If you’ve taken advantage of the great sale on the Nook HD (ending today), or if you’ve had one for awhile and recently upgraded to add the Google Play Store, you might be wondering what apps to add. Here’s my list of must-have apps, not available in the Nook App store.

1. Feedly

With Google Reader going away this July, you’ll need another way to keep track of your feeds. I’ve been using Feedly for awhile now, and it’s an excellent Google Reader replacement. In some ways, I’ve grown to like it better. For example, I’ve found its integration with Pocket to be superior. (Cost: Free)


2. Pocket

Speaking of Pocket, yes, it’s on my list as well. Sometimes my feed is just too full, and I need to save articles for later. Pocket is my preferred “read-later” app, and it also integrates well with Flipboard, which doesn’t make this list because it’s also available in the Nook App store. Either way, it’s worth getting too. (Cost: Free)


3. Kindle for Android

Kindle for iOS

While we’re still on the subject of reading, the Kindle app is just too obvious. While I love the Nook HD hardware, I still prefer the Amazon website for buying books. I tried to access my Nook library a couple days ago to check if I already owned a particular book. I tried for about 15 minutes and couldn’t get the site to load. I never have that problem with Amazon.

I do prefer the stock Nook reader, but if you want to avoid DRM-stripping while still buying from Amazon, the Kindle app is serviceable.

Why don’t I mention other rival apps, like Kobo and Sony? Because most other bookstores sell EPUBs, which the Nook can read without conversion. Only Kindle books are sold in a different format. (Cost: Free)


4. Comixology

One more reader-type app. Yes, you can buy comics for the Nook, but Comixology has a better selection, and if you buy from them, you’ll be able to read on any device, which might be handy since the Nook line is supposed to go away.

Comixology is a good app that renders comics very well. If you’ve never experienced their “Guided View” technology, you should give it a try. It’s made reading comics an amazing experience for me. With other comics apps, I sometimes got lost trying to figure out which pane to read next. Not a problem with Comixology’s view. (Cost: Free)


5. Any.DO

Enough of reading. How about an app to keep track of what you want to read? Or your grocery list? Or any other kind of to-do list? There are lots of apps available, but Any.DO is a nice simple one. If you’re an Astrid user (an app which is probably going away soon), Any.DO allows you to import your Astrid tasks. (Cost: Free)


6. Pocket Informant 3

Need a more robust calendar and task management app? Pocket Informant 3 is my favorite. It just went through a major upgrade, and is a solid and powerful app. I’ll have a review of it up on GadgeTell tomorrow. If you’re not sure this is the app for you, there is a demo version available. (Cost: $6.99)


7. Swiftkey

My other big gripe with the Nook HD is the horrible keyboard. My favorite third-party keyboard is Swype, but it doesn’t work on the Nook HD. Swiftkey, however, does, and I’ve been using it for a week now. It’s not as smooth or reliable as Swype for swipe entry, but it’s still a solid app with excellent predictive text. They have a 30 day free trial, so you can see if you like it. (Cost: $3.99)

I know there’s lots more apps, but that’s my list. Anyone else have an awesome app to share?

NO COMMENTS

  1. Have you compared the flext9 keyboard to swype and swiftkey? I’ve been using it on my nookhd and am very pleased with it. I believe the same parent company owns it and swype, though I could be mistaken there.

  2. @Doug and PW, no I hadn’t tried it, and now I guess I won’t. I’m getting used to Swiftkey, and I think it’ll work well for me. Its predictive text is better than Swype, so I’m finding tap input works pretty well. Tap a couple of characters, and Swiftkey usually guesses what I’m after.

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