Google Play Books OR Kindle Amazon Books?

**LadiJae** · 07-12-2012, 04:53 PM

I would like to purchase a book on my phone, this would be my first electronic book....I know how it works on the iPad, i've experienced that, but how would it work on my Samsung Galaxy S3....Which one should i purchase from??? which one has the best user friendly interface for book reading and editing options??

Help?

the book is the same price on both

**jeffreii** · 07-12-2012, 05:36 PM

Well personally I have a Kindle so it's no question.

However a major gripe of Google Books, for me, is that you cannot import your own books like you can with Kindle. I have lots of books I have downloaded and Google Books won't handle them.

**Tkbredx** · 07-12-2012, 05:42 PM

Originally Posted by jeffreii

Well personally I have a Kindle so it's no question.

However a major gripe of Google Books, for me, is that you cannot import your own books like you can with Kindle. I have lots of books I have downloaded and Google Books won't handle them.

What do you mean by import your own books?

I've been wondering the same thing though. I have an iPad. And i will use it most for reading. So i need compatibilty. I usually use ibooks but obviously that wont work with my new GS3. Which one is the best for switching devices? Google Books? Kindle? Or Nook?

**LadiJae** · 07-12-2012, 06:50 PM

i believe Amazon Kindle can be used across all platforms....

**ScottColbert** · 07-12-2012, 06:56 PM

Kindle. I may use google books for a special, but with kindle I can use it on everything, phone, tablet, pc etc.

Aside from the fact I can send a kindle file of my book to a reviewer or whoever, and I can't do that with google books.

**kicker10bog** · 07-12-2012, 07:02 PM

Personally, I like the Nook app the most for just reading (mainly because of the awesome page turn animations) but the Kindle app is best overall. You can download the dictionary and look-up words while reading without having to leave the app or even the page you're on.

**Tsudeily** · 07-12-2012, 07:10 PM

Kindle app ONLY because I can not import my own books into Google Play Books.

The guy who asked about importing books... On iOS devices you can add your epub files to iTunes and sync them to the iBooks app. Google's app does not allow this.

**rap1** · 07-12-2012, 07:20 PM

Kindle lets you read across platforms including the web and keeps you in sync with where you quit. Not sure about the others. There are a number of free books available from Amazon (don't know about the others). Download Kindle app and a free book to see how you like it.

**jeffreii** · 07-12-2012, 08:02 PM

Originally Posted by Tkbredx

What do you mean by import your own books?

I've been wondering the same thing though. I have an iPad. And i will use it most for reading. So i need compatibilty. I usually use ibooks but obviously that wont work with my new GS3. Which one is the best for switching devices? Google Books? Kindle? Or Nook?

There are websites where you can download free books (there are several formats). You then plug your Kindle into a computer and copy those books to it. You don't have to get everything directly from Amazon in order to read it on a Kindle. Google Books does not allow that.

It works the same on my phone. Copy the book files from my computer or Kindle to the /kindle folder on the phone's internal storage and they pop up in the app.

**codemonkey85** · 07-12-2012, 09:07 PM

Google Books will also sync your progress across platforms, and is usable on all iOS and Android devices, as well as the web.

Personally, I prefer Google Books, because I like the widget and short cut better. Plus, anything that plugs directly into my Google account or Android devices is a plus.

**LadiJae** · 07-12-2012, 09:29 PM

Thanks I went for the Amazon kindle, Google wouldn't let me highlight in the book...

~GS3 on Tapatalk~

**camiller** · 07-12-2012, 09:50 PM

FWIW, when Borders went out of business I ended up getting a Kobo (plus two more for the family) I sometimes buy from the Kobo store, but I also buy from Amazon and strip the DRM (note I do buy the books - not pirate). I also have bought from Google Books, since Kobo supports Adobe DRM I can load the Google Epubs to the Kobo just fine. I also have old purchased prc files from fictionwise (yep buying ebooks before it was cool

) originally read on the Palm III, that I converted to ePub. Oh and I have a few purchased straight from O'reilly. And some DRM free books from Baen books for my cheesy Sci-Fi fix. and free books from manybooks.net and Project Gutenberg. I manage my library using Calibre on the PC.

