[Special Feature] Reading Viewer for Android "i Bunko for Android" Trial Report-In addition to Aozora Bunko, it can also be used as a PDF / ZIP compressed JPEG viewer-PC Watch

Reading on iPhone or iPad On the 18th, ACCESS released an Android compatible version of the famous viewer application "ibunko", which is also called "ibunko for Android". The compatible OS is Android OS 2.1 or higher, the resolution is 480 x 800 dots or higher, and popular Android devices such as Galaxy S, Galaxy Tab, IS03 and Xperia are listed among the models that have been confirmed to work. .

This time, I will deliver the first impression of the first version (1.00) of this application that has just been released in combination with the Samsung Android terminal "GALAXY Tab" owned by the author.

Until now, speaking of i Bunko, there were two products, "i Bunko" for iPhone and "i Bunko HD" for iPad, but i The latter, “i Bunko HD,” is probably the reason why the app name “Bunko” became widely known to the public. In addition to being able to read Aozora Bunko, it also supports browsing of PDF and ZIP-compressed JPEG data on hand, so it boasts strong popularity not only among book lovers but also among self-catering people. It was announced almost at the same time as the iPad, and even now, several months after its announcement, it is still in the top 10 most popular paid apps on the App Store.

By the way, the newly released “iBunko for Android” is the iPad version of “iBunko It is based on the functions of HD. In the end, based on a home screen that looks like a bookshelf, the app has both a function as a viewer for Aozora Bunko and a function to read PDF and ZIP-compressed JPEG files.

As a basic interface, in addition to the "bookshelf" corresponding to the home screen, the "Aozora Bunko" screen that displays the library of Aozora Bunko, the "Folder" screen that displays the data in the folder, and the "Settings" screen. It is divided into four screens. Manma "i Bunko HD". The bookshelf-like home screen is designed not only to provide excellent overview, but also to satisfy the user's desire to own it.

As far as it goes, it follows almost that of i Bunko HD. In addition to turning pages by tapping and swiping, zooming in and out by double-tapping and pinching out, the effect when turning pages and turning the main unit 90 degrees are also the same. The movement is as smooth as the iPad, but this may depend on the hardware specifications, so for the time being, I will only comment that "GALAXY Tab moves as smoothly as the iPad". Please check the video to see how it actually works.

In the iBunko series, well-known works from Aozora Bunko are pre-arranged as shortcuts on the bookshelf, and can be downloaded and opened simply by clicking on them. . The remaining works can also be easily added to the bookshelf by following the index such as author and history, and can be downloaded and read.

This “ibunko for Android” also follows the same mechanism as before, and “Recommended 1” to “Recommended A total of 151 Aozora Bunko works are stored on a total of four bookshelves. This number is exactly the same as that of "i Bunko". The reason why the number of books stored is less than 230, which is the number of books stored in "i Bunko HD", seems to be because picture book content such as "Anausa Peter's Story" is omitted. By the way, ACCESS, the developer, says that more than 10,000 Aozora Bunko books can be used in total.

When you select a work from the bookshelf, the download will start, and when it is completed, it will start up and display in one-page mode. When displayed on a 7-inch GALAXY Tab, it is easy to read because it is almost the same size as a paperback book. When displaying on a 3.5 to 4 inch smartphone, it is recommended to change the font size to make it easier to read.

In addition to this, i Bunko HD etc. As with , customization such as switching the binding direction, adjusting the operation method, setting margins, and changing the background image can be performed. It is only i Bunko that it is possible to customize in detail according to such tastes.

There are several Android apps that can read Aozora Bunko, such as "Aozora Reader" and "Vertical Writing Viewer", but the screen appearance and operability are different. Regarding the ease of customization and content addition, I feel that ibunko has a point when I actually use it. However, since this application is paid, the evaluation will change depending on how much attention is paid to usability.

Unlike the Aozora Bunko viewer function, which has some competing apps, the viewer function for PDF and ZIP-compressed JPEG data is likely to quickly become the favorite among other apps. For users who have a lot of self-catering data for books, this function must be a big favorite.

Currently, viewers that can view PDFs and ZIP-compressed JPEGs on Android include the original "Adobe Reader" and the paid application "ezPDFReader" as PDF viewers, and "Perfect Viewer" and "jjcomics Viewer" for ZIP-compressed JPEG viewers. However, there are problems such as the operability of each application being slightly peculiar and the binding direction not being compatible with switching. Also, at least for the apps listed here, you can't see both PDF and ZIP-compressed JPEG, and you had to switch the viewer itself to read data in each format.

