Google [GOOG] has announced the launch of a new electronic online bookstore, called Google Editions.
Google Editions will be launched next year and it will let readers purchase electronic books that can be read on a number of gadgets and electronic book readers.
The price of the books will be set by the publishers, and Google aims to have around 400,000 to 600,000 books available on Google Editions by the middle of next year.
“It will be a browser-based access,” Turvey said Thursday at the 61st Frankfurt Book Fair. “The way the e-book market will evolve is by accessing the book from anywhere, from an access point of view and also from a geographical point of view.”
The books will be available to basically any gadget that has a web browser, which will include smartphones like the Apple iPhone and Palm Pre, netbooks, laptops and personal computers.
Google will collect 55 percent of the profits, Turvey said, giving a “vast majority” of that to retailers, and the rest will go to the publisher.
“Google Editions allows retail partners to sell their books, especially those who haven’t invested in a digital platform,” he said. “We expect the majority (of customers) will go to retail partners not to Google. We are a wholesaler, a book distributor.”
It will be intersting to see how well Google Editions does, I suspect it will be very popular given the fact that the books will not be limited to any specific device and will basically be available to any gadget with a web browser.
Press Release via Gadget Venue