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Google is launching its own ebooks store for Android, although for now, it’s only available in the US. The store sits within the existing Android Market, and lets you buy ebooks and read them on your Android smart phone or tablet, as well as adding them to your Google account.
The books category was added to the Web version of Android Market yesterday, according to PCMag.com, with a new Books tab sitting alongside Apps and Games. It ties into the existing Google Books service, with ebooks bought using a Google Checkout account.
As with apps, the Web Android Market lets you buy ebooks and then send them wirelessly to your Android device. The Google Books service works across a range of devices, though: anything with a Web browser that supports JavaScript, including desktop and laptop computers, and smart phones.
(Yes, we realise that the number of people wanting to buy an ebook for their Android phone and then read it on an iPhone or iPad will be pretty small.)
It’s worth noting that this isn’t the first time Android users have been able to buy and read ebooks on their devices. Amazon’s Kindle, Kobo eBooks and Aldiko Book Reader have all been available for a while now on Google-powered phones and tablets.
There is still no news on when the UK Android Market will get an ebooks category, but UK Android owners can use the apps listed above in the meantime.
What next after ebooks though? How about music and movies? Last week, the AndroidGuys blog discovered that the URL market.android.com/books led to Android Market, and that’s the link that now leads (in the US) to the new Books category.
The report found similar homepage redirection for market.android.com/music and market.android.com/movies, offering a strong hint at Google’s next moves.