This "i Bunko for Android" supports both PDF and ZIP compression JPEG, and also supports right binding. It also supports two-page spread display when the main unit is rotated, so if it is a tablet-sized device, it is possible to display manga etc. in almost full size. The page-turning effects are beautiful, and you can turn them off if you don't need them for a quick transition.

By the way, actually One thing that bothered me after using it was that there were some jaggies in the image. Originally, the image quality of iBunko HD is not exceptionally beautiful, and compared to other viewers, a slightly jagged feeling can be seen, but this tendency has not changed with this application. For example, with the above-mentioned "Perfect Viewer", you can choose from six options as the image smoothing method: nearest neighbor method / average pixel method / average pixel method v2 / bilinear interpolation / bicubic interpolation / Lanczos3. If you are concerned about jaggies in the image, you can switch between these for optimization. Also, "i Bunko HD" has a menu called "image interpolation processing" in the setting screen, and it was possible to adjust it in four stages: default, none, low, and high.

However, this application does not have this feature, so basically there is nothing you can do about it even if jaggies occur. It may be difficult because it seems to affect the internal processing speed, but if the data is mainly sentences, it will not be a problem, and in manga, which has a lot of expressions using screen tones, switching this will lead to a reduction in moire. There are many, so I would like to request implementation.

Another thing that bothered me after using it for a while was the page speed. When flipping through with , "Loading" is displayed, and depending on the case, there are cases where it hangs. When reading normally, one page is opened at a time and turned over, so it seems that there is no practical problem, but I am a little concerned because the iPad supports such movements. Also, when I displayed the first volume of Mr. Ume's "Tokyo Toy Box", which was used as a display sample in product reviews, the horizontal magnification was not displayed correctly. As far as I tried several other PDFs sold in "pub", there is no problem, and it is a little worrisome.

Anyway, the benefits of being able to view Japanese content such as comics correctly on the right and in both PDF and ZIP compressed JPEG formats all in one are great. At the moment, the links in the page do not work, so it does not support jumps in PDFs or advertisement links in J comics, but the developer's site has announced that links will be available in the future, so click here can also be expected.

In addition, regarding the method of importing data, if it is a model that can use microSD like the GALAXY Tab used this time, it is easy to import a large amount of data. In addition, data imported via Dropbox is saved in the "sdcard/dropbox" folder, so you can refer to it here. ● An app that is worth buying as a standard

The main reading terminal for me now is gradually shifting from the iPad so far to the GALAXY Tab on which this application is installed. However, the main reason for this was "because the size is affordable", not because the reading viewer app was good. It could be said that it was a situation where it was not strange to return to the iPad at any time.

However, the "iBunko for Android" that we tried this time has succeeded in almost completely porting the operability of the iPad version "iBunko HD", and it has been found in reading viewer apps for Android so far. The problem has been almost completely resolved. There are some behaviors that seem to be bugs, such as hangs when turning pages continuously, and the aspect ratio of some PDFs is displayed incorrectly, but it is excellent that the first release has been completed so far. I feel that It's a result that I think it's okay to switch to the GALAXY Tab completely as it is.

However, there are some parts that do not conform to Android's unique operation method because they tried to completely port the operability of the iPhone / iPad version. For example, when you press the back button to return to the previous screen, the app itself ends, or there is another button on the screen that has the same function as the menu button. In other words, the buttons unique to Android have not been successfully incorporated into the operation system. Therefore, users who are accustomed to this application on iPhone will find it easy to use with the same operability, but users who are accustomed to Android's operability may feel somewhat unfriendly. .

However, this depends on how you think about it, and it makes sense if you think that the operability of the iPhone was ported first, and from the point of view of users who have migrated from iPhone to Android or are using it at the same time , you will find the current interface to be easy to use. It is a very easy-to-use app for users like the author who mainly use the GALAXY Tab but also use the conventional iPad. You may be forced to choose in the future whether to take such compatibility or take Android-likeness.

The regular price of the app is $7.99, and the campaign price is $5.99, so it's actually about 500 yen. Mixed with many free reading apps, it has the impression of being a little expensive, but it's worth it. It has also been announced that it will support EPUB in the future, and it seems that it is an app that can be purchased as a standard and has no loss.