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ezPDF Reader – A PDF 'Jack-of-All-Trades'

on 1/8/12 7:00 PM

Tested version: 1.7.2.0
Latest version: 2.2.1.1
Requires Android: from 2.1

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Summary

My latest challenge: finding a good PDF reader for Android that I can use on a smartphone and a tablet. Let me tell you that I became somewhat frustrated trying out certain dark horses in this category, especially when trying to perform tasks such as filling out some sort of form, highlighting things or even just editing hyperlinks.
Today I’m reviewing ezPDF Reader for you—read on and discover whether my quest for the perfect PDF reader has come to an end.
 

Features & Use

Section rating:

Test device:
-HTC Desire with 2.3.7 (Root and Custom ROM)
-Acer Iconia A500 with 3.2


The app overview is split into four tabs:


-My docs: This harbours a file browser with which PDF docs can be opened. All the usual features (copy, paste, etc.) are available.
-Recent: Displays recent PDFs in a chic bookshelf design. The file’s first page serves as book cover.
-All PDF: Displays a list of all files that contain PDF docs.
-Web Docs: A neat little function that lets you open up files from a URL or Google Docs. Perhaps sometime in the future Dropbox will be supported, too (hint, hint, dear developers!).


As to the app’s main function – i.e. viewing a PDF – all the usual functions (such as turning pages, zooming) are featured, as well as:


• Annotation tools for marking (circles, rectangles, freehand drawing, arrows, text, images...)
• Zoom tools
• Page selection
• Bookmarking
• Full text search
• Export/import annotations
• Night mode
• Change all to text


That’s just a quick selection of the available tools and features—there’s really ample to choose from.


Here’s a quick overview of multitouch commands from the app description:

- 5-point-tap : Annotation Tool On or Off
- 4-point-tap : Notification Bar On or Off
- 3-point-tap : PDF view or Text Reflow view
- 2-point-tap : Reduces the page to fit the width when enlarged
- 1-point-tap : Toggles Menu On or Off

This of course requires a device that supports up to five touch points. The HTC Desire only supports two, but the Iconia A500 supports all five.


The settings, much like the rest of the app’s functionality, are very ample: you can set the app to perform according to your personal preferences for things like scrolling, volume, turning the pages effects, editing hyperlinks, setting a night mode…


Bottom line:
ezPDF Reader is a very generous app when it comes to functions and features. I’ve really tried to come up with something that might be missing, or something that could be improved, but I honestly can’t think of anything (oh well, there goes my image as a hair-splitter). Everything works beautifully, be it editing or reading texts or viewing / listening to video / audio files.
 

Screen & Controls

Section rating:

The design and controls for ezPDF Reader are top notch. I especially like the tablet layout which is sleek and easy to use. The app is very easy to use and multitouch gestures work well, also.


 

Speed & Stability

Section rating:

ezPDF Reader runs very smoothly and the only shadow that falls on an otherwise stellar performance is that it takes a short while for PDF files to load to the 'All PDF' tab.

Price/Performance Ratio

Section rating:


ezPDF Reader costs 2,23€, a price which I feel is perfectly proportionate for the functionality users will be able to benifit from. The app can be downloaded from the Android Market.
 

Comparable Apps

Adobe Reader

RepliGo PDF Reader

DocumentsToGo Full Version Key

PDF Reader & Form - qPDF Notes

BeamReader PDF Viewer

ezPDF Reader G-Drive Plugin

ezPDF Reader Lite for PDF View

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Ron Mac
Jan 24, 2012 9:56:14 PM

ezPDF reader looks like a very nice app for Android devices, much needed!
Thanks for the article!

Access your home PC from your Android device by using the 2X client App from
http://www.2x.com
also has client for iOS. Voted 20th overall best Android App!

Jan 9, 2012 10:18:08 AM

Thanks for your comments, guys! And Danny, yes, RepliGo Reader isn't half bad!

