We’ve been loving the web-based version of the Android Market and we’re happy to see that Google has added e-books to the online market. This could be a sign that music and movies are the next dominoes to fall.
The e-books in the Android Market online are quick and easy to find and clicking on the results will get you a large splash page with images, information and user controls. You can also get a quick preview of the e-book and purchasing is simple and it can sync across your Google Editions accounts on multiple devices.
The e-book selection is solid but it’s not as fleshed out as the Kindle library and I still don’t think the experience is as nice as the Kindle or the iBooks. Still, it’s great to see Google making it simple to get this content via the Android Market online.
While the e-book market is cool, we can’t help but wonder if this means that we’ll soon see the Android Market online gain a catalog of music and movies in the not-too-distant future. We’ve been hearing about Google Music for about a year now but the negotiations appear to be mired in record contract hell. Still, it would be easy to see a system where you can buy tracks online with a few clicks and have it pushed to your Android device with just a button.
Now matter how strong the mobile platform continues to move forward, Google is still lagging behind Apple and iOS when it comes to multimedia content. The iTunes juggernaut gives Apple and advantage with the wealth of content it offers but having that easy payment method makes iOS users more likely to buy apps. That’s part of the reason why the App Store has more apps than the Android Market.
