Previously thought to be called "Google Editions", the "Google eBookstore" is live and offering hundreds of thousands of titles for purchase. As opposed to other e-book providers, Google's e-books are entirely cloud-based.
"Google eBooks stores your library in the digital cloud," writes the company, "so you can read all of your favorite books using just about any device with an Internet connection."
For those of you worried about reading your books on the go or up in the air, where there might be no Internet connection, Google says that "once you open your book using our mobile reader apps, your book will sync to your device and you can continue reading it online or offline."
You can read Google eBooks on the Web with any browser with Javascript enabled, Android phones, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, and any e-book reader that supports the Adobe ebook platform, including the Barnes & Noble Nook™ and Reader™ from Sony. A complete listing of Adobe eBook devices it supports can be found HERE. With just a few steps, you can start reading over 3 million Google eBooks on the go.
Web brower eBook reader details:
- Unlimited storage of ebooks
- 2-page reading mode
- Search within book
- Adjust text size, typeface, line space, justification
- Free samples of books
- Information about book
- Worry-free archive
Google eBooks is available in the United States and is compatible with phones running Android 2.1 (Eclair) or later. You can download the free Android app to start reading over 3 million ebooks on the go.
Android app details:
- Stores up to 16,000 ebooks on average (based on 32GB capacity supported by micro SD)
- Mobile eBookstore
- Adjust text size, typeface, line space, justification
- Night-reading mode
- Free samples of books
- Information about book
- Offline reading
- Worry-free archive
Google eBooks is available in the United States and is compatible with Apple devices, namely iPhone, iPad, and iPod touch with iOS 3.0 or later. You can download the free Apple app to start reading over 3 million ebooks on the go.
iPhone / iPod touch app details:
- Stores up to 8,000 titles on average (based on 16GB model)
- Recommended for iPhones with 256MB memory or above
- Mobile eBookstore
- Search within book
- Adjust text size, typeface, line space
- Night-reading mode
- Free samples of books
- Information about book
- Offline reading
- Worry-free archive
iPad app details:
- Stores up to 16,000 titles on average (based on 32GB model)
- Native iPad interface app for optimal reading experience
- Mobile eBookstore
- Search within book
- Adjust text size, typeface, line space
- Night-reading mode
- Free samples of books
- Information about book
- Offline reading
- Worry-free archive
Google eBooks does NOT support Amazon's Kindle or RIM Blackberry phones, and no information is available as to whether it will support those devices in the future.
Google's e-book initiative was first expected to launch last summer, but it has been held up by several legal and technical hurdles. Now, it looks like it got here just in time for the holidays, although there is no readily apparent way to buy a Google e-book as a gift. This is a feature that just came to Amazon's Kindle, after all, so it might not be available at launch. For now, Google's e-books will be available through its online store, mobile apps, and through Powell's Books, Albiris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association.
A common speculation is that Google's device-agnostic entry into the e-book market is going to be disruptive and take a chunk of users and revenue from Amazon. What do you think? Will features like e-ink be enough to stave off the Big G or is a cloud-based, device-agnostic offering going to change e-books forever?
COMMENTARY: Google has been working on digitizing approximately 3 million books that are out-of-print for what seems eons, and it is about time that they were all available in one convenient online store, together with books presently in print and today's best sellers.
Many of the today's top selling book titles are listed on in the Google eBookstore, including a Top 10 Listing that also includes former president George W. Bush's book "Decision Points", I'm sorry to say, and the very popular "The Girl Who Kicked The Hornets Nest".
There is a long-standing feud between Google (Eric, Larry and Sergey) and Amazon.com's Bezzo, so it comes as no surprise that Google eBookstore does not support the Kindle. Google eBookstore also does not support RIM Blackberry, and I am not sure if it will support the upcoming tablet PC, but it might be because RIM Blackberry offers an app for Amazon.com. The latter is conjecture on my part. Boy, these feuds run deep. If anybody knows otherwise, please post a comment.
Google's eBookstore is hardly a thing of beauty. In fact, it is just plain ugly and boring. I much prefer to buy my books through Amazon.com's, and have done so for years, and will continue to do so. I like real books, books with real covers. I love sifting through the pages, the texture of the paper and the the smell of ink and paper. eBooks just don't do it for me. Besides, I read somewhere that reading retention using a eBook reader is 30% than reading from a real book. I also like reading real magazines and newspapers, but you probably figured that out already.
Somehow, I have a feeling that I will be receiving a promotional email from Google informing me about the eBookstore. Unfortunately, I do not use Gmail, something I have sworn not to do, and it is probably sitting in my mailbox as I write this. Feuds run deep between me and Google, the company that "Does no evil", too.
Courtesy of an article dated December 6, 2010 appearing in ReadWriteWeb
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