Android devices can be used as an eReader by using an app called Play Books, which can be downloaded from Google Play. Books can read aloud eBooks that are downloaded or purchased. The app also read ePub books stored on the device.
The accessibility features for Play Books include:
- Change the theme of the background of your page
- Change the style of your font
- Change the text alignment
- Change the brightness
- Maximum and minimise your font size
- Change the line height
- Browse to see your reading progress or to skip to another section of the book
- Change the pages by swiping your finger across the screen the way you want to change the page or press your finger on the edge of the page to turn the page
- Search for text or words in your book
- Bookmark pages
- Being able to change your pages by the volume controls
In addition, the built-in accessibility features such as the TalkBack screen reader can also be used in conjunction with the Books apps. To ensure that Books works with TalkBack effectively, go to the settings menu in the Play Books when the app is first opened, select the navigation menu, then settings and select ‘automatically use talkback’. TalkBack will then read books.
Talkback can also be used with the Google Newsstand app but its functionality is limited. For additional information on the built-in Android accessibility features, please refer to the Android section of the website.
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