Get ready for Google Editions. According to news reports, the search giant is on the verge of launching its own e-book store.
The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Google is putting the finishing touches on its delayed online retailer, which was originally planned for launch last summer. The Journal quoted “people close to the company” as saying the new store has cleared technical and legal hurdles. Google Editions is expected to appear before the end of the year in the U.S. For international markets, it will debut in the first quarter of next year.
‘Read Anywhere’
Reportedly, independent booksellers have begun to receive contracts from their trade groups and publishers are in the process of exchanging files with Google. Some industry observers estimate that as many as 200 independent booksellers in the U.S. alone could become part of the Google effort.
Google is hoping to provide a new model for customers to distinguish it from the e-book retail outlets from Apple, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. The new model is expected to have the e-book living in the cloud and allow “read anywhere” usage.
Customers would be able to buy e-books from Google or other online booksellers and connect them to an online Google account. The account can then be reached from any device. Some observers expect a downloadable version will also be offered for those times when users don’t have high-speed wireless access.
By contrast, purchasers of e-books from Amazon can only buy them from that source, although they can read them on multiple devices that have the Kindle software player, as well as on Amazon’s Kindle e-reader.
E-Books Market Tripling
Google is also expected to use its hugely popular search engine to drive sellers to the store. Additionally, its massive Google Books initiative, which scans out-of-print books, could allow rare books to become commonplace.
E-books are…