Tag: Google eBooks

Google eBooks Offline Support Now Available for Chrome, Chrome OS

Google announced the launch of offline support for Google eBooks for those using Chrome or Chrome OS, so they can continue reading books even when they’re not actually connected to the Internet.

“We’ve all been there: the Internet is suddenly down, and you can’t keep on reading your ebook to see what the character decides to do next,” says Google Books Product Manager Xinxing Gu. “Or you’re about to head to the airport and want to be able to dive into a newly-purchased ebook during a long flight.”

“Whether you are flying through the air, backpacking through the European countryside, or simply facing intermittent network connections, you can always read your Google eBooks in your Chrome browser or on your Chromebook,” says Gu.

Offinline access requires the installation of the Google Books app, which can be found in the Chrome Web Store.

Obviously you’ll have to download the eBooks themselves while you’re still online.

Mouseover the cover of books you’ve downloaded, and find the “make available offline” checkbox that pops up. This option can also be accessed by clicking the “i” in the right-hand corner of your screen.

In the Google Books Help Center, Google offers 5 tips and best practices for offline reading in the web browser:

1. You can only use this feature with flowing text (EPUB) books, as scanned pages (PDF) are too large for offline reading and not supported at this time.

2. If you encounter an error saying “Oops! There was a problem retrieving your bookshelf, please try again and reload the page later (when you’re online)” it is possible your network request could not be completed due to a slow connection. Please try to access your bookshelf again, or from a faster connection.

3. Publishers set limits for how many devices a book may be licensed to. If you receive error message, “Over device limits” please contact our support staff at this page.

4. At this time features in the web reader, such as margin notes, search in Wikipedia or Google, and translation, do not work offline.

5. If you have multiple windows open with the Google Books app, only one of the windows will show the percentage of Downloading completed. All other windows will simply display “Downloading”. Our engineers are aware of this issue and are working to fix it.

Offline reading is also supported in Google’s mobile apps.

December 21, 2011
Harry Potter Goes Google

Google announced today that it it is teaming up with Pottermore, JK Rowling’s new site, which will open up this fall to provide eBook services. The two are partnering to integrate Pottermore with various Google products and APIs.

The Harry Potter book series will launch in eBook form on Pottermore.com in October, and they’ll also become available through the Google eBooks platform. When users buy it, they will be able to keep it in their Google Books library in the cloud (as well as on other platforms).

“Pottermore will be the exclusive place to buy Harry Potter ebooks and digital audiobooks,” says Larissa Fontaine in New Business Development for Google Books. “You’ll be able to buy ebooks from the Pottermore Shop, push them to your Google Books library and store them alongside your other Google eBooks. Your other Google eBooks may be purchased from any of more than 250 independent booksellers or from Google directly.”

“Also under this agreement, Google Checkout will be the preferred third party payment platform for all purchases made on Pottermore.com,” says Fontaine. “When you visit the Pottermore Shop, you’ll be able to pay for your purchases using Google Checkout, in addition to using a debit or credit card.”

Pottermore will also take advantage of Google’s YouTube for global video broadcasts.

Google eBooks can be read on the web, and through apps for iOS and Android, as well as on over 80 e-readers. A new Google eBooks-integrated e-reader from iRiver is being sold at Target, Google announced a couple weeks ago. With this one, you can browse, buy and read Google eBooks with your e-reader through Wi-Fi, rather than downloading and transferring them from computer to e-reader with a cord with other devices.

July 20, 2011
Google eBooks Coming to an e-Reader Near You on Sunday

Google’s eBooks platform is about to hit the big time, or at least try to. The first e-reader to be integrated with it will start being sold at Target stores on Sunday, July 17. The device would be the iRiver Story HD.

With this device, which costs $139.99, users can buy and read Google eBooks over Wi-Fi. Google describes it as “slim and lightweight with a high-resolution e-ink screen and a QWERTY keyboard for easy searching.”

“It includes over-the-air access to hundreds of thousands of Google eBooks for sale and more than 3 million for free,” writes Google Books Product Manager Pratip Banerji. “With the Story HD you can now browse, buy and read Google eBooks with your e-reader through Wi-Fi, rather than downloading and transferring them from computer to e-reader with a cord as you can already do with more than 80 compatible devices.”

“We built the Google eBooks platform to be open to all publishers, retailers and manufacturers,” says Banerji.

In other words, expect plenty more options to choose from if Google eBook is your platform of choice. With buzz about Google+ building as a potential threat to Facebook, it will be interesting to see if Google eBooks itself picks up some more steam along the way, for the simple fact that people will presumably be finding themselves spending more time on Google properties, where Google could implement any number of integrations/features.

“Manufacturers like iRiver can use Google Books APIs and services to connect their devices to the full Google eBooks catalog for out-of-the-box access to a complete bookstore,” says Banerji. “You can also store your personal ebooks library in the cloud—picking up where you left off in any ebook you’re reading as you move from laptop to smartphone to e-reader to tablet.”

Google eBooks currently counts over 250 independent bookstores among its offerings.

July 11, 2011