Google Play Books

Pros

• A clean digital storefront
• Contains over 5 million books
• Genres include fiction, textbooks, comics, and audiobooks
• E-reader customization and readability tools
• Chrome version and mobile App
• Sync books across all devices

Cons

• Several competitors with larger offerings

Google Play Books is a popular digital bookstore and e-reader App. Available as a free download, the virtual bookshelves and electronic reader provides access to a vast number of texts and audios, all of which are stored on an easy to access online library. The software functions intuitively on Chrome, the ever-popular web browser, plus it can be installed on Android phones and tablets. Adding polish to a bookworm's reading experience, a Google account enables a saved book or bookmark to be synced across different devices.

Two core reading mediums are sold on the Google Books market. There are ebooks to pick up, which contain pages of text. If the device owner's eyes are tired, however, there's the option to shop for audiobooks. And, considering the source of the material, a comprehensive library is always a few clicks away. At last count, the Google Play Books App had access to over five million titles, so prospective booklovers will never be at a loss, not when every reading category is covered. From textbooks to comics, from non-fiction to children's books, every genre is available.

The e-reader App crisply renders text, plus any accompanying page elements, including diagrams and pictures. Additional features, beyond altering the font size, include line spacing adjustments, bookmarking, day and night themes, optional fonts, and brightness settings. Page turning comfort comes next, for this function should be unobtrusive, not clumsy. Using the App, touch the right corner of the screen to advance. To go back a page, use that same finger, move it to the left side of the page, and touch the left-hand corner of the display. Importantly, all of these display customizing options and page advancing features have been refined over many versions of the App, often in response to a user's feedback, so that the reading experience is always enjoyable and innately easy to master.

Going beyond beginner reading features, there's also a series of extras, which will instantly benefit keener bibliophiles. There's inbuilt Google Translate, for near perfect literature translation. Notes and blocks of color-highlighted text come in handy, too, especially when the reader is poring over a hard to decipher textbook. Next, the Google Play Books digital storefront receives some well-deserved attention. First of all, it's a clean page, so potential book buyers can shop to their heart's content without ever getting tied up in a user-interface induced mess. Top charts, bestsellers, and a new arrivals category make the browsing experience fun, so a visually pleasing browsing adventure is assured. Not to be lost amongst the text and written chapters, the audiobook shopping section includes a sample button. Click on the book, listen to the narrator, and decide on a purchase.

Pros

• A clean digital storefront
• Contains over 5 million books
• Genres include fiction, textbooks, comics, and audiobooks
• E-reader customization and readability tools
• Chrome version and mobile App
• Sync books across all devices

Cons

• Several competitors with larger offerings