It's finally here: the 2000 AD app on Android devices: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.rebellion.app2000ad&hl=en_GB
There's some press that's been lined up for this so we're not screaming about it yet to see how it goes down but please do download and, if you like it, give it a good rating!
"Droids finally deliver Android", chilling words torn from tomorrow's headlines!
Installed, everything seems to tick along nicely, sharp and simple. Well done all. €4.99 for the digital Meg is terrific value, when it's around €8.00 in the shops in Murphyville - I believe I shall be returning to Meg reading on this basis, and start working back through the recent years I've missed. Much as I love a paper copy, I can very rarely justify that kind of money for a single comic (I can get three comics for the kids for that) - at a fiver we're into the realm of many US comics, and you get so much more from the Meg.
Slightly less positively, €2.99 for the Prog isn't such a good deal over the paper version (certainly not enough of a difference to make me switch to digital - and I really do believe it's important to keep 2000AD visible on physical shelves), and a single month's subscription to the Meg costing €0.49 more than buying a single issue perhaps wrongly suggests that the 'free back issues' with a new sub aren't exactly that.
But these are money matters, and don't reflect on the very positive inclusion of we of the Android persuasion. Oh, but I would like a landscape option for the shop itself, please!
Downloaded last night. It's a lovely, uncluttered, easy to use interface and comics download really quickly.
I can't help but compare it, though, to my other online comics experiences with Comixology and the Dark Horse app, and the 2000 AD app comes off worse I'm afraid in one regard, which is the lack of a 'guided panel view' option.
Because I have a 7 inch tablet, the full screen view is too small to read properly, and zooming in each page and manually moving the screen around is too fiddly. The guided view used by the aforementioned apps is perfect because it jumps to the next panel and magnifies it automatically.
Without that feature, I simply wouldn't pay to read a digital comic. If it did have the guided view, I'd switch to a digital subscription tomorrow.
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 11:27:51 AM
a 'guided panel view' option
As the guided view is proprietary software - and would increase the cost of each issue - it's not something we're planning to offer any time soon, sorry.
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 11:27:51 AM
Because I have a 7 inch tablet, the full screen view is too small to read properly, and zooming in each page and manually moving the screen around is too fiddly. The guided view used by the aforementioned apps is perfect because it jumps to the next panel and magnifies it automatically.
You can set the app to single-page view, and read in landscape and just scroll the page up and down (and turn your device to portrait to view full-screen artwork panels)
Quote from: Pyroxian on 14 January, 2015, 11:33:32 AM
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 11:27:51 AM
Because I have a 7 inch tablet, the full screen view is too small to read properly, and zooming in each page and manually moving the screen around is too fiddly. The guided view used by the aforementioned apps is perfect because it jumps to the next panel and magnifies it automatically.
You can set the app to single-page view, and read in landscape and just scroll the page up and down (and turn your device to portrait to view full-screen artwork panels)
S'right. I'm a tablet-readin' noob, so I've no experience of guided view (which may well be the dog's proverbials), but the no-frills interface works find for me. I have a 7" too (although the wife does say it seems bigger), and the double-tap zoom clears up any detail issues for me. Rapidly panning about does seem slightly less smooth than on other free comic reader apps I've used, but that might be due to larger pages and higher resolution copy.
Good to see, works nicely.
Holding off the digital tide personally for now, barracading myself in a fortress of Showaddywaddy vinyl... I suppose a reasonable digital discount on the prog would be one factor in dropping paper. Picking up the prog each Wed in WH Smith and browsing the tat' mags (not really) will do for now. The future can just wait.
Quote from: Molch-R on 14 January, 2015, 11:30:12 AM
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 11:27:51 AM
a 'guided panel view' option
As the guided view is proprietary software - and would increase the cost of each issue - it's not something we're planning to offer any time soon, sorry.
Ah, right. I assumed it was something that could be developed 'in house' as Comixology and Dark Horse both use different technology.
Not to worry. When it comes to 2000 AD I think I'd rather have physical copies anyway (certainly of the graphic novels).
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 12:26:04 PM
Ah, right. I assumed it was something that could be developed 'in house'
It probably could be, but it would take very significant resources to do it.
