Tuesday
May042010
Why "Google Editions" Is No Threat to Apple or Amazon
Tuesday, May 4, 2010 at 8:46AM
Note: Ignore this post, I am wrong and did not think this through. I tried to write counter-arguments but simply couldn't due to the fact the premise of my post is severely flawed. I will follow up on this post in the future when Google Editions actually releases in order to make a more informed (and more defensible) opinion. In the mean time, check out the comments as to why I am wrong. Good stuff.
Reports are surfacing that Google will start selling digital books this summer through a product called Google Editions. Based on reports, about 300,000+ books will be up for sale, making Amazon's and Apple's inventory of e-books look pitiful in comparison. Already bloggers are calling it a "war".
Look, I am not going to go into some real deep analysis here, so I am going to lay it out bluntly.
Google Editions is going to suck, just like Google Buzz sucks.
Don't get me wrong, I love Google, but all they are doing is hopping on yet another bandwagon without any passion. Amazon and Apple are dead serious about competing in this space. Hell, they have both released devices basically dedicated to the market. They are willing to spend the time, effort, and commit the necessary amount of failure in order to succeed.
I don't think Google is.
Therein lies the problem with Google lately. Sure, Google can release a product allowing you to purchase books, and yes, a good number of people will probably use it, but when it comes right down to it, Amazon and Apple will be the winners of this war. They will have the majority of consumer support due to the fact they are focused on releasing what they think is the future of reading.
What I am trying to get at is that without focus and passion, Google will keep releasing new products and see semi-successes. They need to fix this in order to compete. Until then, Amazon and Apple can keep on keepin' on while swapping away the fly that is Google.
Reports are surfacing that Google will start selling digital books this summer through a product called Google Editions. Based on reports, about 300,000+ books will be up for sale, making Amazon's and Apple's inventory of e-books look pitiful in comparison. Already bloggers are calling it a "war".
Look, I am not going to go into some real deep analysis here, so I am going to lay it out bluntly.
Google Editions is going to suck, just like Google Buzz sucks.
Don't get me wrong, I love Google, but all they are doing is hopping on yet another bandwagon without any passion. Amazon and Apple are dead serious about competing in this space. Hell, they have both released devices basically dedicated to the market. They are willing to spend the time, effort, and commit the necessary amount of failure in order to succeed.
I don't think Google is.
Therein lies the problem with Google lately. Sure, Google can release a product allowing you to purchase books, and yes, a good number of people will probably use it, but when it comes right down to it, Amazon and Apple will be the winners of this war. They will have the majority of consumer support due to the fact they are focused on releasing what they think is the future of reading.
What I am trying to get at is that without focus and passion, Google will keep releasing new products and see semi-successes. They need to fix this in order to compete. Until then, Amazon and Apple can keep on keepin' on while swapping away the fly that is Google.
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