Google Play Books Now Have Ads

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I've not interested in using Google Play books and my brief experiment didn't impress me even without the Discover update so I'll stick with Amazon and Kobo.

As has been said, you can use Google Play as a bookstore and read the books in any ePub reader of your choice. They are standard ADE books.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Josieb1

I've not interested in using Google Play books and my brief experiment didn't impress me even without the Discover update so I'll stick with Amazon and Kobo.

I get the odd book from Google and read it on my Kobo, normal ePubs, never had a problem with them.

[Dopedangel]

I buy ebooks from google play but don't use it as a reader just transfer to calibre and then to my reader. I opened google play just to check if it shows any ads don't see any so far. Looking at apkmirror maybe 5 or 6 updates have been uploaded in the last week. Here is the list of versions that are available. If any one wants to try these are unmodified apks so wont break your link with google play and you will still get update if and when the newer version comes

http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/google-...-apk-download/

I tried the latest version still not seeing any ads

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Telling me about other books I might like whenever I open an app or reach the end of a book? How horrible. How utterly inappropriate. Why couldn't it be medication, kitchen-gadgets, or better yet; celebrity news? Anything but easily dismissable reading recommendations.

The least objectionable type of advertising can still be objectionable.
Just as the lesser of two evils is still evil.
Or: just because it could be worse doesn't mean it shouldn't be better.

Geesh, none of those are as catchy-sounding as I'd hoped. But the point stands.
I'd rather have relevant ads than irrelevant ads, but I'd rather have no ads even more.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by ApK

Geesh, none of those are as catchy-sounding as I'd hoped. But the point stands.
I'd rather have relevant ads than irrelevant ads, but I'd rather have no ads even more.

Well sure, so would I. But when it comes to applications made available free of charge (of which there are many ADE compatible ones available that can read Google Play Ebooks) I tend to be a little more realistic. No one has a right to expect their ideal with "Free" anything, IMO.

As mentioned, there are plenty of ways to read books purchased from Google Play in an ad-free environment. However, if one wants to use the convenience of Google's free reading/store app ecosystem, then book recommendations don't seem to be that steep of a price to me (as long as the'yre not popping up randomly durring the course of reading, mind you) if you like using the app to read with. Of course, I've never really been bitten by the "all-ads-are-the-spawn-of-Satan" bug in the first place, either.

If the recommendations only occur when opening a book, it would trouble me almost not at all. I read one book at a time (and it stays "open" in the background while I'm doing so). If it annoys me enough, I'll read it with one of the many other ad-free options available to me. I'd certainly never stop purchasing books from Google simply because an app of theirs I'm not being forced to read their ebooks with includes "ads."

[nabsltd]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

No one has a right to expect their ideal with "Free" anything, IMO.

There are so many "damn close to ideal" free tools regularly referenced on these fora that I think you are wrong.

The problem is that we are also used to walled garden, closed systems that are far worse than the free versions, and we seem to more readily accept the poor quality in these for some reason. Google software is a good example of this...some of it is close to the best out there, but some isn't nearly as good, and we grin and bear it because sometimes its the only way to get one feature that Google has locked up.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

Well sure, so would I. But when it comes to applications made available free of charge (of which there are many ADE compatible ones available that can read Google Play Ebooks) I tend to be a little more realistic. No one has a right to expect their ideal with "Free" anything, IMO.

."

Has there ever been anything that was truly free? Last time I looked, there was a catch to everything free.

[DiapDealer]

I'm not getting into the sematics of "free". I simply mean that Google does not charge you money to install/use their eReading/store app (nor are you forced to use that app to read their ebooks).

[Barty]

I think having pop up every time you open a book would annoy most people, and it's not something Google would do on purpose as the backlash would not be worth it. Google books is hardly in a position to tick off people. I suspect this is either a glitch or something this particular publisher is doing by itself.

[Conan46]

Has anyone else got the fully updated version of Google Books yet? I realized last night that I did a new install of Google Books on a new phone which is probably why I had the most updated version of Google Books.
As for free vs ads, Google swallows every bit of data they can gather on everyone so they can sell targeted ads across their services. I don't think anyone is under the illusion that Google is noble or giving away apps out of the kindness of their heart. But if, and I know it has not been fully proved yet, Google is inserting ads into books on top of the info-gathering they already do to sell us to their advertising customers, we need to clearly know this is a new cost of using their apps. I would accept it is not Google doing this except for the clear link in the ad that says "shop" and doesn't take me to Nelson (the publisher of the book) but to the Google Play store with lots of books published by a wide range of publishers.
There is only one reason I have bothered at all with Google Books app. It is the only one that when I am away from a wifi source that will quickly load a book with all the formatting with the size of a Bible. I have purchased both Fbreader and Moon+ reader and they are my preferred ebook apps on mobile, but they both suck at loading a huge book with lots of links and formatting. Moon+ says it can't load the book, Fbreader will only load it after several minutes. So when Google Books instantly loads a big book like that it comes in handy. Otherwise I would never use Google Books. And this is the first book I bought from them after loading the new app, so you understand my confusion about seeing an ad every time I open the book. I have not heard back from Google about my complaint. I would like it confirmed that either Google or the Publisher is doing this, either way it is not good and customers should be aware of it.

[DiapDealer]

I'm still on v3.9.x. No update yet for me on my Nexus 7.

[Cinisajoy]

Why don't you grab another book?

[Dopedangel]

Originally Posted by Conan46

Has anyone else got the fully updated version of Google Books yet? I realized last night that I did a new install of Google Books on a new phone which is probably why I had the most updated version of Google Books.
As for free vs ads, Google swallows every bit of data they can gather on everyone so they can sell targeted ads across their services. I don't think anyone is under the illusion that Google is noble or giving away apps out of the kindness of their heart. But if, and I know it has not been fully proved yet, Google is inserting ads into books on top of the info-gathering they already do to sell us to their advertising customers, we need to clearly know this is a new cost of using their apps. I would accept it is not Google doing this except for the clear link in the ad that says "shop" and doesn't take me to Nelson (the publisher of the book) but to the Google Play store with lots of books published by a wide range of publishers.
There is only one reason I have bothered at all with Google Books app. It is the only one that when I am away from a wifi source that will quickly load a book with all the formatting with the size of a Bible. I have purchased both Fbreader and Moon+ reader and they are my preferred ebook apps on mobile, but they both suck at loading a huge book with lots of links and formatting. Moon+ says it can't load the book, Fbreader will only load it after several minutes. So when Google Books instantly loads a big book like that it comes in handy. Otherwise I would never use Google Books. And this is the first book I bought from them after loading the new app, so you understand my confusion about seeing an ad every time I open the book. I have not heard back from Google about my complaint. I would like it confirmed that either Google or the Publisher is doing this, either way it is not good and customers should be aware of it.

I did I am on 3.10.25 not getting any ads

Sent from my SM-G925I using Tapatalk

[DiapDealer]

My tablet just updated to v3.10.27 (with the new "Discover" feature). I'm not seeing any ads when opening my previously purchased books (purchased from Google Play). I'll try purchasing a new book shortly and see what happens.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'll try purchasing a new book shortly and see what happens.

Ha! Their clever guerrilla marketing campaign is working!