For someone who does actually read books on mobile devices, I’ll first give you a high-5. I couldn’t be much happier to get the new Google Play update that finally brings Google’s bookstore right to our devices. Quickly, I thought. Launch the app now!
So I did. Right after I tapped the Agree button to agree with the new terms and conditions, there’s nothing but disappoint after that.
Here are some of the problems I came across the Play Books in Malaysia. Bear in mind that this is all from a personal level, so if I did in any way offend you, don’t say I didn’t warn you.
So here I am launching the app for the first time after the update. Excited, I explored around.
It surely felt welcoming that Google actually put in Malay words instead of English, since it is the Malaysia Play Books anyway. Also I noticed there’s a “Books” icon below “Apps”. Intuitively, tapping it will bring me to the bookstore right?
And I was correct. It did. Though it confuses me. The banner says Pilihan Penyunting, which translates to Editor’s Choice. I thought that the entire Malaysian Play Books was tailored in the Malay language, but when I saw the word FREE was in English, and the Top Book wasn’t translated, it pretty much disgusts me. I moved on ahead to have a look at the categories of books offered.
Wait – is it Sains & Matematika or Sains & Matematik?? Being a student that received early education in the Malay language, it stirred me up. There is also a doubt on the word they chose for Koleksi Fiksyen & Sastera which translates to Fiction & Literature Collection. Is the word Collection really needed?
Naturally, since Google launched Play Books in Malaysia, the web version of the Play Store is updated too. I hopped on to my laptop and then I discovered this.
It seems like the web version wasn’t well-translated as the in the home page, it’s in Malay. When you go in to the category, it goes all English.
Those are the tiny details though. Let’s get on to the main point – the selection of books offered. There are a lot of eccentric books which really piques my interest, but I thought that’s a tough test even for eBay. So I went on to find a well-known author’s work, Haruki Murakami – particularly, 1Q84.
The book is in Spanish, but it is offered in Malaysia. Also, this is only the first book of the trilogy, which was not stated clearly in the title too. Seriously, there is a bunch of books written by Haruki Murakami that’s not translated to English but available for the Malaysian Play Books. Some Korean, some are in French. That said, the second book of the trilogy of 1Q84 is missing from Play Books, but Book 1 & 3 is there. I’ll however still give them credit for having Chinese version of George Orwell’s 1984 available.
Nonetheless still, the selections are a little weak. I don’t actually know what Google is doing, but the famous book The Secret (which I hate a lot) isn’t available in the Play Books store. A book which caught my interest is Steal Like An Artist by Austin Kleon is actually available in the Malaysian Play Books, which really caught me by surprise. Some other eccentric books like the To Hell And Back trilogy was not available. Some even rarer books by Charles Saatchi or M&C Saatchi was only to be seen in Kinokuniya once by my own eyes.
I wouldn’t say that the Malaysian Play Books is horrible, but I’ll say that they’re not really that good. There certainly is room for improvement, particularly on the selection of books. The bilingual glitch is certainly an eyesore. Why can’t you just settle down on one language? Of course I can understand if you name the entire Malay or Chinese book category in their own respective mothertongue, but there’s no reason to use Pilihan Penyunting instead of Editor’s Choice on the main screen’s banner.
Oh, you can even upload your own ePub books on their server to sync across all your Android devices.
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