Google means search and Amazon means books, right? Maybe not for long.
With Google’s recent launch of Boutiques.com and its newest venture into eBooks, Google is moving further into direct-to-consumer sales and is placing itself directly in competition with Amazon.com (and might make people re-think purchasing “the most gifted product on Amazon”…the Kindle).
How It Works
Through Google eBooks, customers now can access hundreds of thousands of new titles for purchase, as well as three million free public domain titles. The eBooks can be read on a variety of devices, including computers, Android phones, iPhones, iPads, and Nooks, among others using an app. According to some early reports, the Google eBook app is not as robust as the Kindle app, and will most likely be permanently beta, like other products in the Google line-up. But, based on past history we can expect it to improve as Google gets feedback from its customers.
The Google launch is also good news for independent retailers, who were increasingly left behind as Amazon grew to dominate the book market. By opening its online marketplace to independent retailers, Google offers booksellers the opportunity to sell online and gives consumers the option to purchase online books from a local store.
Adobe DRM
Not surprising, but a blow to Kindle owners, Google eBooks’ uses Adobe eBook DRM (digital rights management). If you have a Kindle, it’s not going to work with Google eBooks.
In November, CNET gave the editors choice award to two eBook readers, the Amazon Kindle and the Barnes and Noble Nook. The option to access the large Google eBookstore with a Nook and not the Kindle, may sway those who have been unable to decide what eReader to go with.
What eReader is Beta and What is VHS?
Who wants to be stuck with faded tech? It’s still too early to tell what eReader will become the standard since the technology is so new. If you want to jump into the digital book fray, figure out exactly what you want out of your eReader. Should it be an LCD screen or e-Ink? Do you prefer a touch screen or buttons? How much flexibility do you want accessing content? What online store do you want to buy from? CNET offers a great breakdown of different eReaders on the market.
What’s holding me back from purchasing eBooks is that I don’t want to be stuck with a certain bookstore or device due to restrictive DRM. Let’s say I have a Kindle and buy books from Amazon. But in a few years, Barnes and Noble comes out with an amazing new Nook. I buy the Nook, but I wont be able to access the books I had purchased on Amazon using the Nook. I still need to use the Kindle. Granted, the Amazon books I purchased can be accessed on a website, but reading a book on my desktop just doesn’t appeal to me.
What about you? Are you going to wait it out? Or are you jumping in and going digital with your books?
