a $129 version (8G) for people in developing countries.

As to OS, ASUS adds something new to the pure Android 4.2, such as App locker to help protect some important apps. Apparently, this will bring more convenience and better user experience to customers instead of simple iterations of other cheap Android devices.

Probably, Memo Pad HD will become a big threat to the current Google Nexus 7. Hopefully the second Nexus 7 is coming soon.

Here is a video review of ASUS Memo Pad HD.

Will Kobo become the No.1 rival of Amazon Kindle?

Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook used to be the biggest leaders in the eBook & eReader market. When Amazon is expanding its eBook business in foreign countries, Barnes & Noble takes an over-conservative strategy with very little investment in non-US regions. Even so, B & N Nook line does not show satisfactory performance in the US market. It is even rumored that Nook line will be purchased by Microsoft. Anyway, Barnes & Noble is not a strong opponent of Amazon any more.

In the meantime, Canadian eReader manufacturer, Kobo, is rapidly growing and zealously expanding into new markets. According to the Q1 financial report, the Kobo's overall revenue has received a continuous increase by roughly 98 percent, in both hardware and digital content. The newly released high-end eReader, Kobo Aura HD, has largely contributed to the growth of Kobo devices, which took up to around one third of the total hardware sales in Q1. What's more, downloads of Kobo for Android app has experienced an unprecedented growth up 378 percent.

At first, readers in countries like Canada and Australia, might be forced to choose Kobo eReaders or eBooks as they couldn't access Amazon Kindle in their countries at that time. When it is possible to choose from the two brands, some people will still select Kobo. A case in point is that Kobo Aura HD shows a higher resolution and better reading experience (such as a special page-turning design on the backside) than the popular Kindle PW (Kobo Aura vs. Kindle Paperwhite). On the other hand, eBooks in non-US Amazon eBook stores are not as rich as that in Amazon.com.  

It's no doubt that Amazon will fully enter the Chinese market soon with its Kindle devices after the official release of Amazon eBook store and Chinese Kindle for PC yesterday (2, June). In all eventualities, Kobo will break into new markets including China and India in the next few months. Then Kobo will become the only brand that is capable to compete with Amazon Kindle.

Amazon Kindle will enter China soon?

The photo above is from Chinese most popular microblog, Weibo. Someone called "Mr_各种浪" post this photo into his Weibo and then it spreads all the chinese tech blogs on hours.

The photo is taken in a big chinese general merchandise called "Suning", which is similar to "Best Buy". And we can get these information from the photo:

• This is an Amazon's shoppe, we can see amazon.cn from the photo;
• From the Billboard on the counter, we can see they are advertising the Kindle Paperwhite, meanwhile the slogans are written in Chinese;
• The counter is empty inside, and the employees in "Suning" said they have no idea about if this counter is going to sell Kindle devices in the future.

Recently Amazon stated they are going opening pre-order of Kindle Fire HD in over 170 countries, but China is not in the list. 

But in fact, many Chinese youth love Kindle. In "Taobao" (chinese eBay), tens of thousands (at least) of Kindles are sold per month, and the main sources are USA and Japan. 

FYI, Amazon has already opened eBook store, Cloud service, and app store in China. We believe the device is definitely on the schedule.

---

Upldate:
The latest rumors say that Amazon will enter China on June 7th, with Kindle e-ink devices and Kindle Fire HD tablets.

Jun. 2, 2013. Amazon.cn has already released Kindle for PC/Mac clients, while even amazon.co.jp has only Kindle app for Android/iOS.

Barnes & Noble will add web browser and email app to Nook Simple Touch

Barnes & Noble has occupied less and less market share over the past years regardless of the rising eBook field. Unlike Amazon and Kobo, it confines itself to the US region, partly leading to the stagnation. Less competitive eco-system and devices just make things worse.

A big event about Barnes & Noble recently was that it eventually gave up its STRICTLY customized Android OS and added Google Play app store as well as other Google services & applications such as Google Chrome to its latest Nook HD tablets. As a result, owners of Nook HD don't have to root their Nook devices anymore and can easily access free Google Paly without losing original Nook content.