Danny
Jan 9, 2012 1:29:23 AM

You should try Repligo. It's much much faster than any pdf readers I've used. Try opening a 500 page pdf and you will see the difference.

wayne ramautar
Jan 9, 2012 1:19:50 AM

awesome

Market Comments

Iyla, Sep 27, 2012
Hmm The lack of an undo tool is really bugging me because I use the pen tool the most! A freehand highlighter would be awesome. The pen tool also seems to have a funny resolution when zooming in...the edges should be more defined. Excluding those things, this is a pretty good app.
Joshua, Sep 26, 2012
Pretty good Just got a tablet for annotating my literature. I like the text reflow, but there is no point if I can't annotate while it is reflowed. I am using repligo until I can annotate in the new text reflow mode with this one. Am I missing something?
Ed, Sep 26, 2012
Nice product but very slow asus transformer prime 201 I have been using this on the transformer prime and the evo 4G. Ezpdf runs extremely slow as compared with the adobe pdf reader that is free from the market. Will give more stars when it starts to run faster.
Anthony, Sep 26, 2012
Pdf works good I want to be able not only view but edit epub. If it will update with the ability to use epub it will be five star. Update that and you will have mu backing all the way.
r, Sep 25, 2012
i do not kmow how this got rated so highly
vzu, Sep 25, 2012
Galax sII Awesome and smooth.Makes reading easy. Regards, vzu
Avi, Sep 25, 2012
Unwanted permissions Nice app but the permissions required are very suspicious.
Leigh, Sep 25, 2012
Total win. I tired a lot of annotation programs and this came out on top for me. S-pen compatability is excellent. Color choosing and pen v. paint markups are excellent. Nothing else had this much choice and ease of use. I love it.
J. Low, Sep 25, 2012
Great PDF reader with annotations! I love this app, and seems to be more useful in the tablet environment. Great for making annotations on the fly. Been really useful for my self reading. But I have a few querks that I think should be iron out. One is the page navigation, in native PDF viewing mode. Why don't give an option for people who like seemless page to page scrolling, instead of the rubber banding effect when navigating from one end page to other top page. And the navigation on text paragraphs/section should be worked upon too. Too sensitive that when I just want to scroll down, it jumps to the next paragraph/section. Last but not least, add mouse scroll button support for scrolling! Keep up the great work in making this one of the most useful apps out there!
Reggie, Sep 25, 2012
Perfect and mediocre Works perfectly on my EVO 4G LTE but it is very buggy and lags a lot when using it on my Transformer Infinity Pad.
raul, Sep 25, 2012
Text Reflow (New)... Nice but Prevent sleep doesn't work on this mode.
Gwenish, Sep 25, 2012
Great app In full page mode a Footer bar where it tells you Page progress, time, how much battery is left. Also turn off the button lights while reading.
Rafael, Sep 25, 2012
Best PDF app
Garrett, Sep 25, 2012
Slow reflow App is "heavy" and doesn't handle large ish PDF's at all well with an obtrusive loading screen displayed at every page turn! Mantanto reader has no such problems. If you want to read large PDF files this is not the app for you.
Jaime, Sep 25, 2012
It's Alrght Not a bad reader, can run a tad slow. The worst part is I have 1GB "temp" folder which can only be manually deleted in a file explorer, and I don't even open a lot of pdfs. There's no option to clear the temp folder in the app itself or in the native android app info screen. It also isn't removed once the app is uninstalled :( Pretty useless app for a portable device with limited storage space
R, Sep 24, 2012
Ok Having doc's download sideways. Seems no option to rotate.
ODP, Sep 24, 2012
Suggestions 1. Eraser please. (Undo isnt enough.) 2. Active pen mode e.g. S pen mode on Galaxy Note please. (Crucial to avoid sensitivity to palm or finger.) 3. Highlighter markup straight line option based on horizontal page orientation without relying on actual text. (Not all imported pdfs are "readable" mode, many are "image".) 4. Same for underliner please. 5. Sticky preferences for annotations between different files and different sessions on a particlar file. (Save having to get same annotation style reset EVERY single use!)
Thomas, Sep 24, 2012
Night reading is broken This feature worked well before. At work, I do not have private quarters and reading with a white background is too illuminating for the guy in the rack near me. Please fix.
Charles, Sep 24, 2012
Keeps getting better & better! Love the electronic "read" function!
vanessaem, Sep 23, 2012
Good but could be better Nice app but why is there no dedicated eraser? The undo feature is a poor replacement. It also bugs out when running for a long time and gets extremely slow.
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