Quote from: TordelBack on 14 January, 2015, 11:06:48 AM
a single month's subscription to the Meg costing €0.49 more than buying a single issue
Hmmm, we've had a look into that and it is, indeed, an error. The individual issue price will be reset as soon as the techs can get to it. Thanks for pointing it out!
I find my eyes do a 'guided view' automatically if the artist knows what he is doing :)
Quote from: James Stacey on 14 January, 2015, 01:58:51 PM
I find my eyes do a 'guided view' automatically if the artist knows what he is doing :)
Yeah, it's not the 'guided' bit I like, it's the auto-zooming in on individual panels to save me straing my poor old eyes.
I did give it another go at lunchtime and found it easier to read this time. The trick is to pinch-zoom in and then move around the page. Just takes some geting used to.
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 12:26:04 PM
Quote from: Molch-R on 14 January, 2015, 11:30:12 AM
Quote from: Spaceghost on 14 January, 2015, 11:27:51 AM
a 'guided panel view' option
As the guided view is proprietary software - and would increase the cost of each issue - it's not something we're planning to offer any time soon, sorry.
Ah, right. I assumed it was something that could be developed 'in house' as Comixology and Dark Horse both use different technology.
Not to worry. When it comes to 2000 AD I think I'd rather have physical copies anyway (certainly of the graphic novels).
I'm going to be boring here for a minute (what's unusual says you...)
Comixology have a patent on their particular technology. I don't think it'd actually be that hard to copy it (it's pretty simple really, you pay someone to draw boxes around the bits you want the software to zoom in on, you get the software to zoom in on them as you read) but it IS patented. I remember seeing similiar tech before comixology, notably there was a 'smart panel zoom' type feature on some software that detected boxes and zoomed to those when you tapped near them - I think that technology would be harder to replicate, but there was no patent on it.
You could also pay someone to just chop up every page into boxes and then switch the reader to display one box at a time (or zoom out) not as graceful, but arguably impossible to patent.
BUT (the autozoom feature aside) they all require significant resources PER issue - it's not a problem that's simply solved because you've cracked the patent/programming (many problems are solved that way, which is why it's worth spending the man hours/money in solving them)
(And, as an addendum, apple accidentally solved this problem with the first versions of iphones and safari, when you could double tap in any significant text box and the browser would zoom into that specific boxed area - a method I first stumbled across years ago when I realised you could do comics on the iphone. But it was a tough beast to tame, and I was busy...)
-pj
(I know lots of people disagree with software patents, I'm one of them, but they exist and are enforceable and are the reason that almost everyone who has a one-click shop has to pay some sort of nominal lip service to amazon who own the patent on one-click operations).
Can't tell you how happy I am that this app has appeared - I cancelled my paper sub a while back to go digital and buying each issue individually each week has been really fiddly. So nice to just install the app and take out an annual sub for the prog and meg again! Looking forward to having everything easily accessible on from one place on my tablet, and with a nice clean easy to browse interface.
My one confusion is the 'Restore Purchases' thing - the in-app help says you can tap that to unlock everything you've bought digitally in the past but I can't find that option anywhere. Am I just not looking in the right place? I've got some back issues unlocked but that's the free ones that came with the sub, hoping to unlock everything I've bought through the website in the past.
Cheers, really appreciate the work that's clearly gone into this lovely app!
Quote from: Keef Monkey on 14 January, 2015, 03:53:56 PM
Can't tell you how happy I am that this app has appeared - I cancelled my paper sub a while back to go digital and buying each issue individually each week has been really fiddly. So nice to just install the app and take out an annual sub for the prog and meg again! Looking forward to having everything easily accessible on from one place on my tablet, and with a nice clean easy to browse interface.
My one confusion is the 'Restore Purchases' thing - the in-app help says you can tap that to unlock everything you've bought digitally in the past but I can't find that option anywhere. Am I just not looking in the right place? I've got some back issues unlocked but that's the free ones that came with the sub, hoping to unlock everything I've bought through the website in the past.
Cheers, really appreciate the work that's clearly gone into this lovely app!
If you've logged in with your 2000ad store account, you should just get access to everything you've bought with that account.
Ah my confusion there. I'm forgetting I used to buy through Clickwheel, everything from when I switched to buying direct from the 2000AD store is there and unlocked (I'd forgotten the timeline of when that happened)!
