Moon+ Reader Pro’s new version, with a blue light filter, is on sale at 50 percent off for just $2.49 through January 4 at the Google Play Store, where the developer claims it is “the No. 1 best selling ebook reader.”
This is one of my favorites. It offers scads of font choices and all-text boldfacing—the very stuff that Amazon’s tablets and E Ink devices should have, especially the $200 Voyage.
Sales of dedicated e-reading devices would be healthier if marketers cared about Moon-level versatility, as opposed to their passion for a KISS philosophy, where you’re treated like a novice forever.
Moon+ Reader Pro is among the reasons why I loathe traditional DRM, in that this powerful app won’t work with it in any form (social DRM is a different story). Want to limit e-book-lovers’ choices of reading apps—and thus their full enjoyment of e-books, despite all the competition from other media? Encryption-based DRM is a great way to nudge people from e-books to Netflix (at least the ones who don’t bother to strip away the “protection” despite the DMCA).
Running on most any Android device, from a $10 smart phone to an upscale tablet, Moon + Reader Pro can display ePub, pdf, mobi, chm, cbr, cbz, umd, fb2, txt, html, rar, zip or OPDS formats, and it also supports text to speech.
The screenshot shows both all-text bolding and the blue light filter in action—the intent being to reduce the kinds of light rays that some experts believe can interfere with your sleep, if you read from your cell phone or tablet too close to bedtime (not everyone agrees).
The optional filter, reachable through the Miscellaneous menu within Settings, includes an opacity control so you can vary the extent of the effect. Alas, it won’t let you choose the exact colors, but it is better than no filter at all. What’s more, you can sideload Moon+ Reader Pro onto a $50 Kindle and take advantage of Amazon’s more elaborate version of the filter. Of course, for me, all-text bolding counts more.
A “wooden” bookshelf effect is another option available in Moon Reader+ Pro 3.4. You can also get a free version of Moon+ Reader, but, especially with the sale on, the Pro version is the one you really want.
Below is Moon’s full feature list via the Google Play Store. Reading it, you’ll wonder if Amazon prevents Fires from downloading Moon+ Reader Pro from the company’s app store because Moon makes the Kindles and Amazon tablets look so pathetic in the feature department.
☀Additional benefits in pro version:
✔ Ad-free, faster & smoother
✔ Shake the phone to speak (Text-to-speech, TTS engine support)
✔ PDF support, fast & speech compatible
✔ Reading statistics function
✔ More beautiful themes, background images and fonts
✔ Customize reader bar function
✔ Headset & Bluetooth keys control
✔ Multi-point touch support
✔ Option for password protection at startup
✔ Book to home screen shortcut
✔ Annotations, highlights & bookmarks share support
✔ Open/Backup/Sync/Download/Upload book files via Dropbox/GDrive
✔ Widget shelf support, group your favorite books, put them to desktop as widget
✔ Tilt to turn page with customized actions
✔ Customer email support☀PDF features in Pro version:
✔ Fill out PDF Form
✔ Highlight, annotation, handwriting
✔ Smart scroll lock, smooth reading experience
✔ Night mode support, 6 additional pdf themes available
✔ Dual-page mode for landscape screen
✔ Speech, auto-scroll compatible
✔ Read statistics, sync, flip animation available☆The key features:
• Support online ebook libraries and personal calibre ebook server.
• Read local books with smooth scroll and tons of innovation.☆Standard functions:
• Full visual options: line space, font scale, bold, italic, shadow, alpha colors, fading edge etc.
• 10+ themes embedded, includes Day & Night mode switcher.
• Various types of paging: touch screen, volume keys or even camera, search or back keys.
• 24 customized operations (screen click, swipe gesture, hardware keys), apply to 15 customized events: search, bookmark, themes, navigation, font size and more.
• 5 auto-scroll modes: rolling blind mode; by pixel, by line or by page. Real-time speed control.
• Adjust the brightness by sliding your finger along the left edge of the screen, gesture commands supported.
• Intelligent paragraph; indent paragraph; trim unwanted blank spaces and lines options.
• Keep your eyes health options for long-time reading.
• Real page turning effect with customized speed/color/transparent; 5 page flip animations.
• My Bookshelf design: Favorites, Downloads, Authors, Tags; self bookcover, search, import supported.
