One of the things that an Android based phone should do well is work as a document reader. Until recently, there were a number of Portable Document File (PDF) viewers available free, but none that did everything well. That changed with the release of RepliGo Reader from Cerience Corporation. Currently at version 1.3.0, RepliGo was the best reader for Android at 1.0.0 and has only improved on a good code base.
RepliGo works with most PDF files. If the PDF file was created using a digital process, such as using a text or Word file to create the file, RepliGo is good. In fact, it is very good. RepliGo allows you to see the original formatting of the document or switch to a view which is ideal for reading documents on the smaller screen of a cell phone. The only documents that don’t work well are documents that are scans of old books. In some cases, RepliGo can’t figure out what to do with poor quality 1-bit scans and simply displays gibberish on the screen. This is likely a problem that will go away as the product matures.
RepliGo integrates very nicely with the Android Gmail and default email application. Clicking “preview” on a PDF attachment brings the PDF up in RepliGo. Once the document is on your G1, RepliGo is fast and responsive. Downloading large PDFs to the memory card can take a long time, but RepliGo looks at the document in small pieces, which really improves performance.
RepliGo turns your G1 into a very powerful eBook and eDocument platform. With a large memory card, the number of documents that can be carried in your pocket is simply mind boggling. At the moment, I have close to 40 documents and books that are taking up very little space on an 8GB card.
I’ve bought very few higher priced apps from the Android Market. One was Docs to Go and the other is RepliGo. Both are outstanding and both are, in my view, two critical applications to being able to use an Android based phone as an ultra-portable computing platform. If you are looking for the best PDF reader available for Android, RepliGo is your app.
Gallery
Version: 1.3
Developed By: Cerience Corporation
Price: $7.95
Filesize: 1.28MB
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Christopher Earle
Christopher Earle has been working as a freelance writer since 1987. He currently lives in the Denver, Colorado area with his wife, son, and their two cats. He has been a fan of open source software for many years.
10 Comments
This is one of the few applications I have purchased. I’ve had it for a few months and have never been disappointed by it. Incredibly useful for checking out those dastardly PDF-based menus that many restaurants seem to think are better than a nice HTML page. That’s another story, though. The point is that I have found RepliGo Reader to be a god-send when viewing these menus in a pinch. It is also the only PDF Viewer on the Market that have found to consistently work and I am glad that I bit the bullet, and made this purchase.
Thanks for the review…
I use the default PDF Viewer that is pre-installed on a lot of the HTC custom builds, and I think it works just as good as this. You can see the full doc or have it formatted for easy reading as well. It works great and it’s free. If you’re using another custom build that doesn’t have it (and you know how to use adb) you can find instructions here: http://strazzere.com/blog/?p=266
I’m echoing Nick here. HTC PDF viewer (installable for rooted users) works really well. And FREE, 7.95 is a lot.
Does this work with image heavy pdfs or just text? I am a graphic artist who does a bit of freelance and I hate having to wait until I get home to view a pdf that a customer has sent.
Good question Chuck. This apps is looking really attractive at the moment, I just might have to give it a try. Thanks for sharing,
-Mig
Hey guys,
Wow, I’m impressed with RepliGo Reader. Playing around with it now. The files look great, sweet stuff. Reading view is amazingly on point. Thanks for the tip off on this app.
-Mig
You know, I’d LOVE to purchase this app. Unfortunately, paid apps aren’t yet available in Australia.
Hi there. I used to own a Wimo version of Repligo years back It is still working on my O2 XDA II !!! One feature I like about the repligo format is its small sized documents. A 1MB pdf file when converted to .rgo format will yield a file of 100kb !!!
Hi,
I tried searching for RepliGo in market place and cant find it? When I go to repligo website, they say search in market place….
How can I install it.
Thanks
I’ve tried to install Repligo for my HTC Hero but same problem as Dhariwal