Aldiko Book Reader review

In today’s hectic and fast-paced world it’s not always easy to find the time to sit down and enjoy a good book, but all is not lost. Thankfully we have applications like Aldiko Book Reader to make it that little bit easier to catch up on some light reading.

The concept certainly isn’t revolutionary – eBook Readers have been making headlines for quite some time now – but the execution is near-perfect. Aldiko allows you to download hundreds of free eBooks direct to your Android phone and even stores them on a virtual wooden bookshelf, which looks pleasingly like the read thing.

Browsing the currently available library of literary classics is a breeze; not only does the app come with several pre-determined searches (“Books that became movies” is a particular favourite of ours) but you can also search for a certain title, should you have one in mind.

Actually digesting the novel in question is an even more joyous experience; each is divided into chapters which can be easily skipped-to from the contents page. Turning the page is merely a matter of swiping with your finger or simply tapping either the left (to go back) or right (to go forward) side of the display.

What’s more, you can consult the built-in dictionary if you’re unsure of the meaning of some of the more unusual words, and it’s possible to add multiple bookmarks to pages of particular interest – this feature could be extremely useful if you’re a student and the text in question is one you’ve been tasked to study.

Aldiko also contains a surprisingly high degree of customisation; not only can you change the size and font style of the text, you can also toggle between daytime and night time reading modes – the latter displays white text on a black background - therefore creating less light - which is invaluable when you’re reading in the wee hours and don’t want to disturb your bedfellow.

There’s very little to find fault with when it comes to Aldiko Book Reader; if one were going to be particularly stingy you could point out that the selection of books isn’t exactly cutting-edge. Most are offered free of charge either because the author is relatively unknown or the book is so old it has passed into the public domain, but only the most negative individual would come to such a conclusion.

Aldiko is a shining example of just how versatile the Android platform can be when developers really pour their heart and soul into a project. The fact that it’s being offered completely free of charge is just the icing on the cake.