Sony has launched a mobile eBook Reader app for Google Android. It’s now available for download from the Android Market. The app supports Android 2.2 and up. An iOS version is expected soon.
Reader for Android can handle books in EPUB and PDF formats, as well as titles download from Sony’s Reader Store. The app is also one of the few mobile eBook readers that supports Adobe DRM. Unfortunately I haven’t found a way to import books from public libraries or other stores that use Adobe DRM. Inserting them into the Sony folder on the SD card doesn’t seem to work, nor does opening the .acsm file on the Android device.
The good news is the Sony Reader app is reasonably pleasant to use. You can easily adjust the font size and screen brightness from any book, jump to a page, search for text, or add bookmarks.
The home screen is divided into a few different sections including recent books at the top, a scrollable list of all your books in the middle, and favorites, bookmarks, and highlights below. There’s also a link the Sony Reader Store, which opens in your default web browser.
Probably the best reason to download the Sony Reader app is if you already use the Sony Reader Daily Edition (PRS-950SC), because you can synchronize your bookmarks, highlights, and reading position between the Android app and the Daily Edition so you can pick up reading on one device where you left off on the other.
If you’re not a Sony Reader user, there’s another good reason to give the app a try: It comes with 6 free eBooks including 3 classics and 3 newer titles.
The bad news is that the Sony Reader Store doesn’t seem to have much in the way of free titles. When I looked for public domain titles by Mark Twain and Jane Austen which would be free from many other stores, the cheapest versions I could find in the Reader Store ran $0.95. The app is also a bit of a storage hog, eating up more than 8MB of storage, and that’s after moving the app to the SD card. That might not sound like a lot, but given how little storage space is available on many older (and some newer) Android phones, every megabyte counts.
Not being able to import ePub books is a big downer. What good is the ability to support Adobe DRM if all it does is lock you into the Sony Reader store selection? Here’s hoping they change things or this app won’t be very useful for me.
Sony was the first, or one of the first, to permit download of books from the library. It is extremely simple using the Reader Store software or using Adobe Digital Editions. You can also download books via Overdirve Media. So check again – I think you’ve missed something.
Nope. The Sony Reader desktop software doesn’t appear to recognize my Android phone running the Sony Reader app, and there’s no information about Android in the help files. If there’s a way to sync library purchases (or other books) with the desktop software, it’s not obvious.
this was awonder .thank you.. for sony reader at http://www.muselibrary.org/