Intent on roiling yet another key market, Google is reportedly ready to debut its long-delayed e-book service. Having resolved all remaining technical and legal issues, sources tell
The Wall Street Journal that Google Editions, so-called, is set to debut this month.
Google's "open" model represents a clear alternative to e-book leaders like Amazon and Apple.
"Google Editions hopes to upend the existing e-book market by offering an
open, 'read anywhere' model that is different from many competitors," writes The Journal.
Along with the ability to access their Google accounts on most devices with a Web
browser -- instead of through an online store -- "Users will be able to buy books directly from Google or from multiple online retailers--including independent bookstores--and add them to an online
library tied to a Google account."
According to The Next Web, Brian
Murray, CEO of News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishing says Editions is going to have an edge because "their technology may be the least dependent on specific devices."
What's more, Google has deals with top publishers, which means Editions is going to offer hundreds of thousands of e-books for consumption and likely millions more for free. "That," according to The
Next Web, "should make it the largest e-book store on the planet right from the start."
Amazon, which claims to control nearly 80% of the e-book market, is keenly aware of the
threat Google represents. Therefore, in what CNet called "an apparent effort to stave off defections to rival e-book sellers," Amazon
recently announced plans to give newspaper and magazine publishers a greater share of the revenue it collects from consumers.
Telling Amazon to watch its back, PCWorld writes: "If Google can get its act together, this looks like the perfect time to enter the market. After
all, the iPad is a device with Internet access and a Web browser--potentially a Google Editions reader. Sure, Kindle users will have to stick with Amazon, but it looks like their numbers are dwindling
(though admittedly still pretty significant)."
PCWorld bases its assumption on a recent survey by ChangeWave Research, which found that Amazon Kindle's market share fell
sharply from 68% in February to just 47%.
Read the whole story at The Wall Street Journal »