Southeast European Center for Semiotic Studies

Will the iPad be killed by Google Editions? Kill the Kindle? Google Editions is a browser-based e-book platform that may have Apple and Amazon looking for faxless pay day loans. The Google Editions launch date of late June or July was announced earlier this week. Google Editions, as opposed to Amazon and Apple, is a digital publishing service offering books that customers can read on any device and purchase from whoever wants to sell the books to them. Publishers are probably probably the most anxious about Google Editions e-books. Also in contrast to the Apple and Amazon business models, Google Editions will let the publishers name their own prices.

The Google Editions eBooks

At Random House’s New York offices by Christ Palma, Google’s strategic partner development manager, the Google Editions debut was announced. The Wall Street Journal says Google Edition users could be able to read Google Editions e-books they discover through Google's book-search. Google editions will be allowing book retailers, including numerous independent shops, to sell Google Editions on their own web websites and will let them keep the majority of the money.

The launch date for Google Editions

Amazon and Apple’s goals of dominating e-publishing is being seriously threatened by the Google Edition launch date. For its Kindle device, Amazon presently has more than 500,000 titles available. For the iPad there are tens of thousands and counting. A much larger selection than Amazon or Apple, Google has already digitalized 12 million books. Consumers can only buy Kindle titles at Amazon or iPad titles at Apple. Google Editions titles could be accessible everywhere, to be read on any device with a browser.

Google Editions and e-pub

In a couple of months Google Editions e-pub could turn the entire publishing world — online and in real life — upside down. In an article published within the New Yorker in April, Dan Clancy of Google Books said that in trying to dominate the market, Amazon and Apple were taking the wrong approach to business online. "It’s much more of an open ecosystem, where you find a way for bricks-and-mortar stores to participate in the future digital world of books," he said. "We’re quite comfortable having a diverse range of physical retailers, whereas most of the other players would like to have a less competitive space, because they’d like to dominate."

Amazon reality check

One of the best things about Google Editions is that it lets publishers set the price of their books, and gives local bookstores a chance to compete with behemoths like Amazon, Apple and Barnes and Noble. Ill will is being caused within the publishing world because of the book pricing policy on Amazon. Amazon, trying to gain market dominance is losing cash by insisting on selling e-books for a flat $ 9.99. The New Yorker reports that with 80-90 percent market share, Amazon thinks it can later bend publishers to its will.

Will the iPad be killed by Google Editions?

Is Google Editions the iPad killer? With the Google Editions launch date approaching, the Wall Street Journal reports that publishers haven't officially agreed to participate, but most industry insiders think it’s an offer they cannot refuse. Publishers need a lot more outlets to sell books. Even the smallest corner bookstore can make cash on millions of titles. Additionally you do not have to buy a Kindle or an iPad to read them. So why would you buy them?

Resources

Wall Street Journal

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703866704575224232417931818.html?mod=WSJ_business_LeadStoryCollection

New Yorker

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2010/04/26/100426fa_fact_auletta

publishers set the price of their books

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10444878-93.html?tag=mncol;txt