Hoopla fixes its Android woes

Back in March, I wrote that it was "time for the Hoopla library service to get its act together" and criticized Hoopla Digital, the online service for libraries. While acknowledging that the service, offered by Sandusky Library and other local libraries, has many fine features, I said it was long past time for Hoopla to fix the constant skipping that occurred when people tried to play music on the Hoopla Android app for smartphones. I pointed out that it wasn't just my phone, but many Android phones. Well, it seems that the service has fixed its problems. The latest version of Hoopla at the Google Play store says the app has been fixed to stop the skipping.And I can verify that on my phone, and my wife's phone, that appears to be the case. When I listened to music album last night, I braced for the usual skips, but the music seemed fine. And when I played a video on my phone the other day, I noticed that it played through all the way, without the customary Hoopla interruptions. I've been listening to a Philip Glass album at work as I wrote this, and it played fine. Your mileage may vary, of course, and it's certainly possible that other bugs may crop up. But Hoopla deserves credit for finally addressing the situation.And with the fixing of the Android bugs, it's time to focus in on Hoopla's strengths, which include the ability to borrow music albums, movies, TV episodes, ebooks, audiobooks and comic books, and watch or listen to them on your smartphone, tablet, or computer. The service is free for anyone with a library card for Sandusky Library, or any of the other local libraries. If you have a smartphone or tablet, try the app for Android or iPhone devices. There's a lot of publicity these days for the streaming music services from the likes of Spotify, Apple and Google, which charge $10 a month for music without commercials. But Hoopla offers much of that for free. (If Hoopla doesn't have it, it will likely be available from Freegal, the other main online music service for libraries.)