• Justified text alignment, hyphenation mode supported.
• Dual page mode for landscape screen.
• Support all four screen orientations.
• EPUB3 multimedia content support (video and audio), popup footnote support
• Backup/Restore options to cloud via DropBox, sync reading positions between phones and tablets.
• Highlight, Annotation, Dictionary (Offline or Online, support ColorDict, GoldenDict, Fora, ABBYY Lingvo, etc.), Translation, Share functions all in moon+ ebook reader.
• Bluelight Filter up to 95% for eye care.• Localized in 40 languages: English, አማርኛ, العربية, հայերեն, Български, català, český, dansk, Nederlands, eesti, suomi, français, galego, საქართველოს, Deutsch, ελληνικά, עברית, magyar, Indonesia, italiano, 日本語, 한국어, македонски, persan, polski, português, português brasil, român, русский, српски, 简体中文, slovenských, slovenskega, español, Svenskt, 繁體中文, ภาษาไทย, Türk, yкраїнський, Việt
-About GET_ACCOUNTS permission: used for Google Drive function only
-About READ_PHONE_STATE permission: used to stop TTS when there is a call coming
David,
After reading this I decided to download Moon+Reader Pro. The font and background color options are close to endless (you say scads and I agree). It amazes me that these features are not available on Kindle devices or apps.
In order for readers to have the best reading experience they need to have options. In playing with the Moon+Reader Pro I found several fonts, in bold, along with great background options that I really like. It is unfortunate that my Kindle Voyage and HDX 8.9 do not have these options available. While background color options are not an option for example readers – font options should be available.
With a 1400 ebook library(from Amazon) I have been hesitant to consider DRM removal but the degree of customization available with Moon+ is enticing.
@Steve H: Big thanks. Now if only other Kindle and Fire owners will do the same and give Moon a try so they know how badly Amazon products lag in software-related features for e-reading. Everyone—I hope you’re among the people speaking out—ideally will write jeff@amazon.com and complain.
The only reason more people aren’t indignant now, at least here in the States, is that Amazon dominates the U.S. e-book market to such an extent that many customers just don’t know what they’re missing.
B&N’s e-reading software is pretty pathetic too. Kobo’s E Ink reader software at least offers font weight adjustment. But Kobo apps of all kinds—for both Kobo and nonKobo hardware—are a long away from Moon. No excuse! The big companies have the resources. And maybe they should get a hint from the popularity of Moon in the Google Play store. According to the Moon people—I haven’t checked—this is the most popular paid e-reading app in the store.
Don’t let anyone say, “Oh, we need to keep our menus uncluttered.” There could be a special “advanced” section for novices to grow into. And of course we know that the menu for Amazon’s E Ink devices has room for a font-weight adjustment slider.
Perhaps Amazon in regard to e-reading matters needs to think a little more like the Apple of yore and try harder to stay ahead of customers. Right now I wonder if Amazon’s leaders are not letting focus groups, of people with less than the highest expectations, influence the evolution of the software. If so, stop it! Treat e-book lovers as if they’re capable of improving their e-reading skills over the long run and using those advanced features.
[Additions made to this comment.]
Darn, there doesn’t seem to be an iOS version. Searching for “Moon+” displayed a bunch of astronomy and horoscope apps.
@Michael: Alas, no iOS Moon. I fervently hope that’ll change. Thanks for looking, and I do hope you’ll find an Android device of one kind of another to try Moon on. Here’s to higher expectations for e-reading software!
David,
I wrote Jeff Bezos and the Kindle Team after your ” It’s the fonts stupid” post….Only way things are improved.
While I only got a form letter email from a customer service rep….if enough customers do it improvements will be made.
@SteveH: My hope, too! The beauty of a specialized e-book site is that we can be a lot more persistent about these matters than the mainstream media would be. Thanks for your earlier notes!
I tend to use Moon+ more for its TTS capabilities than anything else. The program’s features in combination with Calibre Companion makes it the most used program on my phone and tablet. Tsk tsk for Amazon not to allow TTS in its Android app!
Losing Moon+ was a real problem for me. I almost stayed with an android phone just to have that app, but in the long run other issues won out and I moved to an iPhone. I still miss Moon+ on those occasions when I read on my iPhone. Sure hope they come up with an IOS version.