Mobiles apps for reading – Analysis

This text has first been published by Apps-It. We publish it here because it is still relevant.

More and more people now read on digital devices. We can’t deny this trend. Although some people – such as myself – still prefer the physical book, it seems that technological devices will soon dethrone good old paper books. Perhaps I’ll be the only one still smelling the odour of ink, paper and glue in 5 years. Perhaps the epiphany will strike me until then. Who knows? But, in the meantime, here are some apps for those who like reading on the multiple digital devices currently available.

Wattpad

This app is quite simple in itself. It allows to write, share and read texts written by the users. Although some professional novels find their way there, emphasis is put on amateur authors.

All styles can be found there, or almost. You can find short stories, novels, poems, etc. in all genres: romance,chicklit, horror, detective story, spiritual, humor, suspense and many others.

The Discovery option allows you “to discover” authors or stories that meet your criteria. You can like your favourite stories so that the app’s algorithms can better advise you on what to read. Then, like for all good social media, you can follow your favourite authors so you never miss their new texts. You can also choose the language in which you wish to read your stories. Although English is the most common language, an interesting selection of texts in French is starting to appear.

Covers by Wattpad

I will not spend too much time on this mobile app, because it is strictly linked to Wattpad. If you publish on it, you will enjoy creating book covers for your stories. That’s what Covers is for. Easy to use, it will allow you to add a little something when you decide to circulate your works.

Kindle

This app allows users to read Kindle ebooks on an Android interface. It will give you access to more than 1.2 million books, including best sellers and latest arrivals. You can also subscribe to popular newspapers and magazines.

A very interesting point about this app is that it allows you to do a search in a document. Therefore, you can easily find a passage or a character and read it again and again. And, obviously, Kindle suggests you titles that you might enjoy.

Google Play books

This app allows you to buy and store books. It also offers you the possibility to read an excerpt before buying. Since the purchase is linked to the buyer’s Google account, the book, once downloaded, is available on all the user’s platforms.

Play books also offers many customization options. We can easily switch from day to night mode, add highlight orwrite notes in the margins, display text in portrait or landscape mode and select the characters fonts and size, line heights and much more.

A useful app for Android users.

Kobo

Kobo is an app allowing you to buy and read in a direct and mobile manner. Kobo says it offers almost 2 millions free books and has more than 2 million books on sale. Just like Google Play books, Kobo offers the

possibility to read excerpts before buying a book. It also features a large array of customization.

In fact, Kobo seems to be Google Play books’ equivalent, but for the Kobo platform. A small interesting detail, this one offers a social aspect with sharing options, and a “gamification” side in which the user earns points.

In conclusion, each of those apps can be interesting. In fact, depending on the platform you are using, you will be guided to the one that makes the most sense for you.

On that note, good reading!