tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post8404317302151821347..comments2024-01-20T00:59:08.689+00:00Comments on Brave New World: The Great Book Bank Robbery - the Debate StartsMartyn Danielshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02134633193540004531noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-35428618.post-58598071706299698832008-11-14T11:27:00.000+00:002008-11-14T11:27:00.000+00:00When we look back, in years to come, at the moment...When we look back, in years to come, at the moment the world changed for readers, writers and the publishing industry, we may well decide that this was that moment.<BR/><BR/> I’ve always been a sceptic when it comes to Amazon’s Kindle. Frankly, I just can’t see the point of lugging around yet one more piece of expensive and ephemeral electronic junk, when the paper-based book is so much more appealing on aesthetic, economic and practical grounds. <BR/><BR/>However – I believe the game has now changed.<BR/><BR/>The implications of the Google settlement are truly vast. Let’s imagine that Google soon start to sell an e-reader –just as they’ve recently produced a phone. Heck, it might even be the same piece of hardware.<BR/><BR/>With the new Google E-reader, you can have the text of just about every book ever written. <BR/><BR/>The majority of them, 100% free.<BR/><BR/>That is an offer I believe is impossible to refuse. And on the back of it, I believe they will be able to sell frontlist books, too.<BR/><BR/>Suddenly, Amazon’s product is looking very marginalized indeed.<BR/><BR/>It all depends on how smoothly Google’s “mega-library” can be integrated into the reading experience. Many of the out-of-copyright books that Google will offer are already available, from sites such as Project Gutenberg. But the files are plain text, horrible to read, and really only for the geeky or the nerdy. <BR/><BR/>If Google’s E-reader can deliver an easy-to-access and deeply rich reading experience, then I believe the promise of “all the world’s books in the palm of your hand” will be impossible to resist. <BR/><BR/>Yes, the game has truly changed.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com