Jul 11, 2011 14:02 GMT  ·  By

iRiver will soon break new ground with its Story HD, as this will become the first e-Book reader to be integrated with open Google eBooks platform, which allows consumers to buy and read Google eBooks over Wi-Fi.

The Mountain View, California search giant launched the eBook service in December of last year, and, since then, it has grown to include more than 250 independent bookstores.

The eBooks delivered by this service can be read on any device with a modern browser, on Android and iOS devices using the Google Books mobile apps, through the Chrome Web Store app and on compatible eReaders.

However, this is the first time that an eReader has integrated the Google Books APIs, which means that users can read their preferred titles directly over WiFi, without having to transfer the Google eBooks from the computer to the e-Reader with a cord, as it happens with compatible eReaders.

“The Story HD is a new milestone for us, as iRiver becomes the first manufacturer to launch an e-reader integrated with Google eBooks,” reads a post on the official Google blog made by Pratip Banerji, product manager for Google Books.

The iRiver Story HD is built around a 6-inch display that supports a resolution of 768x1024 pixels and is powered by an i.MX508 processor, from Freescale Semiconductor, built on ARM CortexM technology.

This is accompanied by 2GB of onboard storage, which can be expanded via an SDHC card-reading slot, as well as by a built-in WiFi adapter.

iRiver's Story HD has a 3-week battery life, and also supports Adobe EPUB and PDF formats with DRM.

The iRiver Story HD will be available for sale in Target stores nationwide and its recommended retail price is set at $139.99.