14 DAY TRIAL // Google's long delayed ebook store has finally become available, in the US at least, with the official launch of Google eBookstore. The new store will enable users to buy and read ebooks on any device with a browser and through mobile apps for Android and the iPhone.
Pricing should be in line with the other ebook stores out there and there are several hundreds of thousands of titles for sale along with millions of free, out-of-copyright ebooks.
"Today is the first page in a new chapter of our mission to improve access to the cultural and educational treasures we know as books. Google eBooks will be available in the U.S. from a new Google eBookstore. You can browse and search through the largest ebooks collection in the world with more than three million titles including hundreds of thousands for sale," Abraham Murray, Product Manager for Google Books, announced.
The new ebook store is linked to the existing Google Books and becomes an integral part of the product. Users will be able to buy new titles or read the existing free books in the same way, though an unified interface.
The novelty of the Google eBookstore, as far as this type of services are concerned, is the fact that it isn't linked to any one device or even to one platform.
The eBookstore is available on any device with a web browser. All the books you buy will be available online from anywhere, on your laptop, work desktop, mobile phone and so on.
The new eBooks Web Reader enables you can read and manage all of your ebooks. The reader's interface is minimalistic and the text area is fairly legible, ebooks should look very good on most devices.
For mobile devices, Google is offering app versions of the store, to ensure that you can take your books with you, even if you don't have internet access. Mobile apps for Android devices as well as the iPhone and the iPad are available.
Google has partnered with over several thousands of publishers for ebooks on sale in the online store. What's more, it also offers some 15 million free ebooks, the biggest collection online, courtesy of the Google Books program.