A shame it doesn't grab the Clickwheel stuff too (I'd gotten the impression that was still a Rebellion thing) but not a huge deal I guess.
I'd love to get more comics pieces on to Stuff, so if people would tweet and FB the hell out of my wee interview with Molch-R (about the Android app and Rebellion ID), that'd be lovely: http://www.stuff.tv/judge-dredd-comes-android-2000-ad-app/news
Done!
Done and now that's there I can finally return to the Meg. Very pleased. First I waited for my device. Then I waited for the app... tomorrow a sub will be mine!
Does it work on the Kindle Fire?
I doubt it would straightforwardly, given that Kindle Fire isn't really an Android device in the normal sense, but an Amazon dispensing machine. If you're a brave sort, there are guides online, though, about downloading and then sideloading Google Play apps into a Kindle. However, whether the payment and subscription stuff would work is another matter entirely.
Quote from: Will Cooling on 15 January, 2015, 11:00:36 AM
Does it work on the Kindle Fire?
If you have to make payment through the app then it will not work. Marvel Umlimited you can use on the kindle even though the amazon app store does not offer it, because you pay outside of the store, and use it as a client to log in, and pull down what you want to read.
I currently have a subscription through iOS and lots of purchases. How do I log in to the android app to access this?
As I understand it, the Rebellion ID doesn't yet work in that way. Right now, you can access DRM-free versions of content purchased on Google Play or Apple Newsstand. In the future, it's planned that any purchases will be available across all platforms.
Quote from: mrketch on 15 January, 2015, 06:54:50 PM
I currently have a subscription through iOS and lots of purchases. How do I log in to the android app to access this?
You need to log into the iOS version with your Rebellion Store account (or create a Rebellion ID in either the iOS or Android App). Then log into the Android app and your purchases should appear (You may need to do a restore purchases on the iOS app first).
Rebellion need to do a FAQ for this...
In.
And I have subscribed as well.
If you subscribe through the Android app, how do you later download the CBR from the web store to add to your digital collection? I can see all of my previous digital purchases to view in the app but can't find where I would redownload them in the web store so I'm concerned I wouldn't be able to get the progs like that if I subscribed. I like having actual soft copies of everything rather than just relying on the app..
Hope that makes sense!
Quote from: Fontwell Magma on 16 January, 2015, 02:29:26 PM
If you subscribe through the Android app, how do you later download the CBR from the web store to add to your digital collection? I can see all of my previous digital purchases to view in the app but can't find where I would redownload them in the web store so I'm concerned I wouldn't be able to get the progs like that if I subscribed. I like having actual soft copies of everything rather than just relying on the app..
Hope that makes sense!
This will be possible once the next stage of the Rebellion Account System has been completed
Awesome :)
Thanks
Quote from: Fontwell Magma on 16 January, 2015, 02:29:26 PM
If you subscribe through the Android app, how do you later download the CBR from the web store to add to your digital collection? I can see all of my previous digital purchases to view in the app but can't find where I would redownload them in the web store so I'm concerned I wouldn't be able to get the progs like that if I subscribed. I like having actual soft copies of everything rather than just relying on the app..
Hope that makes sense!
The PDFs are downloaded to an Android\data\com.rebellion.app2000ad\files folder on your device, which should be accessible when you plug your device into a PC and access it as a usb storage device. If not, they will probably be accessible through an internal file viewer on the device and you can copy them to a folder where you can then transfer them to your PC.
Quote from: IndigoPrime on 15 January, 2015, 11:15:48 AM
I doubt it would straightforwardly, given that Kindle Fire isn't really an Android device in the normal sense, but an Amazon dispensing machine. If you're a brave sort, there are guides online, though, about downloading and then sideloading Google Play apps into a Kindle. However, whether the payment and subscription stuff would work is another matter entirely.
I did it quite easily as I have a pure Google device already. I installed the app on my Nexus 5 phone. I used the file manager software (an app that has to be installed itself, it doesn't come with the device. There are a few available) to generate a backup of the app.
That creates an apk file. (That's the package file which is actually downloaded then unpacked and installed when you install a new app.) I copied the app to dropbox. (Another Cloud drive will do, or you could copy it to your computer via a usb connection.) I then accessed my Kindle Fire and copied the file over and installed it.
