In this day and age, when you buy a smartphone, you’re not just buying a product, you’re buying into an ecosystem. With Android devices, it’s generally Google’s. The Play Store and its corresponding Play apps are the first outlets for content newcomers will see upon firing up their devices, but people looking to be free of Google won’t want to shop here. And even those who don’t mind may not want to trust all their eggs in one basket. Here is a list of alternative places to find books, music, and videos to enjoy on your Android devices.
Books & Magazines
Play Books is a great app for reading ebooks. Users can purchase books from the Play Store and access them from any Android device or web browser. They can even upload epubs or PDFs from other sources, assuming they’re DRM free. If they aren’t (which they won’t be, more than likely, if you purchased a bestseller from any major online retailer), then you can’t read them here. Play Books is primarily intended for books from the Play Store.
There are also no shortage of niche and innovative ways to discover books. Tomely is filled with content from indie writers and publishers. Unbound is essentially Kickstarter for authors, where you can help fund the stories you want to read. Girlebooks offers text written exclusively by female writers.
As for magazines, there’s always Zinio.
Music
There’s Jamendo, which provides listeners with free music from independent artists. Magnatune lets you download all-you-can-listen-to for a monthly fee.
But these days, many people prefer to stream unlimited music rather than buy albums individually. Thankfully nearly all of the major players in this space have apps available. There’s Spotify, Beats Music, Rhapsody, and others.
Movies
If you happen to have some ripped DVD files lying around, Plex can manage those just fine, uploading them and streaming them to many of the devices in your home.
And if you just prefer physical products, there’s a Redbox app that lets you reserve and rent discs from the comfort of your phone.
Conclusion
Just because you own an Android device, that doesn’t mean you’re dependent on Google for your content. Just give any of these alternatives a go and try to keep control of your content in your own hands. If you have any other sources of books, music, or movies you would like to recommend, please share them with us below.
Bertel is a tech blogger and independent novelist who puts perhaps a tad too much trust in Google. He’s loved Android since the moment he got his eager hands on his first device – if not sooner – and has understood the Chromebook Pixel from day one.You can follow his work at bertelking.com.
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