Google to Enter Ebooks Market

Posted on December 1, 2010

Google is set to enter the ebooks market. The Wall Street Journal reports that Google Editions, the new ebook store is set to open by the end of 2010 for the U.S. and in the first quarter of 2011 for international editions. The venture was supposed to launch this past summer, but there were technical and legal issues that led to the delay. The new venture could shake up the ebook market. Google will sell ebooks on a new open, "read anywhere" model. Consumers can buy the books many places, including at independent book stores and on many websites. The WSJ reports:

The strategy of not having its own e-reader device could actually give Google a competitive advantage, says Brian Murray, CEO of News Corp.'s HarperCollins Publishers Inc. As the number of mobile reading devices—including tablets and smartphones—proliferates, Google Editions will benefit "because their technology may be the least dependent on specific devices," he says. News Corp. owns The Wall Street Journal.

There are still many questions about the service that Google hasn't answered yet. It's unclear what percentage of revenue retailers and booksellers will receive. A list of the bookselling partners hasn't been released yet, but the American Booksellers Association says more than 200 independent booksellers could sign up in the U.S. alone.