Kindle Goes Web
Amazon launches Kindle for the Web soon: eBooks within browsers, books samples, sharing, embedding; http://eicker.at/KindleWeb
Amazon launches Kindle for the Web soon: eBooks within browsers, books samples, sharing, embedding; http://eicker.at/KindleWeb
WSJ: Google is in final stages of launching its eBook retailing venture, Google Editions; http://eicker.at/GoogleEditions
Google eBooks « Wir sprechen Online. and
Gerrit Eicker are discussing. Toggle Comments
WSJ: “In recent weeks, independent booksellers, which are expected to play a big role in Google Editions, began receiving contracts from their trade group. Several publishers said they were exchanging files with Google – a sign that it is close to launch, publishers say. … Google Editions hopes to upend the existing e-book market by offering an open, ‘read anywhere’ model that is different from many competitors. … Key details of Google’s e-book project remain unanswered. Foremost is what percentage of revenue Google will share with independent bookstores and other retailers. … Google says it is on a mission to reach all Internet users, not just those with tablets, through a program in which websites refer their users to Google Editions. … 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. … Google’s launch, which publishers cautioned has been delayed before and could be delayed again, comes at a pivotal moment in the digital books transformation.”
TC: “So it’s no surprise that Google is jumping into the fray with the long-awaited Google Editions service, set to launch by the end of the year in the U.S. and first quarter of 2011 internationally. But between Kindle, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, iBooks, and independent publishing services like Amazon’s DTP and the unfortunately-named Pubit, is there room for another player? Not that that’s ever stopped anyone from trying – but I think in this case it may be that Google brings something new to the table: decentralization. … The advantages of not having to go through, for instance, Amazon, when selling your book, are hard to quantify. But the notion that an author will be able to place a widget on their own page, and have the book-buying transaction be self-contained rather than being transferred to Amazon, is significant. … The Google Editions news comes on the heels of a major announcement by Google, the Authors Guild, and the Association of American Publishers, to the effect that they’ve worked out their long-running issues and will be cooperating on the service.”
VB: “Google is working on an affiliate program that will let website owners earn revenue by recommending ebooks on Editions, and it’s also partnering with independent booksellers to share revenue from their websites. It’s unclear how much revenue Google will share with affiliates or booksellers, but I suspect it will have to be more than the 10 percent Amazon offers its affiliates for Kindle ebook sales. … Google is positioning the ebook store as an extension of Google Books, its plan to scan the roughly 150 million books ever published worldwide. The book scanning project is currently about 10 percent complete, according to Google executives.”
TNW: “Several things excite me about Google getting into publishing. First is that they aren’t going to be tied to a physical ereader. They are starting off from the perspective of distributing content. Which is how it should be. But that independence might come at a price: adoption. … Here is the bottom line. I’ve always seen ebooks as a boon for authors and publishers who can adapt to them. I’m not saying paper books are going anywhere (though for me they keep going in drawers), I’m saying that ebooks allow authors to offer books to a large audience while keeping costs low with lower print runs. If the ebook sells better than the paper one, well don’t print as many of the paper ones. – Yes, not everyone will be able to take advantage of this and Google Editions might wind up like Google Wave and Buzz, but I think that in the last few months we’ve seen more interest in epublishing not less and I think this interest is going to turn into success for Google.”