Free Comic Reader App For Windows 8: Echo Comics
Echo Comics is a free comic viewer app for Windows 8 and 8.1 which allows you to easily read comic files of CBR and CBZ formats on your Windows 8 and 8.1 devices. The app can be downloaded for free from the Windows App Store, and makes for a good companion if you are traveling and all you have to stay entertained are some comic files in CBR or CBZ formats. The app has a nice interface and a clean look to it, and after launching it, you can easily select a comic file that you wish to read from your local drive or from your SkyDrive account.
Echo Comics is available for free from the Windows App Store.
Main features of Echo Comics for Windows 8:
Upon launching the Echo Comics app on your Windows 8 or 8.1 device, you will have a screen resembling the below screenshot.
In the main screen of the app, if you have added a comic file to the app previously, it will show up under the Collection tab. If not, you can click on the ADD FROM SKYDRIVE or ADD FROM LOCAL FOLDER button at the bottom of the screen. For now, let’s click on the ADD FROM LOCAL FOLDER button. When you click on the same, you will be taken to the file browser screen wherein you will be able to navigate and select the file that you wish to read. The file browser screen is the standard deal and can be seen in the below screenshot.
Simply choose a folder in which your comic files are stored, and all the comics in that folder will be imported into the app. Once that’s done, you can click on a comic file from under the Collection tab, and you can then start reading the comic. When you click on the comic file from under your collection, you will be presented with the below screen.
From the above screen, you can use various functions that you can perform on the comic file. You can choose to START READING, CONTINUE READING, ADD TO FAVORITES, SHARE ON FACEBOOK or DELETE COMIC from your collections. Let’s delve in and start reading the comic by clicking on the corresponding button.
As soon as you click on the START READING button, you will be presented with the comic viewer interface. If the page of the comic is big, you can zoom in and scroll around to read it better. You can also rotate your device to portrait mode for better reading of comics in portrait mode orientation. For zooming out, the controls can be accessed by right clicking on the screen, and you can then click on the zoom out button at the bottom. You can also click on the zoom in button to zoom in to the page. The controls are displayed in the below screenshot.
The slider at the bottom allows you to jump to a page. Arrow buttons as you may already know are for switching between pages of the comic. In the below screenshot, you can see the comic page zoomed out.
You might also wanna check out the Comicana and Swift Comic Viewer apps which also can be used for the same purpose, comic reading.
Conclusion:
Echo Comics is a well designed comic viewer app to easily read comic files of CBR and CBZ formats on your device. The app is smooth, and the SkyDrive integration makes it all the more better. Overall the app has a nice feel to it and by not draining a lot of battery, the app makes for a good travel companion when you don’t have a charger handy.
I rate the app a 4 out of 5!
Get Echo Comics.