Following the Google I/O keynote Google’s services are receiving updates across the board. Google Talk is now Hangouts. Search, Maps and Google+ have all gotten significant updates, and who can forget the new Google Games service?
Another service that quietly received an update today was Google Play Books. It’s a proprietary reader that’s also part of the Google Play digital storefront. The reader works specifically with content purchased through the Play store, but that’s it. For a while now users have been asking for a way to upload their own personal content, and now Google is allowing it to happen.
Google Play Books supports PDF and EPUB files, and now users can upload up to a 1,000 titles in either format. You can upload content via your desktop through the online library, or you can import directly from Google Drive.
Furthermore, all page positions, bookmarks and personal notes are stored and synced to the cloud so you always have access to the respective features no matter what device you’re reading on. Basically, it works just like Google Music only it’s for eBooks.
Of course, the latest update also includes a bunch of new optimization and format changes:
- Tweak to the in-app library
- Table of contents view
- Delete confirmations
- Recommendation pages at the end of books.
- Stability and performance improvements
Just like the other services, the new Google Books service is still rolling out so you may not be able to access the new feature until later this evening. Just be patient, it will be available soon enough.
To upload your own books, open the Google Play web portal in your web browser and choose my books. The uploads option will appear right below purchases and samples. Again, it may not rollout to everyone until later this evening so expect a slight delay.
Are you happy that Google Books now supports personal uploads? Do you use the Google Books reader or an alternative app, instead? Personally, I have the Google Books app frozen on my device and I use GoBooks, but thanks to this new update I might make the switch finally.