This act has brought about good effects expectedly. More people now talk about Nook HD tablets and prefer to this model when considering buying a tablet suitable for eBooks. Obviously, if we want to purchase eBooks from other stores such as Barnes & Noble on the Kindle Fire HD, we almost have to root it (although you don't have to do so), while we can easily access Kindle books on Nook tablets with Kindle for Android app installed.

Good things come in pairs. According to TechCrunch, Barnes & Noble will also add some revolutionary features to Nook Simple Touch and Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight, with web browser and email app supported. After all, people check emails and browse the Internet at intervals in addition to pure eBook reading.

Amazon has walked away from Barnes & Noble in the eBook & eReader race, but Barnes & Noble is trying to find other possibilities. Despite that Kindle Paperwhite has shown excellent performance in the market, the $79 Nook Simple Touch, which has a fashionable touch screen and supports widely-used EPUB format, appears to be a better option than the $69 Kindle (5-way-controller) for people looking for a basic eReader.

5 Requisite Free Apps for BlackBerry Z10 and Q10

I don't know at the moment there are how many people think BB 10 OS and cellphones can pull BlackBerry back from the cliff. And I personally believe the amount is decreasing. I do agree that Z10 and Q10 are good cellphones, but we all cannot deny that the lack of popular apps are killing people's decision for buying a brand new BlackBerry cellphone.

However, BlackBerry are working hard to fix this issue up. So we can still recommend you some requisite apps for BB Z10 and Q10.

Kindle

The must-have app for eBook lovers, although delayed for dozens of days, it finally comes to BB10 on March and hit the 100,000 record for apps amount in BlackBerry App World.

And to be honest, the quality of this app can't compare to the iOS or Android versions, if you have the same opinion, you can read your eBooks on BB10 in some alternative ways.

Download the app here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/25058915/?countrycode=US

Whatsapp

The superstar app on all the mobile platforms, you can almost use this app to replace the built-in SMS feature or even the calling feature.

This app is free for the first year on BlackBerry 10.

Download the app here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/2360/?lang=en&countrycode=US

Songza

An important option for listening to music on your BB10 cellphone. You can choose a scene and it will plays the right songs for you. Like waking up, feeling confident, working out, etc.

Download the app here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/21872020/?countrycode=US

Angry Birds Star Wars

A rare high-rating app in BlackBerry App World with a 4.5 star review. This is a fresh series of Angry Birds and it is totally free for BB10.

While this app costs $0.99 in Apple AppStore. 

Download it here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/20385188/?countrycode=US

Accuweather

In fact, the built-in weather app of BB10 is offered by AccuWeather, but this independent app has got a much more powerful features and function.

It offers satellite maps, 10-day forecasts, barometric pressure and many other parameters. And the UI is pretty elegant. An awesome weather app.

Download the app here: http://appworld.blackberry.com/webstore/content/20143/?countrycode=US

Nook HD or Kindle Fire HD: Nook tablets come with distinct advantages

Due to a preference for Amazon or Barnes & Noble, readers typically prefer to Kindle Fire HD (8.9") or Nook HD (+) when they consider buying a tablet. But when people have either tablet at hand, they would realize a serious problem. The customized Android OS keeps people away from Google Play apps and makes it tough to use YouTube or Yahoo on the tablets. In the end, many people are forced to root their devices. Fortunately, Barnes & Noble recently announced to add Google Play to its Nook tablets, which means people will be able to read both Nook eBooks and eBooks from other stores with corresponding reading apps installed, such as Kindle / Kobo for Android app and third party apps with Adobe DRM supported. Besides, users can easily get free entertainment apps from Google Play.

As Mother's Day is coming, Barnes & Noble has launched a one-week (from May 6 to May 12) promotion. The 7-inch Nook HD 8G now sells at $149 and the 16G sells at $179 with a discount of $50. The 9-inch Nook HD + price at 179 (16G) and 209 (32G) with a discount of $90.

Use Google Play on Nook HD

The Nook HD devices will get updated automatically if there is WIFI connected. People can also go to Barnes & Noble to download the updates manually.

After the updates, people will be able to download apps, music and movies from Google Play and the original app / film / music libraries won't be affected. Google Gmail will be added as well, alongside with Nook's built-in email app. On the other hand, Google Chrome will replace the original browser on Nook.

Nook HD or Kindle Fire HD?

