Google promotes e-books offerings

Posted by Simon Day on June 3, 2009 at 9:51 AM

Google intends to sell and distribute e-books on behalf of its publishing partners within the year, according to an InformationWeek article out Monday.

"We've consistently maintained that we're committed to helping our partners find more ways to make their books accessible and available for purchase," Google spokesman Gabriel Stricker said in an e-mail, according to InformationWeek. "By end of this year, we hope to give publisher partners an additional way to sell their books by allowing users to purchase access to partner program books online. We want to build and support a digital book ecosystem to allow our partner publishers to make their books available for purchase from any Web-enabled device."

Google is eager to smooth the ruffled feathers of authors, who were critical of the Google Book Search service. Introduced in 2004, the book search digitised authors' works without permission and Google was taken to court a year later for copyright breach. The parties reached a settlement currently under review by the courts and the U.S. Justice Department.

The e-book sale and distribution will serve members of the Google Book Service Partner Program, which encourages the introduction and access of books through Google Book Search.

The e-book industry could see direct competition between Google and Amazon, which has led the development of electronic reading devices with its Kindle product, now into its third generation, InformationWeek reported. The Kindle's e-book market will now to be invaded by Google.

Other companies are also revealing interest in the future of the e-book. The Apple iPhone 3.0 will have an application allowing content purchase in the realm of e-books. Apple is also said to be working on an e-reader device, according to InformationWeek.

Google has not revealed the format for the sale and distribution of e-books. The company has 1.5 million books from the public domain digitally and gratuitously available for iPhone and Android mobile phone users as well as on the Internet.

Google Book Search also acts as a search tool for the millions of books being sold online and links the user to the store's Web site, InformationWeek reported.