NewspaperDirect has followed its new iPad reader with a major update of its PressReader for Android devices.

the new version adds a proprietary high-definition PDF rendering engine – including powerful zoom facilities – and the SmartFlow ‘intelligent’ technology seen on its versions for other platforms.

With SmartFlow, a touch gesture switches from ‘replica view’ to a new mode designed for digital natives who value the content of the publication, but want a more fluid presentation.

Complete stories and pages are presented in a continuous flow that maximises readability and invites exploration of related content.

NewspaperDirect chief executive Alex Kroogman says the Android upgrade is the company’s biggest ever. “It debuts advanced rendering technology that, for the first time, brings fast, high-resolution imaging to the Android platform,” he says.

Crisp text and high-definition pictures are likely to be popular and the upgrade delivers a flexible Android platform for SmartEdition publishers to showcase their content.

The features place Android PressReader on parity with its iPad cousin. The SmartFlow technology led to PressReader being voted ‘best newspaper app ever for iOS’ earlier this year.

Among more than 2000 newspapers using the full-content replicas service are the Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, Philadelphia Inquirer, National Post, Globe and Mail, Guardian, Daily Mail, International Herald Tribune, Irish Times, Irish Independent, ABC, Le Monde, Business Standard, Harpers Bazar, India Today, Money Today, The Australian and The New Zealand Herald.

Existing PressReader installations can be upgraded through the Android market, including versions preinstalled on ASUS, HTC, Kobo, Microsoft and Samsung tablets.