I'd thought that Swype was a pretty good keyboard replacement, and I still think so. Unfortunately, it's not compatible with the Nook HD, so someone recommended I look at SwiftKey. My first impression wasn't positive. It's not nearly as good at swipe entry as Swype, and I'd gotten used to swiping. Beside, it looks totally cool when taking notes in a client meeting, especially if I'm using a stylus. I've gotten lots of raised eyebrows and "What's that?" while using Swype. But Swiftkey has a lot going for it, especially if you're willing to retrain how you perform data entry. Its text...

I'm still loving my Nook HD, and it has become my go-to device. I only use my Nexus 7 for app testing that requires either Jelly Bean or working with widgets. Since the HD goes with me everywhere, I needed a case, and I found a really inexpensive one on Amazon. The Poetic Slimline Portfolio case adds very little bulk to the HD, but it protects it from bumping around in a backpack while still giving access to all ports and buttons. (The picture is a live link to the case on Amazon.) It even offers a magnetic sleep/wake function. I actually...

As soon as I published the post about Astrid being bought by Yahoo and mentioned I was looking for a new app, my in-box started chiming with suggestions. Wunderlist was one of the more interesting ones, and I’ve been checking it out this week. It has some interesting features that make it worth downloading. It’s usable across multiple devices. I currently have it downloaded on my computer, installed on my iPhone and Nexus 7, and there’s even a Web-based interface if I should need it. It mostly looks and acts the same across all devices, so there’s little learning curve as you move from one...

BookLikes has been in beta version for quite some time, but the website has now launched its full release. The site seems to combine different aspects of social media sites such as Tumblr and Goodreads to become a place for readers to share thoughts and reviews. BookLikes is not just limited to reviews. Users can create different posts about anything. You can also follow other users, read their posts and discover books they've read. Social site I tested the site out briefly and uploaded a review I had previously written. It really reminds me a lot of Tumblr in different ways. There are “Dashboard”...

Note: An update of this post on LibraryCity.org focuses on education-related issues of read-aloud apps. A Catch-22 dogs those of us who most often read e-books visually but also want to hear them when we’re exercising or driving. The usual e-bookware doesn’t always come with or work with text to speech capabilities. Even if it does, we can’t control the aural part as closely as we’d prefer. I myself like the Moon+ Reader Pro Android app, and I’m in love with the added-on “Amy” voice, a British-accented delight from another developer, Ivona, now an arm of Amazon. But I can’t revisit already-viewed text quickly enough while I’m hearing audio by...

If you've taken advantage of the great sale on the Nook HD (ending today), or if you've had one for awhile and recently upgraded to add the Google Play Store, you might be wondering what apps to add. Here's my list of must-have apps, not available in the Nook App store. 1. Feedly With Google Reader going away this July, you'll need another way to keep track of your feeds. I've been using Feedly for awhile now, and it's an excellent Google Reader replacement. In some ways, I've grown to like it better. For example, I've found its integration with Pocket to...

This book had me diving into my current e-book projects within the first few minutes of opening the review copy, looking at how to improve the preview, feedback hooks, tagging, category choice, etc. And by the end, I had a whole checklist of sites to visit, tweaks to make, programs to sign up for. That's how useful it is. Irish author and self-publishing proselyte David Gaughran has turned himself into quite an advocate for the e-publishing revolution. Advocate is putting it mildly; I wouldn't like to be the publisher or vanity press on the receiving end of a diatribe like this....

Yesterday, I wrote about the Nook HD mostly from a stock OS perspective. But I know the question you really wanted to have answered was this: "Does it work as an Android tablet?" After three days of using it, my answer is a cautious "yes." Because I still don't have a tablet case for it, I haven't run it through a typical work day. However, from my use in the house over the weekend, I can tell you that it's got potential. Let's start with what it can and can't do. Loading apps from Google Play is a breeze. When you install the...

I've wanted a Nook HD from the moment they came out. The reviews of the hardware were great, but I swore after I sold my first tablet, a Nook Color, that I'd never buy another crippled device again. The Nook App store is just terrible, and while I tried to make my Nook Color work as a tablet (including buying an N2A card), it was never quite satisfying. I needed to boot to the card to have the apps I needed. But for reading, I've always preferred the stock Nook reader, so I spent too much time either being unhappy or booting...

Remember my review of the task management app known as Astrid last week? Well, my timing may have been lousy. Astrid announced on their blog today that they’ve been acquired by Yahoo!, and it’s an ominous announcement. Here are the two ominous parts: Over the next 90 days, Astrid will continue to work as is, and we will no longer be accepting new premium subscriptions. To make future changes as easy as possible, we’ll be in touch with users shortly to share how to download data. And: *Note: Yahoo! will be administering refunds to eligible users who have paid for annual subscriptions, Power-Pack and Locale Plugins. I...

Spotted my first Kobo Aura HD this weekend! My local Indigo had added the new 30-percent larger 6.8 inch reader to its in-store display, and I got to play with one for a few minutes. And my first impression? It was fine. That's it. That's all I can really say about it. It's bigger and it weighs a little more, but other than that, it was virtually identical to my Kobo Glo. It has the same font controls, the same general interface, the same glow light for reading in the dark. All of those were great features on my Glo, and they...

Now that Amazon is buying Goodreads, I'm guessing lots more people are going to be using the site, so it seemed to make sense to write a review of the app. Goodreads has an app for both iOS and Android. It's also available in the Amazon Appstore for the Kindle Fire. Oddly, that version is listed as not compatible for my Nexus 7. There doesn't seem to be an app for Windows 8 or Blackberry. Both versions are easy to use and fairly self-explanatory. I have a mild preference for the iOS version, but because I do most of my reading on...