Yesterday Microsoft released their 29th overall Redstone 2 testing build for the upcoming Creators Update for Windows 10 which is expected to be released this April.
Windows 10 Build 10514 added one big new feature to Windows 10 and that is the addition of a Book category in the Windows Store that integrates with Microsoft Edge to allow users to read electronic books across the Windows 10 ecosystem.
This is a first iteration of the eBook reading in Microsoft Edge so it obviously has room to grow. Some of the features noted by Microsoft in the Build 15014 release notes for this new feature include:
- Interactive reading experience: To navigate through an e-book, you can use the table of contents or seek bar at the bottom of the browser. You can search for words or phrases and ask Cortana to define specific words and view embedded video and audio content. And of course, pick up where you left of and leave bookmarks on the most interesting pages. You can even read your books when offline.
- Learning tools: You can widen text spacing to improve reading fluency and benefit from typography tailored to reading efficiency.
- Customize for you: Microsoft Edge is built for reading digital content on Windows 10 devices. You can make the reading experiences yours by changing the font and text size, themes, navigation control and more.
- EPUB support: In addition to PDF files and books purchased via the Store – you can read any unprotected e-book in the EPUB file format with Microsoft Edge.
I purchased and downloaded one eBook from the Windows Store and shortly after that transaction it was available on my primary testing device in Microsoft Edge and a quick check on Windows 10 Mobile showed it available there as well.
As you review these gallery images you will see that the universal aspect of the Windows Store and Microsoft Edge provide almost the same experience on each platform.
