POW! Comics Land on Android with Graphic.ly

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Comic book and graphic novel aficionados that own Android devices have a new way to consume content: Graphic.ly is now available as an application in the Android Market. Just like the Marvel Comics app for iOS devices, Graphic.ly is a free download, but the content will cost you: Most titles that caught my eye were $1.49. The application plays host to comics from more than 150 publishers, including Marvel, and also includes a social aspect: Users can see which content is being purchased or recommended throughout the Graphic.ly community.

As a comic collector in a past life — the original Conan The Barbarian series from 1970 in near-mint condition is among my prized possessions — I took the new Graphic.ly app for a spin. Having used the Marvel software on my iPad before I sold the device, I found the experience to be very close, but not quite as good on Graphic.ly. I used the software on both a 7-inch Android tablet and a 4-inch smartphone. On both devices, I did experience some application crashes; this first iteration doesn’t yet appear to be 100 percent stable. For me, the bigger issue stems from the controls, which I find better in the Marvel software for iOS. Graphic.ly does support one-tap zooming to a particular frame, but in many cases, it zoomed in to multiple frames when two were side-by-side. That means the experience is slightly less immersive. However, you can pinch-and-zoom as needed.

 

Two key features do stand out: offline synchronization and a social aspect. When reading content on Graphic.ly, the application pulls page data as needed through a wireless connection. The app suggests using Wi-Fi instead of 3G for the best reading experience, but there is a “sync offline” button which downloads a local copy of any content you choose to purchase. And there’s a dedicated community button showing what all Graphic.ly users or just your friends are buying. One additional function: Since Graphic.ly was originally available for the web, as a Google Chrome web app and for iOS, any content purchases are available across all supported platforms.

Given the recent brouhaha over Apple’s in-app subscription terms, I did ask the Graphic.ly folks if that scenario played any part in the release for Android. Ron Richards, the Graphic.ly VP of external relations, responded by email, saying development for the Android version started last year and isn’t in response to Apple’s subscription terms.

I like what I see in Graphic.ly so far, especially on my 7-inch Galaxy Tab. However, I’ll be looking for the app to gain a little more stability on the Android platform before I put down the paper copy of my Conan comics. After a performance tweak and perhaps a slight improvement to the user interface, I’ll be more inclined to go all-digital with my comic book habit.

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