Google’s e-book retail program
In a statement today, Google said it is planning to introduce its proprietary e-book retail program by the end of this year, which will allow publishers to sell digital versions of new books directly to its users. Readers will be able to download content onto PCs and portable electronics devices, the company added.
Google further stated that the proposed "digital book ecosystem" will allow the publishers to make their books available for purchase from any web-enabled device, including a PC, a smart phone, a netbook and a dedicated reading device.
"Eventually, we hope to extend this functionality to retailers who embed Google Previews on their website," the company said.
Google’s e-book retail program comes as part of the company’s strategy to promote an open platform for reading and accessing books.
The Mountain View-based Google already has a program in place that enables publishers to provide it with digital files of new and out-of-print books. Users can search up to 20 percent of the books' content, then follow links from Google to online retailers like Amazon to buy them. But under the proposed ebook retail program, Google users now will be able to purchase them directly from the company’s search engine.
Google vs Amazon
The move puts the search mammoth in direct competition with the world famous online retailer Amazon.com’s wireless reading device- the Kindle. And, of the two, Google could be proved more powerful because its product has numerous advantages.
For instance, e-books downloaded from Amazon's Kindle Store can only currently be read by its own reader Kindle, which is relatively expensive, with a price as high as $359, and Apple's iPhone and iPod touch running Kindle software, while the Google e-book program will work with consumer electronics devices that most people already own.
Also, Amazon's e-book pricing strategy is too severe. For its Kindle book reader, Amazon charges $9.99 for most best-sellers. In contrast, Google will give publishers a great deal of control over how they set rates for its own e-book market.
As the Google’s proposed program seems more beneficial than that of Amazon’s, the publishers would likely go for it.
Apparently not happy with Amazon’s electronic book pricing strategy, CEO David Young of Hachette Book Group said: “Clearly, any major company coming into the e-book space, providing that we are happy with the pricing structure, the selling price and the security of the technology, will be a welcome addition."
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