More people voted for Kindle Fire HD in the past, largely because there are cheaper eBooks and more complete ecosystem on Amazon. Actually, Kindle Fire HD tablets come with less competitive tech specs than its opponent (Nook HD vs. Kindle Fire HD). Now that Nook tablets have added Google Play, people can not only purchase and read Kindle books on Nook, but also benefit from other apps & services provided by Google.

iPad Mini beat iPad in Q1 2013: a battle between 7" and 10"

People often hesitate between 7 inch and 10 inch (or so) when it comes to tablets. Apparently, larger display  offers much better user experience but smaller display is typically big enough and far more portable. Judging from the sales of apple iPad, people has shown preference for smaller tablets.

According to a post by DigiTimes, apple sold 12.5 million units of iPad Mini over the past three months, taking 64 percent of the tally of 19.5 units, which means less than half customers preferred to the full-size iPad when they had selected apple. Last year, apple sold 17 million iPads in Q3 and 14 million models in Q4. iPad sales decreased by 50 percent in the first quarter, although the total sales (plus iPad mini sales) is not bad. 

Many people thought apple made a wrong decision when it released 7 inch iPad Mini last year, landing both iPad and iPod Touch in an awkward situation. Now the fact is that 7 inch tablets has won the market. Compared to limited 10 inch tablets including iPad, Surface Pro / RT and 8.9 inch Kindle Fire HD, more people are talking about various 7 inch titles such as Nexus 7, iPad Mini, Kindle Fire HD and the like. Moreover, Microsoft updated the required resolution for Win 8-based tablets months ago, planning to break into the smaller market as well.

On the other hand, there are people who are opposed to tablets. They think tablets are almost useless as they do what large-size smart phones do with the calling function removed and can't replace portable computer for good. "In five years I don't think there'll be a reason to have a tablet anymore," BlackBerry CEO Thorsten Heins said in a recent interview.

Android eReader apps to read eBooks to you with Text-to-Speech

Compared to official reading apps such as Nook or Kindle, 3rd party reading apps are also very popular as they offer a better way to support personal books and mostly come with richer features and more customized settings. Here are a couple of Android reading apps with Text-to-Speech feature, which enables readers to listen to eBooks when they are tired with reading or read on the go.

1. FBReader

Price: free
Supported Formats: EPUB, RTF, FB2(.ZIP), MOBI, and plain TEXT
Requires Android: Varies with device



FBReader is the first android eReader I would recommend to you. It provides versatile features as well as 5 language-supported (English, French, Spanish, German and Itanian) Text-to-Speech (TTS) function. Free yet no ads. Note that both the TTS module and dictionary module have to be downloaded separately (free). Refer to this guide to read and listen to Kindle books on Android (Nexus 7)

2. Cool Reader

Price: free
Supported Formats: EPUB (NON-DRM), FB2, DOC, TXT, RTF, HTML, CHM, TCR, PDB, PRC, MOBI and PML
Requires Android: 1.5 and up


Cool Reader is another free reading app delivering excellent reading experience. No ads. Every icon is elaborately designed, integrated but easy-to-use. Tap the “More” icon then “Read Aloud” to start the built-in TTS module. Users are able to set the speech volume and rate. This app itself is very nice but the interface of TTS appears a bit rough and only supports English.

3. Moon + Reader Pro

Price: $4.99
Supported Formats: EPUB, PDF, MOBI, CHM, CBR, CBZ, UMD, FB2, TXT, HTML, RAR, ZIP and OPDS formats
Requires Android: 2.2 and up



The TTS function only works on the paid version. It does well in highlighting & noting and has a strong ability to deal with PDF files. It might not stand out at first sight but offers a collection of minor yet useful features such as a combination of dropbox. The TTS function only supports English, but works nice with flexible control available.

4. Mantano Ebook ReaderPremium

Price: $6.99
Supported Formats: EPUB (Adobe DRM supported), PDF (Adobe DRM supported)
Requires Android: 2.3 and up



I fell in love with this app when I used it the first time. It has a very nice UI and supports Adobe DRM encrypted EPUB and PDF books very well. Similar to Moon + Reader Pro, Mantano shows a good performance to cope with PDF files. The TTS function is just placed on the bottom menu bar and easy to access. Refer to this post to listen to eBooks with Mantano.

The speech generated by Text-to-Speech engine is dull and robotic. If you listen to books a lot, buying audio books will be a better option.