Google officially jumped into the ebook game on Monday with the introduction of its Google eBookstore service. The new online store positions Google to compete with Apple’s iBookstore, Amazon’s Kindle, and other ebook services.
Google’s eBookstore
According to Google, it already has over three million titles available for download, and the company is teaming up with other book sellers like Alibris and Powell’s so users can download books from those services as well.
“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,” the company said.
Google is sticking with its cloud-based services idea with the eBookstore, too. “With the new Google eBooks Web Reader, you can buy, store and read Google eBooks in the cloud,” Google Books product manager Abraham Murray said. “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.”
The company is touting support for its own Android platform, as well as the Nook, Sony ebook readers, and the iPhone, iPod touch and iPad as well. Google’s iOS-based reader apps aren’t, however, available in Apple’s App Store yet. Users can read books on their computer, too, via their Web browser.