Google this week confirmed plans to launch an e-book business later this year in which it will partner with authors and publishers to sell e-books and e-reading media through Google services.
Kindle Threat: High. Google's behemoth status is one thing, and its experience with e-books already is another: The company knows digital reading already through its ongoing project to digitize public domain books. Google also has said it will allow publishers to set the price for their content. This already is a key differentiator against Amazon, which, through its low margins for publishers and authors through Kindle, is being painted as a bit of a tightwad when it comes to support of e-reading content providers.
