(7-Dec-10) Google's just launched eBookstore, which made available approximately 3 million digital books from more than 4,000 publishers, will be a boon for the nascent e-tablet market, according to industry experts. It could also usher in ad-supported book publishing.
The move is Google's play against retailers such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon in the relatively immature e-book market. Less than 10% of US online adults read e-books, noted James McQuivey, VP and principal analyst at Forrester Research, in a blog post on the topic. Still, the launch will benefit the tablet and smartphone markets because consumers can use eBookstore to download e-books on any tablet except Amazon's Kindle. However, Kindle users can still download free books from Google.
Google now has a unique position in the digital book space because it can sell books to customers immediately after a Web search on a given subject. The company can also create an ad-supported publishing model, said McQuivey, in his blog post.