There's a way to install apps without faffing around with another device (basically you use another website to download the apk file from Google Store for you and then download it from there) but last I tried that did not work due to site 'meeting it's quota' for the day. (I assume there's a limit to the amount of downloads it can do.)
Anyway, let me know if you'd like me to go into more detail with either methods.
The app seems to run fine so far. Only issue is that all the books and comics appear as 'Not Available' but that's the same on the pure Google Nexus 5 device too so I don't think that's a device issue. I assume this is just a work in progress thing on the shop end.
On, and the links on the subscriptions screen don't seem to work. Again, maybe that's a work in progress thing, although since nobody else here has mentioned it....
At the moment I'm pretty happy with downloading from Clickwheel and viewing the comics through ComicRack*. For now that seems the cheaper option.
That being said, if the comic prices in the app and Clickwheel match in future, I'd be happy to switch.
*Another app that is not available on the Amazon store that I copied over to my Fire using the above method.
Quote from: Mardroid on 18 January, 2015, 04:41:53 AM
The app seems to run fine so far. Only issue is that all the books and comics appear as 'Not Available' but that's the same on the pure Google Nexus 5 device too so I don't think that's a device issue. I assume this is just a work in progress thing on the shop end.
On, and the links on the subscriptions screen don't seem to work. Again, maybe that's a work in progress thing, although since nobody else here has mentioned it....
You can only buy comics / subscriptions on a device that can connect to the Google Play store, as all the purchases are handle through that. Kindle Fire's use the Amazon Store. You should be able to download and read any issues linked to your Rebellion ID though.
Issues shouldn't be coming up as not available on your Nexus 5, unless you don't have a Google Account on it or something...
Just buy the Progs/Megs/etc at http://shop.2000adonline.com (http://shop.2000adonline.com) and when you log into the app they will be available to download / read
Check the app before you buy though as currently not all of them are available on the app(s)
Quote from: Pyroxian on 19 January, 2015, 10:09:07 AM
Issues shouldn't be coming up as not available on your Nexus 5, unless you don't have a Google Account on it or something...
I double checked and you're right. My apologies.
Well, today is the first prog day since I grabbed the app and subscribed, really happy with the experience.
I didn't even know it was Megazine day either until I saw the notification on the app so that was handy! Noticed the prog looked a little pixelly zoomed in (I'm using a Nexus 7) but other than that was great. Compared to my old Wednesday lunchtime process of buying through the website, adding my card details again, heading to my account to download it...just way slicker, really happy with it.
Mine looks a little pixelly when I view the full page (10 inch Samsung tab). It's not too bad but when I zook in, everything looks gorgeous (until I get too close/zoomed).
Quote from: pauljholden on 14 January, 2015, 02:49:59 PM(I know lots of people disagree with software patents...
Indeed, particularly when they are patenting an idea so obvious a 5 year old could come up with it. The first time I ever read a comic on my phone my immediate thought was "this would work far better panel by panel", and as someone with just literally a
minuscule amount of programming experience the method of drawing 'virtual' boxes around the relevant areas and then having the device zoom on that area was obvious straight away.
Of course it would have taken a little more work than that to develop it into something that could be patented, but this is the sort of inane crap that companies are, in effect, claiming they should have some sort of exclusive rights on because they 'thought of it first' (when they probably didn't, they were probably just the first to have the resources to do something about it). The they abuse the patent system to enforce that.
The Amazon 'one click shopping' idea is equally obvious.
Is there still a way for me to read my digital prog? Up to now I'm downloading from Clickwheel and uploading to my Kindle. But there's no Kindle app (fair enough), and i don't fancy reading my prog on my Android phone. Is there still a way to get a digital copy on to my Kindle? Help!
How does this work?
I've never read a digital comic.
Is the page compressed onto the screen, or do you get to zoom in on the panels and see all the detail enlarged?
Sorry if I am asking an obvious question.
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 30 January, 2015, 08:12:03 PM
How does this work?
I've never read a digital comic.
Is the page compressed onto the screen, or do you get to zoom in on the panels and see all the detail enlarged?
Sorry if I am asking an obvious question.
You can do both Doc. If I read a comic on my phone I'd zoom in, panel to panel. On my 7 inch Nexus 7 tablet I would turn my tablet landscape so the width of the page equalled the width of the screen in landscape mode and pan down. Unless I was using comixology, in which case I'd use panel guided view with either device.
