Digital book programs seem to be all the rage since a particularly large search engine company decided to put most all books online. Online retailer Amazon decided to offer an alternative to publishers that should sit well with them. They will SELL digital books.
Amazon announced today the new service, called Amazon Pages, allowing customer to purchase books wholly or by page, section or chapter. This program really is a repackaging of the “print on demand” concept except now, people can purchase these books and print them on their own printer paper or just read them on the computer.
In addition, Amazon also offers Amazon Upgrade. This program will not only allow users to get the physical copy of the book but also have 24×7 website dedicate to the interior of the book. This way, customers will have both a hard and an electronic copy.
“Amazon Pages and Amazon Upgrade leverage Amazon’s existing Search Inside the Book technology to give customers unusual flexibility in how they buy and read books,” said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO, Amazon.com. “In collaboration with our publishing partners, we’re working hard to make the world’s books instantly accessible anytime and anywhere.”
“It is important for the publishing community to explore new business models for digital delivery that compensate publishers and authors fairly. We look forward to working together with Amazon as they develop these innovative new programs to expand the market for digital content,” said John Sargent, CEO, Holtzbrinck Publishers.
John Stith is a staff writer for Murdok covering technology and business.
