Communications of the ACM
Google and Amazon to Put More Books on Cellphones
Google has made 1.5 million books accessible on mobile devices such as the iPhone and the T-Mobile G1. The titles are the public domain books Google previously made available for free on PCs. Meanwhile, Amazon says a similar move is planned for the roughly 230,000 titles that are available on its Kindle electronic book reader.
Although Google's Book Search for PCs displays scanned images of book pages, mobile phone users will only see the text, which will allow them to download printed material quickly over wireless networks. Mobile phones offer quick access to reading materials, but analysts do not expect them to replace dedicate e-book readers such as Kindle, which have screens that make printed material easier to read and have a longer battery life. However, improvements in these areas could lead more consumers to use mobile phones for reading. "Consumers will trade a certain amount of quality for convenience and cost," says analyst Michael Gartenberg.
From The New York Times
View Full ArticleNo entries found