Google Play Books vs Microsoft Bookstore

2022. Google Play Books adds a Wish List



Google Play Books is pushing out a new update for the app for Android that has a wish list option on the main navigation bar on the bottom of the screen. This is beside the Home, Library and Shop buttons. It is a dedicated feature that just works for Play Books, so you can add titles you want to buy later to your wish list and they are viewable at anytime. Clicking on a title on the wish list will take you to the Google Play Books entry for it, where you can download a sample or make a purchase. The vast majority of users who are buying books, are using the Play Books app to do do this, since you can buy and read within the app. But in the past few months the company has revised their billing policy and charging developers 30% out of each in-app transaction. This is forced Audible, Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble to remove the ability to buy content and turn their apps into consumption only.


2019. Google Play Books adds custom shelves, shelf icons



Google Play Books launched Beta Features, which gives our users early access to experimental features. The first features to launch are customized bookshelves, which allows you to organize them anyway you see fit. Searching and Sorting is also available, it allows you to quickly search for a particular book or sort your library using different criteria. The last beta feature is Ready to Read, which is a new shelf that shows you the books you haven’t finished yet to help you quickly pick up where you left off. Right now the beta features are for your desktop browser to start and then will make their way over to Android and iOS.


2019. Microsoft Bookstore for Windows 10 is now officially closed



Microsoft has closed its separate ebook store, Microsoft Bookstore, which allowed US customers to download both free and paid titles. Microsoft’s “official reason” is that this decision is part of a strategy to streamline the focus of the Microsoft Store. It appears the company no longer wishes to compete with Amazon, Apple Books and Google Play Books. One major reason for the failure of the Microsoft Store was the lack of distribution options for self-published authors and all the links that publishers used to stock the Microsoft Bookstore’s virtual shelves led to 404 errors. The fact that the bookstore was limited to US customers was a critical issue, as Amazon controls over 75% of all ebook sales, making it nearly impossible for Microsoft to compete unless they sold their books internationally.


2018. Microsoft Edge for iOS and Android now supports ebooks



Microsoft Edge browser for Android, iPad and iPhone can now read ebooks you have acquired from the Microsoft Bookstore. This application is regarded as being in preview mode, so it lacks most of the features of the main desktop version, such as TTS and Cortana. The only aspect the new Edge browser performs well is adjusting the size of the font and the font style. Unfortunately, elements like bookmarks, annotations and highlights are not supported at this time. There is also no way to purchase ebooks from the Microsoft Store; they can only be imported into Edge using your Hotmail account. Although the Edge browser is accessible for anyone to download, only users in the United States can browse their collections and read ebooks.


2015. Google improved Comic Book reading in Play Books for Android



Google has released an update to its Google Play Books app for Android that will enhance the experience of reading comics on your phone and tablet. Reading comics (or graphic novels, if that’s more your preference) on small screens has never been ideal. The new reading interface on Android (with iOS support coming soon) will activate when you are in landscape mode. In this mode, you can now smoothly scroll through a story with just a vertical swipe. Google has also introduced personalized comic recommendations to help you discover similar series, as well as a selection of curated series pages for comics in the Play Store.


2013. Google Play Books is Now Available in 9 More Countries in Europe



The world’s second most slowly expanding ebook store, Google Play Books, made some headway this week with the introduction of new local ebookstores in nine additional countries: Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Poland, Romania and Sweden. In late June, Google Play Books extended its reach to Portugal, Austria, Ireland and Belgium. Google's ebookstore is now accessible in 26 countries, from the US to Russia to Australia. It mainly offers EPUB format and is actively promoting EPUB3 while discouraging other ebook formats.


2012. Google Play Books app adds the power of Internet to reading



Google has updated the Android app Google Play Books, which allows you to purchase and read eBooks on your smartphone. The new features will enhance your ability to explore your books and understand what you’re reading by leveraging the power of the Internet. You can now select a word to view its translation into other languages or its definition from various dictionaries. If the word is a geographical location, you can see it on a map (Google Maps card). Additionally, you can highlight words and phrases and add side notes. The notes you create will sync across your phone, tablet and web, thanks to Google Play Books’ cloud-based content.