Google today launched its eBook store and book-reading service, Google eBooks, challenging Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other sellers of e-books.
As we reported last week, users can access books through an online library tied to their Google account, using a computer, tablet, or smart phone. Google even claims that its e-books, which include hundreds of thousands of titles for purchase plus nearly 3 million free titles, can also be read using a Barnes & Noble Nook and several members of the Sony Reader family.
Google also says that its e-books aren't compatible with Amazon Kindle devices, though it might support them in the future.
In a quick check of Google new store, I found New York Times bestsellers priced in the $10 to $20 range. Several individual titles I checked were priced exactly the same as they were in Amazon's Kindle store.
I gave Google eBooks a quick test drive by using a Google account to download a couple of free classics on a Windows-based computer. Google stored them in a virtual bookshelf called My Library. Almost immediately, I found them by signing into the same account using the Web browser on an iPad.
Google says that you can start reading a book on one device and automatically pick up where you left off on another device. I tried this out: After reading one of the classics through page 16 on the Windows-based computer, I switched to a Macintosh. When I opened the book (after having to sign into the same Google account), it immediately went to page 16.
In my brief experience, I found it easy to read the books themselves on both the computers and an iPad. But navigating my way through Google's bookstore and library screens, which also entailed finding my way around Google's account settings pages, was a bit confusing.
We plan to take a closer look soon at Google eBooks and provide a thorough assessment of this service. Meanwhile, be sure to to check out our advice on chosing an e-book reader and our brand-name Ratings of the latest e-book reader models (Ratings available to subscribers).
—Jeff Fox
