Google launches 'free' 'open' 'cloud' eBooks digiback service
Google has begun flogging books to US customers with the launch today of the company’s rather flat-sounding ‘Google eBooks’ business. Last May the company confirmed it would enter the retail digital book biz. An online store dubbed ‘Google Editions’ was expected to follow in July this year. That didn’t materialise, however, and …
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Powell's and Alibris?
These 'partners' of Google are second-hand book dealers. They hold no rights, they don't even publish books. So I am not sure how they can be partners in this most interesting venture.
not if they pirated copy
if the google books are pirated copy they fit just right?
clouds
"With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud."
"Until we decide to take them away from you again", feels like the subtext there. Any guesses as to how long your copy of The Compleat Wikileaks would last in 'the cloud'? Bueller? Bueller?
Deja vu
A fair point. Here's another: having to keep Nook, Kindle, and Google readers on my phone eats up storage and cycles, and they all do the same thing... poorly. Google's doesn't even support landscape mode! Much prefer using Aldiko to read Calibre-converted epubs, legitimately or not.
Client reader lock-in will increasingly push consumers to explore "alternatives."
how long will it be...
until apple removes the google app. Lol!
Umm...
Does this have anything to do with all those books they scanned a while back?
Just a thought.
Yes... it does
I've just downloaded the Hans Christian Andersens Wonderful Stories for Children and the second page states it was scanned by Google to make it seachable online.
What I like about the Google Book Store is that its the first ebook retailer that I know of which sells both DRM and non-DRM books, based on what the publishers require. Most obviously only sell crippled books, while a few small retailers sell non-crippled books.
That means I can buy all the non-DRM books I can get hold of while completely ignoring the DRM'd books and hopefully send a message to the publishers (OK, I admit those publishers are never going to get the message based on my buying habits, but it makes me feel better)
Actually, Amazon sell non-DRM books
Similar to Google: the publisher decides on whether to DRM or not. They aren't particularly up front on how to tell the difference, though, and they are only in Kindle format rather than ePub.
search rankings
Hmmm, wonder which company will rank first for the term "ebooks"....
Open?
It's an interesting definition of 'open'. I think what Google mean to say is 'cross platform'. Not really the same thing at all...
What's interesting about it?
It fits perfectly with Google's other newspeak definitions for 'open' (i.e. it isn't) and is nothing new.
google ebooks changed my holiday gift list
I'm glad I read about this elsewhere before coming across The Register's presentation.
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