Now Reading Comic in Android is more easier – Ann Arbor Daily Science

Android Phones is not be the best place to read comics, but Google is doing what it can to improve the experience for comic-book-loving Android users.  Graphic novels, or comic books, are as popular as ever now that they have taken to the digital screen.

Today, Google has announced an update to the Google Play Books application with comic books very much at the heart of the improvements

Google’s blog site explains that the advantage of having a sharp, color screen on us most of the time together with the new Google Play Books application means that we can have instant access to “read any comic whenever and wherever you are.” The main change is to the comic book reading interface, which now includes what Google are calling a new vertical scrolling experience, designed for reading comic books with the device in landscape mode. The interface change is because comic books work best when following the story, appreciating the art and dialogue, but at a pace set by the user. This means occasionally scrolling back to a previous image, which is easily accomplished with quick, vertical swipes. Google Play Books‘ Lead Product Manager, Greg Hartrell, explained that the changes to the interface followed “good old-fashioned usability studies.”

The upgrade is comprised of two major pieces designed with comics in mind — one that impacts the quality of the reading experience itself and another aimed at helping to keep your digital library organized.

In addition to the user interface changes, Google has improved their comic book offering on the Play Store with a new section containing “a bunch of beautifully curated series pages on the Google Play Store that organize volumes, issues and other editions of the top comic series.” The Play Store section is designed to produce personal recommendations for similar comic books to those stories already read. The Google Play Store now offers comic from the major publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel, Image, IDW and Dark Horse. Collections include The Walking Dead, Justice League, Deadpool and Mortal Kombat series and over the next week Google will be releasing several free comics from The X-Files, Lazarus, Jem and the Holograms plus more.

New features rolling out today on Android and available soon on iOS include a new, vertical scrolling experience in landscape mode designed to make following a comic book story easier; and curated series pages for the top comic books to make browsing and finding easier. Between hundreds of issues and numerous recent relaunches, it’s never been more difficult to keep track of a character’s journey, so depending on exactly how well the Series page works, it could be a godsend for comics readers.

It’s the first upgrade specifically designed for comic fans on Android. And a tricky one to do, says Hartrell, since comics, with their often dense, multi-volume canons, are hard to organize digitally. Google is working with the big name publishers, like DC Comics and Marvel, for curated series. And some niche yet popular publishers — “The Walking Dead” and the “My Little Pony” franchise, which is big for male fans, or “Bronies” (a thing) — are making their e-books free to inaugurate the launch.

Within Google, Play is seen as a potential revenue pillar as the growth in the search behemoth plateaus. To make it so, Google is trying to bolster its entertainment library to compete with Amazon and Apple. Judging from the limited figures we have, Apple is still well ahead in generating cash from its app store. Last month, Google added a feature for podcasting. In September, it “acqhired” the team behind Oyster Books, an e-books subscription service. They haven’t announced what that team is working on, but Google says it was not this comics initiative.

“Reading a comic book is all about following the story and enjoying the art, dialogue and pace the way you want,” wrote Greg Hartrell, Senior Product Manager, Google Play Books. “But navigating a comic can be tricky on a small phone or tablet screen. So, we’re introducing a new vertical scrolling experience for comics in landscape mode. Flip your device on its side and you can easily scroll through the story with quick vertical swipes.”

Google Play titles from all the major U.S. publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel, Image, IDW and Dark Horse

The official press release in particular calls out The Walking Dead, Justice League, Deadpool and Mortal Kombat. If you’ve been buying exclusively through ComiXology, Dark Horse’s branded app or someplace else for a while and don’t have a comics library to work through, Google is offering a handful of new comics this week, including issues of The X-Files, Lazarus, and Jem and the Holograms.

Google’s improvements to the comic book aspect of Play Books follow studying what customers buy; comics are a very popular destination in the Play Store and comic book readers turn twice as many pages as other customers. This information is not so surprising; comic books are difficult to put down once you start! Google does not release statistics explaining what the most popular categories are in the Play Book Store, but Greg notes that comics easily rank among the most popular of categories. The application update is being released today and will roll out to all customers over the next few days.

Of course, all the enhancements in the world don’t matter very much if you can’t even find a good comic book to read. To that end, Google is also adjusting the Google Play Store itself to make it easier to shop for comics. The store is getting its own dedicated comics section that will feature “beautifully curated series pages” to organize all the comics-related offerings together. Additionally, a new recommendation engine will help suggest other comics that a person might want to read based on past history.

“Google Play offers binge-worthy comics from all the major publishers, including DC Comics, Marvel, Image, IDW and Dark Horse. Whether you’re a long-time fan or just starting out, our collections will have something great for you, with series like The Walking Dead, Justice League, Deadpool, and Mortal Kombat. And for the next week we’ll be celebrating these new features with several free comics, including issues from The X-Files, Lazarus, and Jem and the Holograms, and more,” Google said.

The new features will roll out to Android users in the next few days (with iOS soon to follow) in the United States, Canada, Australia, Great Britain, India, Singapore, Ireland, New Zealand, and South Africa.

Source | http://www.albanydailystar.com

Regards

Pralhad Jadhav

Senior Manager @ Library

Khaitan & Co

Upcoming Event | National Conference on Future Librarianship: Innovation for Excellence (NCFL 2016) during April 22-23, 2016.

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