Google, Taking On Amazon, Plans To Sell E-Books
At the annual BookExpo convention in New York City over the weekend, Google said it plans to introduce a program that would enable writers and publishers to sell digital versions of their books directly to consumers through Google. The move would pit Google against Amazon.com, which is seeking to control the e-book market with the versions it sells for its Kindle reading device.
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The announcement is sure to be applauded by publishers who have long had problems with Amazon’s low-priced strategy for e-books. Kindle editions of most new best sellers go for $9.99, a lot less than the $25 to $35 at which publishers sell new hardcovers in bookstores. Google has said it will allow publishers to set their own prices.
In addition, Google would allow consumers to read books on any device with Internet access, including mobile phones, rather than being limited to dedicated reading devices like the Amazon Kindle. This alone could give Google a huge advantage since the company already has 1.5 million public-domain books available for reading on cellphones and the Sony Reader.
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