Google Editions ebook store to launch this summer

Google is to launch its Google Editions ebook store in 2010, which will offer the latest digital books without locking your purchases to a specific device.

Google announced this week that the store will launch June/July time and will be browser based so any device with a browser will be able to view the books.

Once the book has been accessed online, it will be cached in the browser for reading offline.

The news of Google Editions first broke back in October 2009, when Google announced it was looking into a store that was not device specific.

This differs from what Sony is doing with the Reader and Amazon with the Kindle – where they are offering content tied to those specific devices.

Device agnostic

Gabriel Sticker, a spokesperson for Google, said about the ebook store: "It is a different approach to what most readers today have and the vision is to be able to access books in a device agnostic way."

Google is also hoping to break down the barriers for purchasing ebooks. Its store will be available through its Book Search service, but it is hoping that book sellers will also add a link to the store on their websites in return for a share of the profits.

It's unknown what the prices for the ebooks will be or whether they will be set by Google or retailers.

Currently, Amazon is king in the ebook market, picking up a 90 per cent share. This looks likely to decrease significantly once Google launches its store and the Apple iPad Bookstore builds momentum.

Google is no stranger to ebooks. It is currently battling it out with publishers over rights to the digitising of out-of-print books and magazines.

Google Editions is said to be entirely separate to that part of its business.

Via WSJ