When comparing Google Play Books vs PocketBook - PDF, EPUB reader, the Slant community recommends PocketBook - PDF, EPUB reader for most people. In the question“What are the best eBook readers on Android?” PocketBook - PDF, EPUB reader is ranked 3rd while Google Play Books is ranked 12th. The most important reason people chose PocketBook - PDF, EPUB reader is:
Pocketbook is a very nicely designed eBook reader for Android that has a simple and intuitive interface.
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Pros
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 Built-in dictionary
Google Play Books has an inbuilt dictionary for users to use to look up unfamiliar words.
Pro Supports PDF & EPUB uploads
Users can use the Google Play Books webpage or app to upload their own .epubs or PDFs.
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.
Pro Beautiful user interface
Pocketbook is a very nicely designed eBook reader for Android that has a simple and intuitive interface.
Pro Crop page margins for pdf books
PocketBook allows manually or automatically cropping page margins to better fit text on screen.
Pro Free
Pocketbook is a completely free eReader with zero in app purchases.
Pro Lock screen orientation
The app allows for users to lock the screen orientation of the device in order to prevent the screen from switching while in the middle of reading. This is very helpful for those that read in bed and change positions a lot.
Pro Works with Adobe DRM on .epubs and .pdf
PocketBook is compatable with e.pub and .pdf Adobe DRM files.
Cons
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.
Con Asks to send you "offers"
Very suspicious.
Con It asks for access to ALL your files in order to complete the install
ALL FILES? WHY??? Not just some prescribed folder, but everything, everywhere. Who would grant that kind of access?
Con Most recent update removed features
No longer recognizes my TTS no longer has a sleep timer.
Con Buggy
Pocketbook is still a bit buggy, where it sometimes does not open books or just opens to a blank screen.