Google to Sell Digital Books

Google has announced that it will start selling digital copies of books this summer, according to an article in the Telegraph. What makes this news significant is that these digital editions will not be tied to individual devices; rather, they will be available wherever and however a user accesses his Google account. As the Telegraph points out, this approach "will put the search giant in direct competition with established digital book retailers such as Amazon's Kindle Store and Apple's iBook Store." It also has a potential democratizing effect as users won't have to purchase expensive dedicated devices.