Aldiko officially released their new updated Android app today, the much anticipated version 2.0, which adds support for Adobe DRM’d EPUB and PDF ebooks and even library ebooks.
I’ve been testing Aldiko 2.0 on the Nook Color this morning and am very impressed. It is quite possibly the best reading app out there. They’ve added several new features and have streamlined the menu system and UI.
The greatest thing about it is that, after authorizing it with my Adobe ID, I easily loaded a DRM’d EPUB from the Nook’s SD card. This particular ebook, like so many, suffers from horrible formatting—huge line-spacing and margins, spacing between paragraphs and indentation. But the Aldiko app overrides all that nonsense so that you can format the layout how you like it.
You can modify the margins, text size, font type and color, background color, text alignment and spacing, and adjust the brightness and screen orientation.
Other upgrades to the app include a new ebook marketplace, they’ve improved the dictionary, bookmark, and search functions, they added a copy text feature, sharing, made the import process much easier, and more.
This makes the Aldiko app the best Adobe EPUB reader out there. Most ereading devices and apps are stuck using the default layout and have at best two or three font types. The biggest downside with the app is that it requires Android 2.1, so all those tablets and phones running 2.0 and lower are left with the older version.
The Aldiko 2.0 app can be downloaded from the Android Market, the QR code is on the Aldiko website, and here’s the apk file download from the Aldiko Customer Support.
Here’s the complete list of updates and a video demo:
- Supporting ePub and PDF eBook formats, as well as Adobe DRM
- A new eBook marketplace for you to access eBooks from different booksellers at one place
- Fully customizable reading experience: font type, font size, font and background colors, margin, alignment, line spacing, brightness, display orientation and navigation control are all adjustable to fit your personal reading preference
- Rich features including bookmark, dictionary, full-text search, copy and paste, day/night themes, table of content, progress bar, hyphenation support as well as sharing your favorite texts/quotes in a book
- An advanced library management system which enables you to sort books by different criteria as well as organize books by tags and collections
- A new import feature which make it even easier for you to transfer all your ePub and PDF files to Aldiko and read them on the go.
- A “My Catalog” feature which allows you to add your own eBook catalogs
- Supporting eBooks from public libraries and enabling you to return your borrowed eBooks right within the app
Does it also support the B&N DRM?
How do you enable hyphenation on the lite version?
Or it is only for the paid version?
Hyphenation appears to be turned on by default by my experience using the lite version.
Lots of enhancement in this version, but it still ignores certain style properties in style sheet, such as my desire to have selective paragraphs display without indentation. Also I have found if I use color at all in the EPUBs such as for the headings, the night reading feature turns all of the text black. If I turn off the style sheet, then the night reading works, but then headings are no longer centered and the images always appear twice.
P.S.
I paid $2.99 in the Android Marketplace for this APP. I didn’t see you mention that in your post and I noticed you have a link to it on Aldiko’s support page. I wonder if that is an error on their part to have a link for it?
The paid version is supposed to add some extra functionality—I don’t know what exactly. This APK is for the free version.
It does not support B&N DRM, Willem. (Sorry I missed your question; it must’ve snuck by me.)
Oh okay. They updated the free version as well.
Kind of slow…
Did some more ‘testing’.
I love the new home screen and how all the items work. Big plus: it’s working flawlessly with Calibre content server via WiFi. Overall good re-design.
The problem is the application is significantly slower than the old one. Book loading, chapter loading, even the page turn is noticeably slower. It seems they have some rushed code in there. Now that the new interface is finalized and looks awesome, perhaps they would put some time in code optimization. I hope to see an update addressing this issue.
I don’t think Android 2.1 is required. I have a Samsung Galaxy Tablet running Android 2.0 and I am using Aldiko 2.0.
Ah, but the Samsung Galaxy Tab runs Android 2.2. How do you like it?
You are so right. I don’t know what I was thinking. Android 2.2. I love it. Although I don’t think it deserves the title of tablet. It is more of a giant smartphone or phone tablet. It is perfect for me because that is exactly what I wanted it for.
Any word on this being made available for iPhones and iPads? Also, I assume that to run it on a Nook you have to have hacked it, correct?
Yeah it works great on a hacked Nook. I don’t know about iDevices. Strange that they don’t have one for them.
Will the Adilko 2.0 work with Google Ebook downloads? Their
program is much to be desired.
Yes, it works with Adobe DRM, the same as Google eBooks.
I followed your instructions for downloading apps and it downloaded but I still can’t download books except on kobo. I was using the epub and my reader tells me that I don’t have the app to open them. What am I doing wrong?
Have you authorized Aldiko for Adobe DRM?
Does it support landscape viewing and pinch zooming of PDFs on the(rooted)Nook Simple Touch e reader?
It supports landscape but the Nook doesn’t support pinch-zooming.
How good is Aldiko for viewing PDFs with images and illustrations like graphs and figures on the(rooted)Nook ST?
And should I go for the nook ST or Sony PRS-T1 for viewing PDF’s(which is my main reason for getting an e reader in the 1st place)?
Like I always say: no 6-inch ereader is going to be very good for PDFs. The Sony is a lot better than the Nook.
It seems Aldiko 2.0.1 and beyond is not compatible on rooted Nook ST any more.