Google Play Books is pushing out a new update for the app for Android that has a wish list option on the main navigation bar on the bottom of the screen. This is beside the Home, Library and Shop buttons. It is a dedicated feature that just works for Play Books, so you can add titles you want to buy later to your wish list and they are viewable at anytime. Clicking on a title on the wish list will take you to the Google Play Books entry for it, where you can download a sample or make a purchase.
There are lots of rumors going around that Google will remove the purchase of audiobooks and digital books from the Play Store and only sell content through the app. This is similar to them removing the music section on the site and incorporating everything into YouTube Music. Due to the success of Google TV, it is also rumored that Google will nix Movies and TV shows from Google Play. So, in the near future the only content you will be download from Play, are apps and games. This will bring things back to basics.
I am fairly certain that the vast majority of users who are buying books, are using the Play Books app to do do this, since you can buy and read within the app. I also believe that Google Play Books is likely enjoying more users purchasing audiobooks and ebooks. This is because in the past few months the company has revised their billing policy and charging developers 30% out of each in-app transaction. This is forced Audible, Amazon Kindle and Barnes and Noble to remove the ability to buy content and turn their apps into consumption only. Google Play Books and Kobo are the only two major brands that allow users to purchase digital content through Play.
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.