The Google Play Books app has received a fresh update that introduces new attributes into the utility. The overhaul is targeted towards enhancing the reading experience on Android mobile devices and has been designed to let users understand the content better.
Inquisitive students devouring a Tolstoy work or the great white whale that is Moby Dick can now get a grasp of unheard locations mentioned in the book. An info card with a Google Map will guide them through the place along with an option to know more facts by searching for the term on Google or Wikipedia. The same goes for unfamiliar terms which can be defined quickly with a simple tap of the finger.
Learners can also translate words or phrases into different languages using the included translation function. Readers simply need to select the desired text or word and tap a button on the action bar. Subsequently, just selecting the language in which the concerned term is to be translated will display the result.
“Google Play Books enables you to read more than 4 million books on the go, and it’s available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Germany, Spain, Italy, France, Korea and Japan. Today we’re bringing new features to the Books app to help you better explore your books and understand what you’re reading,” states a post on the official Android blog written by Xinxing Gu, Product Manager, Google Play.
The eReading app now allows highlighting specific lines and note-taking while reading. Moreover, all the data is stored in the cloud, so the relevant information is synced to the corresponding tablet or mobile device as well as the web without fail. Additional enhancements are inclusive of 2D sliding page turn animation, stability tweaks and a new sepia reading theme. As for Japanese books, they can be read in a right-to-left layout displayed vertically for convenience.
The upgraded Google Play Books app can be downloaded via Google Play.