What is Google eBooks?
The new online Google bookstore, called Google eBookstore, began selling Google eBooks yesterday. Google eBooks is yet another method of purchasing digital copies of books online. For the most part, its features are largely the same as competition from Amazon, Apple, and others. A USA Today story focuses on how “different” the Google eBookstore is by storing the books in a digital cloud to be read on many different devices from an iPad to smartphones to the web itself, but Kindle purchases are more similar than the story suggests.
Kindle - NOT friendly with Google eBooks
While the original intent of the Kindle and the Amazon Kindle store was to have users download books and take the Kindle device with them, loaded up with dozens of books and plenty of battery time, Amazon has rolled out free Kindle apps which make it possible to read the same book on a PC, Mac, iPhone, Android phone, etc., all while tracking any appropriate notes and bookmarks. In other words, Amazon already provides many of the features as Google’s new offering and doesn’t require the user to stay online.
The advantage of Google’s new strategy is their eBooks are available in a wide range of formats to be read on several different types of ebook readers (Sony Reader, Barnes & Noble Nook, etc., but NOT the Kindle) as well as on smartphones, computers, etc. The problem with the Kindle is that Kindle purchases can’t be read on the other ebook readers in the event a person wants to buy a different kind of reader.
Buying eBooks from Google gives the reader a little more freedom in terms of future choices, but as of now, Google has made a business decision to NOT include the Kindle as a compatible reader, so while they may hurt Amazon a little by making the Kindle device appear a little less “open,” it will also hurt initial sales of Google eBooks as the millions of Kindle owners will simply bypass Google due to incompatibility and stick with Amazon.
As for selection, Google’s eBookstore appears on par or better than the competition, offering millions of titles (many older ones for free) but still suffering from the same conflicts with specific publishers and authors in getting them to release their content digitally. Pricing appears to be very much in line with other online retailers. Online competition should help the consumer, and once publishers begin to release more digital content, it won’t make sense for them to limit distribution via exclusivity contracts, so don’t put too much stock into which company is trying to screw the other right now. If you’re in the market for an ebook reader, stick with one of the large companies, buy the one that you like best and can afford, and there will be plenty of books for you to read on it.
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Read on:
WSJ.com – Google Opens Online Bookstore
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