When comparing Cool Reader vs Google Play Books, the Slant community recommends Cool Reader for most people. In the question“What are the best eBook readers on Android?” Cool Reader is ranked 7th while Google Play Books is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose Cool Reader is:
Cool Reader is available completely free and is also open source.
Specs
Ranked in these QuestionsQuestion Ranking
Pros
Pro Free and open source
Cool Reader is available completely free and is also open source.
Pro Fully customizable
Pro A wide range of formats supported
Cool Reader supports epub (non-DRM), fb2, doc, txt, rtf, html, chm, tcr, pdb, prc, mobi (non-DRM) and pml formats.
Pro Allows bookmarking pages, highlighting text, and adding notes
Google Play Books offers many options while reading such as bookmarks, highlights and notes. Making for a good app to use for academic .pdfs and .epubs.
Pro Supports PDF & EPUB uploads
Users can use the Google Play Books webpage or app to upload their own .epubs or PDFs.
Pro Built-in dictionary
Google Play Books has an inbuilt dictionary for users to use to look up unfamiliar words.
Pro Font, font-size, layout and theme can be customized
Margins, text size, line spacing and color theme of the page can be changed to the users liking,.
Pro Syncs across devices
No matter what device one is using the Google Play Books service on it will sync all eBooks and placement into the cloud.
Pro Immersive mode
Google Play Books has built in immersive mode when reading. This allows for the navigation and notification bars to be hidden, allowing the full screen to be used for the eBook.
Pro Responsive interface
Like the majority of Google's apps, Google Play Books has a slick interface that works quite smoothly.
Pro Has light and dark themes
Google Play Books offers a dark and a light theme to make it easier to read in dark or light rooms.
Pro Books can be bought or rented directly from the app
Google Play Books has an in built eBook store within the app, making for a convenient way to purchase titles.
Pro Has text-to-speech support
Text to speech can be used to have an eBook read to the reader aloud.
Cons
Con Constantly changes brightness
Con Could have a better UI design
Con Does not support DRM .epubs
.epubs with DRM are not supported by Cool Reader.
Con Lacks library management features
No shelves, categories, or reading lists.
Con External SD card
Google play books doesn't have the ability to save the downloaded books to an external SD card.