Google eBookstore
You are all probably aware of Google Books, but were you aware that the Google eBookstore has finally launched this week!
Read seamlessly on your device – Access all your ebooks wirelessly, no matter where you go. Google eBooks stores your library in the digital cloud, so you can read all of your favorite books using just about any device with an Internet connection. Google eBooks is compatible with Android phones, iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, web browsers and many supported eReaders. Whenever you open one of your books, we’ll pick up right where you left off.
Cost, flexibility & freedom are just a few of the reasons why Google will dominate the ebook market starting now. Amazon Kindle domination of the ebook market is over. The epic battle is between Apple vs. Google. Google will win. Google is a software based platform versus Apple which is a fixed/locked hardware one. Amazon Kindle and Apple are similar in this regard. They are both trying to capture and hold their market(s), but this attempt to do so will fail. People will always choose freedom if given the choice to do so. Various computer manufactures and book publishers prefer the open format of Google as well.
Google (and Sony) are linked into the national public library system where you can get ebooks and audiobooks for free…
3 Responses to Google eBookstore
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(1 days ago)
Huh? Kindle is also on the PC, the Mac, iPad, iPhone, Blackberry, and Android. Why are you downplaying all that?
I was excited about the Google eBookstore but as of right now, it’s not as good as Amazon’s. Fewer popular books and not as well organized. Letting you read right from the browser is a plus but content is more important.
I’m not sure what will happen. To the end consumer, it doesn’t really matter. It’s possible that they’ll all survive.
A few points:
The players can’t compete on price since the publishers set the prices. They’ll have to compete in some other way. Maybe exclusivity deals?
Nothing prevents publishers from selling ebooks directly.
Google Chrome OS was unveiled today. The OS is a web browser so ebook readers need to be web-based if you’re using this OS. Not coincidentally, Amazon said it’s working on a web-based reader.
I was thinking today that books are too expensive compared to other forms of media. Is there room for an ad-supported or subscription model?
Before ebooks, we had to pay for books even if they were in the public domain. Today, public domain ebooks are free and ebooks still protected by copyright are ~$10. Will the public notice and finally demand that Congress stop extending copyright terms?
Unfortunately Google Books is equally crippled as Amazon since they both use some form of DRM so that you are limited to reading books only via their software.
While Google and Kindle both offer book readers on a range devices, there readers are not always the best. In fact Google’s book reading app is horrible and doesn’t even have a landscape mode. Google though has always been bad at interfaces, but the Google reader is really bad. Kindle’s various apps at least is fairly decent.
The prices on Google books is slightly less on the books I checked, but saving less than a dollar and having to read them via their reader isn’t worth it.
Plus there are good questions as to how the book publishing world will work with Google. They are still pretty mad at them for the book copying effort of theirs and not doing what they could to make sure a book was not in copyright. They are still fighting over this so some publishers for now at least will not make there books available.
As an avid eBook user I can hardly wait until the publishers learn the lessons the music industry did that DRM only hurts consumers and that making their books available without DRM will not create massive piracy, but make it so that eBook users will not be tied to any platform and can keep their libraries into the future with not problems.