Marvel Unlimited App Comes to Android (a day late and a dollar short)

Google may be the the most powerful company in the universe, but they are still second to Apple's grip on app technology.  Nothing could state that more than Marvel Unlimited.  Marvel Unlimited is a rental subscription where you can read 13,000 comics online for a monthly fee.  It takes the fun out of vintage collecting, but it is good for story fans.  It took a couple years for Marvel to finally make an app that could be mobile.  Apple got the first choice, because its the default answer to all marketing.  After some mediocre reviews, the Android is getting a shot at it.

Since I won't commit to a digital comic overload until it is worth my money, I took a look at the free sample comics.

I have a Samsung Galaxy II S. Android is the village bicycle of operating systems so I had not set my hopes up high.

And for good reason.

It's a very creative set up where you can search for comic series, popular issues and free issues with a touch of  a button.  The setup is clean and Marvel is very good at offering vintage stories and 2012 issues.  But putting something on an Android phone is likely to have these results.  It is unresponsive...it can't go into landscape mode gracefully...it stalls frequently.

All three!  Way to go Marvel!



The whole motion of digitally reading a comic book feels as comfortable as a fat man sliding into an infant's suit.  I could not flip through my Xmen Legacy #1 comic without a few stalls and one freeze.  When I tried to flip views the size did not change to fill the screen.

You may read on a few forums that you can just download Opera Browser and use the Flash player to use Marvel.  I have never been successful with flash on a tablet or phone.  It is like trying to show a deaf person the new Coldplay song.  I'm sure you can mega hack/jail/root/break your phone to get it to work, but why do I have to be a super spy to make things work? (things that work on Apple phones for free)

I can't be too hard on the app.  Marvel did say that it was a test app, and you are still welcome to give your money.  I'm confident Android will get around to making the fixes as soon they extinguish the daily fires caused by their servers and figure out why the lower quality phones have that weird baby eating virus.

It's a great idea, Marvel, but you are taking forever to do anything with it.  I sort of wish DC, Image, Darkhorse, IDW or Top Cow would grab the rug right under your feet and produce a more polished version at a greater speed.