Google Book Search: Seriously, iPhones are eBook readers

February 5, 2009 | Anthony Ha | Comments | |

Like reading on your mobile phone? Well, Google just added 1.5 million books to your library, with the launch of a new mobile site that optimizes the text of Book Search’s public-domain (i.e., non-copyrighted) works for reading on your iPhone or Android device.

There are some drawbacks to the site right now. For one thing, since all of the texts consist of printed pages that were scanned using Google’s optical character recognition technology, there are inevitable errors — but if the text doesn’t seem right, you can view the scanned page itself. For another, you won’t be able to read any of the latest bestsellers, and by “latest” I mean anything from the last century. Finally, the iPhone interface doesn’t hold a candle to other iPhone eBook readers like Stanza — there’s too much vertical scrolling, and it’s hard to flip back and forth between pages. (Actually, Stanza-maker Lexcycle’s Neelan Choksi told me the company might sell versions of Stanza to which companies can add their own branding and content. Maybe Google should look into that.)

Basically, this is perfect if you happen to be “buying your postage” (to quote Google’s blog post) and want to read “Moby Dick.” Which happens all the time, right? Yeah, okay, so I’ll probably stick to reading shorter stuff on my phone, like the articles in my Google Reader.

Still, the fact that Google bothered to create this site is another sign that smartphones are becoming a viable format for eBook reading. The new version of the Kindle may not be threatened anytime soon, but as these applications get better, I think that’s going to change. I don’t need both an eBook reader and a smartphone anymore than I need an iPod and an iPhone. (Yes, I know some people have both, but they’re crazy.)

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About the Author, Anthony Ha

Anthony is VentureBeat's assistant editor, as well as its reporter on enterprise technology, cloud computing, and tech policy. Before joining VentureBeat in 2008, Anthony worked at the Hollister Free Lance, where he won awards from the California Newspaper Publishers Association for breaking news coverage and writing. He attended Stanford University and now lives in San Francisco. Reach him at anthony@venturebeat.com. You can also follow Anthony on Twitter.

  • I think smart phones are great platforms for ebook reading, i don't see the use of an ebook reader, unless they drop sharply in price, or size, or both. good post.
  • Thanks!
  • Joey
    Kindle is too big--slim it down, design it better (so that it looks good) and lower the price, then I will buy it, for now, Stanza rules it.
  • Richard
    Stanza rocks, especially if your taste in books runs to classic essays, short stories and novels. Reading Sherlock Holmes novels is not bad for a train or a bus ride; Orwell's essays are still as good a read as they were half a century ago. And the download interface is pretty straightforward--you can load up an iphone with several weeks worth of reading in about half an hour. And while it is possible to get more contemporary literature at a small price, why wouldn't you read those stories you always wanted to read--for free?
  • casual
    Having an iPhone and an iPod is not crazy. I expect the iPhone to function as a phone, not as a media player/reader. It is too bad that Apple has not produced a real phone yet. They simply added some phone functionalities to their iPod. Time will come when Apple will see that there is enough demand for a stand-alone phone.

    Likewise, I expect the iPod to be a media player/reader, not a phone device. It is too bad that Apple has not yet produced a real-size (8 inch diameter) iPod. Time will come when Apple will realize that the iPod is more than a digital walkman.
  • Yes, hopefully it was clear that I don't *actually* think people who have an iPhone and an iPod are crazy, just very, very alien to my point of view. I do think the trend is going to be towards converging devices. MG Siegler has a pretty sharp takedown of the idea of a standalone phone, which I agree with: http://venturebeat.com/2009/02/04/analyst-wants...
  • C.D.
    Hey casual. Are you on crack. What do you mean apple simply added functionlity to its ipod. Have you even used an iphone. Why would you want a simple stand alone phone. Why pay for multiple devices when you can have a simply laid out, compact multfunctional device. With all the interesting apps this phone keeps getting more interesting and functional all the time. The Iphone simply put is amazing. For anyone unfamiliar and thinking the iphone is basically an overpriced phone...think again. It's a camera, gps, websearcher, remote control, gaming device, photo album, ipod, tip calculator, flashlight, trip tracker and the list seems limited only by the creative mind. The more I use it the more enamoured I become. I'm sure it will only get better.
  • Limited by a creative mind and Apple SDK and AppStore policy. You cannot have DopeWarz on your iphone for example. So sez Holy Jobs. et cetera et cetera et cetera
  • casual
    Apple started this line of products with an mp3 device they called iPod and a download site they called iTune. The set was no more than a digital Walkman with a cheap, accessible library -- very handy for people who like music pumping into their ears 24/7. And then they added screen-based functionalites to it (photos, video). And then they multiplied the form factors (mini, nano, whatever). Then the breakthrough came when they jumped on the touchscreen bandwagon. Instead of just upgrading their iPod, they added to this new iPod a lame telephone with very limited features but very cool UI. Then they saw a market corner for the touch screen iPod minus the lame phone. That is when some of us (on crack) decided the iPod was beginning to make sense (twice the size of the original screen) despite the severely shrunk storage capacity. Hey, it was the first baby step. That is when we, crackheads began to wonder aloud when Apple will come up with a real smartphone (one you can legally use on the highway) with full-power communication capabilities (text, chat, email, gps, the web), but without being a media player -- since we, crackheads, like our media enjoyment on a separate device, one that can display media on a decent screen. Well, Apple has in fact listened and produced a much better phone (3g, to boot), and the 3rd party applications have made the new, improved iPhone an almost tolerable device. But they still have that giant step to make: a larger screen iPod, and an iPod-less iPhone --by no means stripped, just a powerful communication (not an entertainment) device. And just for the record, I am not on crack.
  • Meg
    Actually, Moby-Dick is great for reading in short bursts--there are a lot of chapters, but they are mostly less than one subway ride in length. I publish an annotated version of the book at powermobydick.com, and I have heard from lots of people who are reading it on iPhone while commuting.
  • That's pretty much the coolest (and craziest?) thing I've heard all day.
  • altrenda
    Seriously, how long can you actually read long form text on an iPhone. It's great for short bursts, but to read an entire novel would be painful.

    TheiPhone is an amazing light computing device, and a great media player. What it's weakest at is as a phone. So I agree that it is a very capable pocket computer with phone functions added on.
  • gem
    No it is not painful. I have read more than 20 full books with more than 30 chapters on it. I still like it and have downloaded many more books ready for all my plane rides and break time. I never cared for ebook before but iPhone and iPod got me into it. A good relaxation, mind refreshing and spare time killing.
  • John G.
    Can't see me being propped up in bed or lazing on a beach reading my phone. Maybe for snippets but not when I want the sheer enjoyment of reading ! Just because I can doesn't mean I will.
  • Warren
    For those who don't own the two sponsored phones, an alternative is Project Gutenberg, which, although is not really designed for phones, works OK on the small screen because of the limited graphics. I think there's usually a choice to download the text file or read the books, which are all in the public domain, online.
    http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page?sess=25...