Textbooks rolling out to Google Play Books iOS app
Google announced back in July during its Google I/O keynote that it would be rolling out textbooks to Google Play Books sometime in August, and today the listings for textbooks have finally arrived in the store via an update to the iOS app. The textbooks get their own section in the Google Play Books store, and are currently only available to users in the US.
Google’s new textbooks are available to purchase, but some titles will offer a rental option that allows users to rent the book for a lower-cost over a six month period. Google is also providing free samples for the new textbooks. The service is currently available through the Google Play Books apps on Android, iOS, and on the web.
Google is also piloting a new Google Play for Education service and accepting app submissions ahead of a full roll out.
What’s New in Version 1.6.0
Highlighting and note-taking are now supported in scanned pages books.
Added support for rental books.
Added sepia reading mode.
Stability and performance improvements.
Earlier this year Blockbuster relaunched its digital video rental service dubbed “Blockbuster on Demand” by releasing apps for Android, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, PC & Mac and introducing new features such as 1080p HD streaming and 5.1-channel surround sound. The service hasn’t picked up much steam since relaunching in January, but today it appears Dish is pushing ahead by finally