05 May 2010 | Author: J. Morton News Editor
In the burgeoning marketplace of digital book sales, a new chapter has begun, as heavyweight Google looks primed to take on market leader Amazon and all-around tech rival Apple in a new online store this year.
The venture, called Google Editions, has been turning heads specifically due to it not being tied to a certain device - such as Amazon's Kindle, the market-leading e-reader, or Apple's iPad, which recently eclipsed the 1 million units sold mark.
"It is a different approach to what most readers today have and the vision is to be able to access books in a device agnostic way," Gabriel Sticker, a spokesman for the Mountain View-based company, said.
The company, it seems, remains unfazed by publishing rows with organisations around the world opposed to its scanning of in- and out-of-print tomes, a library which now numbers near 12 million. Google's selection of material would place it with a tremendous lead over Apple and Amazon, in addition to its multiplatform availability.
According to manager for strategic partner development, Chris Palma, Google Editions is set for launch this summer, as early as June or July.
Speaking at a publishing industry event in New York, Palma said the ebooks would be available for purchase through the search giant's book search service, though independent retailers could also embed volumes on their own websites, with Google taking a pinch of the profits.
Analysts see this as a pivotal time for the ebook industry, with the Yankee Group foreseeing a jump digital readership and sales in the US of nearly 100 per cent over the next three years.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, no publishers have been named as partners in Google Editions as of yet, but there should be little worry of them joining up.
"Publishers tend to believe the more outlets to sell books the better," Palma asserted.
The service, according to analysts, should also provide a boon to digital book sales overall.
Whit Andrews, a senior vice president of research for Gartner, told BBC News: "Anything that puts more kinds of art in people's hands in a way that fosters competition, innovation and creativity is good."
Google set to square off with Amazon and Apple over ebooks
In the burgeoning marketplace of digital book sales, a new chapter has begun, as heavyweight Google looks primed to take on market leader Amazon and all-around tech rival Apple in a new online store this year.The venture, called Google Editions, has been turning heads specifically due to it not being tied to a certain device - such as Amazon's Kindle, the market-leading e-reader, or Apple's iPad, which recently eclipsed the 1 million units sold mark.
"It is a different approach to what most readers today have and the vision is to be able to access books in a device agnostic way," Gabriel Sticker, a spokesman for the Mountain View-based company, said.
The company, it seems, remains unfazed by publishing rows with organisations around the world opposed to its scanning of in- and out-of-print tomes, a library which now numbers near 12 million. Google's selection of material would place it with a tremendous lead over Apple and Amazon, in addition to its multiplatform availability.
According to manager for strategic partner development, Chris Palma, Google Editions is set for launch this summer, as early as June or July.
Speaking at a publishing industry event in New York, Palma said the ebooks would be available for purchase through the search giant's book search service, though independent retailers could also embed volumes on their own websites, with Google taking a pinch of the profits.
Analysts see this as a pivotal time for the ebook industry, with the Yankee Group foreseeing a jump digital readership and sales in the US of nearly 100 per cent over the next three years.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, no publishers have been named as partners in Google Editions as of yet, but there should be little worry of them joining up.
"Publishers tend to believe the more outlets to sell books the better," Palma asserted.
The service, according to analysts, should also provide a boon to digital book sales overall.
Whit Andrews, a senior vice president of research for Gartner, told BBC News: "Anything that puts more kinds of art in people's hands in a way that fosters competition, innovation and creativity is good."
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