It’s a solid platform for buying and reading eBooks on Android and the Web.
Let’s take a look at Google’s stab at the fast-growing eBook market.
To find books on the Web, visitplay.google.com/booksand choose Shop on the left.
The Kindle app is perfect, I thought; I don’t need Play Books.
Using these apps together is a visual treat.
The screen-turning animation in Play Books is delightful.
It’s surprisingly smooth and not tacky, really helping to immerse you.
One thing to note, though, is that the margins can’t be changed.
Another feature that is hidden in the tweaks is Read Aloud.
This voice is a bit better, and is actually smooth to the point of being tolerable.
If you read online or in the app, your progress will sync just as you’d expect.
Find all your books atplay.google.com/books.
The Web experience falls short of the Android experience, though.
For this, you’ll need a desktop eReading app likeAdobe Digital Editions, which is a free download.
Unfortunately, most of the books you download will be locked down under DRM (What is DRM?
), depending on if the publisher decided to enable that feature or not.
It’s frustrating to say the least.
Despite its new interface,Aldiko’s Android appstill doesn’t feel as well put together as Play Books.
See below where Play Books is on the left and Aldiko is on the right.
While all the font sizes and font types are customizable in both apps, these spacing issues will remain.
Keep in mind that thefree versionis ad-supported, and the premium version with some additional features is $2.99.
Conclusion
Play Books is a solid eReading app, but it still has room for growth.
you’re free to download Play Books from thePlay Store.
