Google plans e-book store offering this summer

A Google employee recently said the Internet giant will launch its Google Editions e-book store sometime this summer as the company looks to expand its online businesses into new markets.

The new service is expected to launch sometime during June or July, and it will not be locked to a specific e-reader.  Google Editions will be a Web-based service that utilizes the Google Books search engine to find books for shoppers to purchase.

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As long as an e-reader has a Web browser, the Google Editions store will work on any Internet-enabled device.  Pricing hasn't been revealed -- and I'm curious to hear if Google will price the books, or if book publishers will be given the final say.

Google is entering the e-books market when Amazon, Apple and others continue to woo new shoppers.  Amazon's e-bookstore caters to the company's Kindle e-reader, but apps are available for the iPad as well.  Apple's iPad app is supported by the iPad tablet and iPhone.

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The Google store will be useable on PCs, tablets, smartphones, Kindle, iPad, and HDTVs -- a more open format than most other rival e-book formats.

I've questioned some of Google's business practices as of late, but Google Editions seems like it could help liven up the e-book market.  This increased interest could lead new users to the e-book market at a rapid pace, with e-books expected to be popular on devices away from e-readers.

"This levels the retail playing field," noted Evan Schnittman, Oxford University Press VP of global business, in a statement to the media.  ""And as a publisher, what I like is that I won't have to think about audiences based on devices. This is an electronic product that consumers can get anywhere as long as they have a Google account."

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