Point is, there is no reason not to buy books wherever (except iBooks). Even though you can "side-load" books with any of the majors (except apparently Google Books) you don't get all of the features of the service on the "side-loaded" books, like syncing position. It would be really cool if Google would let you upload epubs to your Google Books account and then do all that, but neither they or any of the other majors have tackled that challenge yet.

**VDub2174** · 07-12-2012, 10:35 PM

I already have a ton of books for Kindle so I'm sticking with that.

**eheaps** · 07-12-2012, 11:52 PM

I bought a few textbooks on my tablet with the Nook app and found it to be pretty awesome. Cross-platform, similar features to the Kindle app. The Nook app allows you to highlight, circle, add notes, etc as well as place multiple bookmarks and such throughout the app. I bought a regular book on Google Books (Moneyball) and enjoyed the reading experience there as well. Would use Google Books for the textbooks as well but they either weren't available, or were way more expensive than Nook/Kindle.

**obi5683** · 07-13-2012, 05:43 AM

Originally Posted by LadiJae

I would like to purchase a book on my phone, this would be my first electronic book....I know how it works on the iPad, i've experienced that, but how would it work on my Samsung Galaxy S3....Which one should i purchase from??? which one has the best user friendly interface for book reading and editing options??

Help?

the book is the same price on both

If you ever plan on owning a dedicated e-reader, buy the book from the company that makes the e-reader that interests you the most. If you will eventually buy a Kindle, buy from Amazon. If you want a nook, buy from B&N.

I will probably buy a nook Simple Touch, so it makes sense for me to buy the nook book.

**sdreelin** · 07-13-2012, 08:42 AM

I use both and the Google Play Books client does have the advantage of text to speech reading where the Kindle app does not, but that said I buy almost all my books in the Kindle app because I use multiple devices (Android, IOS, Windows, Linux, etc.) and I own a Kindle as well. The Kindle platform also has the ability to send MS Office docs and have them convert to Kindle format. Using Readability you can send text from web pages for reading later. Those features far outweigh what you get with the Google Play Books app.

**Shadowcat** · 07-13-2012, 08:59 AM

Originally Posted by camiller

FWIW, when Borders went out of business I ended up getting a Kobo (plus two more for the family) I sometimes buy from the Kobo store, but I also buy from Amazon and strip the DRM (note I do buy the books - not pirate). I also have bought from Google Books, since Kobo supports Adobe DRM I can load the Google Epubs to the Kobo just fine. I also have old purchased prc files from fictionwise (yep buying ebooks before it was cool

) originally read on the Palm III, that I converted to ePub. Oh and I have a few purchased straight from O'reilly. And some DRM free books from Baen books for my cheesy Sci-Fi fix. and free books from manybooks.net and Project Gutenberg. I manage my library using Calibre on the PC.

Point is, there is no reason not to buy books wherever (except iBooks). Even though you can "side-load" books with any of the majors (except apparently Google Books) you don't get all of the features of the service on the "side-loaded" books, like syncing position. It would be really cool if Google would let you upload epubs to your Google Books account and then do all that, but neither they or any of the other majors have tackled that challenge yet.

Hey, another Fictionwise person! Don't you miss them? I was a Buywise member and everything and I really miss the micropay rebates! I think it's a travesty what's happened to the ebook market since the big 5 conspired to fix the prices. I love Baen and their policies, but I don't read enough of their authors to be able to buy only from them. And I strip the DRM and use Calibre for my library management too! I started out reading on my Treo 600. I just switched from a Palm Pre to a Galaxy S3 a couple of days ago, and I'm still checking out the e-readers available to me, so I don't have a lot of advice (or any!) for the OP, except that I would go with either Kindle or Nook and stay away from Google Books. I don't have any solid reasoning to back that up, just a general feeling.

**CMercs** · 07-13-2012, 09:46 AM