When most people access Google Play on their Android tablets, you normally do it via the dedicated app. One of the more useful ways to install apps is it to do it via the Google Play website, where you can flag apps to install. Today, the entire Google online experience has changed and has borrowed elements from its refreshed app.
The new interface is a dramatic shift from what was offered before. The app icons tend to be way bigger in size and most of the app screenshots are much larger. The app version numbers, number of installs, date updated, and most other essential information is now at the very bottom of the screen, instead of the top. One of the main drawbacks is that you will no longer see embedded YouTube videos or the feature graphics.
Google Books has also received a big update and actually looks slicker than before. There are five books on each line now and there are subtle animations when you highlight one. There are more refined genres and ebook discovery seems to be kicked up a notch. One of the things I really liked was when you scroll downwards to check out all the books, the top menu floats. This means as you scroll downwards, the navigation menu trails behind you. Very useful if you want to abandon your current searching method and click on the navigation. In the past, you had to scroll all the way up.
There is more essential data to be displayed at the expense of truncating user reviews. Instead of them running altogether, they scroll on a carousel. The old Google Books system was not indicative to selling books because it basically used the same interface as Android apps. You can really tell that Google put a priority on the most essential data and the redesign gives users more information before buying. Google Magazines more or less has the same interface as the Books section.
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.