I would usually start viewing the page as a whole, though.
I now use the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 to read my digital comics, and to take advantage of the larger screen and emulate the experience of reading a physical comic as much as possible I start by viewing the entire page on screen. And due to the larger screen size that will often suffice to see everything, but to ensure I get the full experience and catch the detail, I'd zoom in a bit (just to the estimated size of the physical comic) and pan across. I even do that in Comixology now. So the lack of guided view in the new 2000 AD Android app is no issue for me, although I think it's a fantastic feature.
I received the mail concerning the change in prices on Clickwheel to match the webshop and apps. On one hand that's quite an increase, although the higher price is still pretty reasonable. On the other hand I will now have an excuse to take advantage of the more convenient delivery method of the app.
Quote from: Mardroid on 31 January, 2015, 08:46:24 AM
Quote from: The Enigmatic Dr X on 30 January, 2015, 08:12:03 PM
How does this work?
I've never read a digital comic.
Is the page compressed onto the screen, or do you get to zoom in on the panels and see all the detail enlarged?
Sorry if I am asking an obvious question.
You can do both Doc. If I read a comic on my phone I'd zoom in, panel to panel. On my 7 inch Nexus 7 tablet I would turn my tablet landscape so the width of the page equalled the width of the screen in landscape mode and pan down. Unless I was using comixology, in which case I'd use panel guided view with either device.
I would usually start viewing the page as a whole, though.
I now use the Kindle Fire HDX 8.9 to read my digital comics, and to take advantage of the larger screen and emulate the experience of reading a physical comic as much as possible I start by viewing the entire page on screen. And due to the larger screen size that will often suffice to see everything, but to ensure I get the full experience and catch the detail, I'd zoom in a bit (just to the estimated size of the physical comic) and pan across. I even do that in Comixology now. So the lack of guided view in the new 2000 AD Android app is no issue for me, although I think it's a fantastic feature.
I received the mail concerning the change in prices on Clickwheel to match the webshop and apps. On one hand that's quite an increase, although the higher price is still pretty reasonable. On the other hand I will now have an excuse to take advantage of the more convenient delivery method of the app.
Thanks.
My post, though, was a whisky fuelled moment of weakness. Paper is where it's at.
Been trying this out and its working great on my Hudl 2. One small request though, on devices that have on screen controls (all non Samsung devices I'm guessing) it would be good if the on screen controls could be hidden while reading. I know many apps now offer to swipe down from the top to reveal on screen controls. It would give a little more screen to the comic which would be good on smaller devices.
I really like the app, it was all I needed to finally take the plunge and go digital. It's great for me because I am travelling a lot and I love just having the prog pop up on my tablet once a week without having to faff around transferring the files onto it from my PC, and it's great knowing that I can still access my purchases DRM free from the website so I don't have to worry about filling my tablet's storage up.
The only small issue I have had with it is that it forgot my login details a couple of times, but it's a minor thing.
Thanks to all involved with bringing this out, nice work.
Quote from: Rog69 on 08 February, 2015, 10:10:33 PM
Thanks to all involved with bringing this out, nice work.
Ditto.
Just bought a Samsung Galaxy Tab S 10.5 with 64gb sd card. Is there any way to change the default download location?
Is there a phone number for support for the app or can I use the one for paper subscriptions?
Payment for my monthly sub was taken last week but I am not showing as subscribed either in the app or the web portal. I got an auto response to my email last Thursday but I have heard nothing since and the problem still persists.
I have similar issues...I can log-on to my account but it doesn't know anything about my subscriptions or the digital stuff I've previously purchased.
Will there be a Windows 8 App?
Good news, humes! The problems that some Android app users were experiencing with their subscriptions not giving them the current issue should all be fixed.
Thanks Matt, I just came here to say mine is all sorted now.
Unfortunately not for me. :( I can log in absolutely fine, but it doesn't recognise my subscriptions and doesn't show any of the digital issues I own (which I assume it should).
Can I get some more help with this?
Just as a follow-on from the previous post. In updating my CC details over the weekend, I was taken to some kind of new swanky Rebellion account site, and that site didn't recognise my subscriptions either (even though I could log-in).