Google Launches eBookstore
Google eBooks is the new online bookstore the Mountain View-based search engine giant Google has launched. As Google explained, Google eBooks has been launched as part of Google’s effort to provide seamless access to “the cultural and educational treasures we now as books”. The goal Google is trying to reach here is to come up with an online book shelf where you can store books bought from Google eBooks or other services.
Thanks to Google eBooks people from all over the world have access to more than 3 million titles. Thanks to Google eBooks, people from the good old US of A can buy hundreds of thousands of titles. Yes, for the time being, books can be purchased only by US residents. Google said it is working with publishers around the world so that it can allow non-US users to be able to purchase books just like US users can.
To my mind there are two things that make Google eBooks an interesting service.
1. Your purchasing options are not limited to the Google eBookstore, you can buy ebooks from independent booksellers and retail partners.
“You can discover and buy new ebooks from the Google eBookstore or get them from one of our independent bookseller partners: Powell’s, Alibris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them,” explained Google Books Product Manager, Abraham Murray.
2. All your books are stored in the cloud, which means you can easily access them; you can access your books from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android phone, eReader, Mac, or Windows PC – pretty much any device that’s connected to the internet.
“We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa—using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage,” added Murray.
Additional details on Google eBooks are available here and here.
A video that presents Google eBooks is available on YouTube here.
Thanks to Google eBooks people from all over the world have access to more than 3 million titles. Thanks to Google eBooks, people from the good old US of A can buy hundreds of thousands of titles. Yes, for the time being, books can be purchased only by US residents. Google said it is working with publishers around the world so that it can allow non-US users to be able to purchase books just like US users can.
To my mind there are two things that make Google eBooks an interesting service.
1. Your purchasing options are not limited to the Google eBookstore, you can buy ebooks from independent booksellers and retail partners.
“You can discover and buy new ebooks from the Google eBookstore or get them from one of our independent bookseller partners: Powell’s, Alibris and participating members of the American Booksellers Association. You can choose where to buy your ebooks like you choose where to buy your print books, and keep them all on the same bookshelf regardless of where you got them,” explained Google Books Product Manager, Abraham Murray.
2. All your books are stored in the cloud, which means you can easily access them; you can access your books from an iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android phone, eReader, Mac, or Windows PC – pretty much any device that’s connected to the internet.
“We designed Google eBooks to be open. Many devices are compatible with Google eBooks—everything from laptops to netbooks to tablets to smartphones to e-readers. With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud. That means you can access your ebooks like you would messages in Gmail or photos in Picasa—using a free, password-protected Google account with unlimited ebooks storage,” added Murray.
Additional details on Google eBooks are available here and here.
A video that presents Google eBooks is available on YouTube here.
