Today Google launched its online bookstore called Google eBooks. Up until this point, the program has been referred to as Google Editions. According to an article from Wired, the e-book store will have about 2.8 million books that are no longer under copyright and were scanned through the Google Books project. The store will have another 200,000 books that have been licensed from publishers. Users will be able to read the books on Apple devices, Barnes & Noble Nooks, Sony E-readers, and computers. The books will not be accessible on the Amazon Kindle because of compatibility issues.
In addition, Google has partnered with some independent bookstores to allow them to sell e-books on their websites and share the revenue. Google also plans to add social networking features and says it has the infrastructure in place to let consumers purchase digital and paper copies in a bundle.
James Crawford, an engineer for Google eBooks, noted, “The idea is that you buy where you are and read on devices you already own. We are committed to open structure, and building up a wider and wider retailer network.”
The Google ebookstore can be found here.
