Did you know that you can run the premium version of FBReader on Onyx’s Boox devices for free? Apparently that’s been the case for the past half decade, but I didn’t know about it.
I saw this post on reddit saying that FBReader Premium is free on all Onyx devices, so I gave it a try and it does indeed work. FBReader doesn’t appear to advertise this fact much, but it does say this on their website: “If both Google Play Services and Huawei AppGallery are not installed on your device or if your device is an Onyx e-ink reader, you can run the Premium for free.”
The FBReader app even has a setting for E Ink screens, unlike most ebook apps, so that helps it look and run better. The page buttons on my Boox Go 7 Color even work without any configuring, and the app runs surprisingly smooth with a few tweaks to Onyx’s app refresh settings.
FBReader Premium sells for $11.99 on Android so being able to get it for free on Boox devices is pretty cool. However, if you try to install it directly from the Google Play Store on your Boox device it won’t show up as free; you have to sideload the app.
You can download the latest version of the FBReader Premium apk from this page on the FBReader website. Then navigate to the downloads folder on your Boox device and tap the file to install it.
FBReader supports a number of common ebook formats, including EPUB, AZW3, FB2, PDF, RTF, DOC, HTML, and comic formats (CBR and CBZ). The app also supports Readium LCP DRM, but not Adobe DRM.
The premium version also supports reading aloud (text-to-speech) and translations. The app also supports cross-platform syncing and using custom fonts. It’s worth checking out if you have an Onyx device.
IIRC FBReader has been around for a very long time. How does it compare to NeoReader in your opinion?