Google is set to launch e-books this year in a bid to compete with market leader Amazon. They intend to build and support a “digital book ecosystem” which will then allow their partner publishers to make their books available to buy on any web device.
In addition to Google’s new venture, established book retailer Borders is also set to expand into the e-book market. They have launched book downloads on their site for the very first time and have managed to make 45,000 e-books available in PDF and ePub formats, so that they are easily accessible to online users. Borders aims to become to the leading UK online bookseller, and with a revised Borders.co.uk website and this new e-book facility, they are well on their way to securing a prominent position in the UK online book market.
Nielsen Online has recently reported the number of unique UK online users in April 09 and the results are as follows:
- Books Direct – 430,000
- Thebookpeople.co.uk – 330,000
- Borders – 323,000
- Waterstone’s – 722,000
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