If you ever get a craving for classic literature while on the go, Google’s just given you the ability to check out your favorite literary works via an iPhone or Android phone. Google’s Book Search currently features 1.5 million public domain books, which have all been optimized to fit a mobile screen. Unfortunately, Blackberrys and other non-Android operating system phones are out of luck in accessing this feature.
Google is using an extraction technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR), that captures and formats the text from the page so that it can be easily viewed on a mobile browser.
Good to know: how to do an advanced search on Google Book Search! http://www.tweetube.com/cv
That’s great news. I am not very fond of the kindle device yet but to access magazine stuff while traveling etc is definitely something I am going to use.
Yep…. pretty cool.
As ugly as the Kindle is (and I don’t think it’s worth the money), I really don’t think this is a solution. I can’t imagine someone reading a 300-400 page novel on a cell phone. Imagine how many times you would have to flip the page. Battery life would drain and you eyes would probably hurt from staring at those small characters for hours. If google wants in, they would have to build a device similar to Kindle but one that looks attractive and thought out.
It’s funny, i feel that trend could change, i know its bad for my eyes, but i’m starting to read alot of information from my iphone these days. Kindle is the market leader, but Google got the name brand that could push it through. How many apps does Google have nowadays though, it seems theyre releasing something new every 2 weeks!
cooljobsalways
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Book search is an amazing example of vertical search that users today need.
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I think my Kindle screen isn’t big enough. Why would I want to read on an even smaller screen?
Because it’s Google!
GOOGLE!
/
I’m not sure comparing a mobile cell phone with a very small screen using traditional screen technology to a e-Ink portable reading device is a fair comparison.
Stories are always better when its a 2-horse race
Whether I’m on the iPhone or not I’d prob use the mobile version even in my normal web browser. Real nice.
Google can do anything and everything to screw everyone over. While it helps everyone out, I just feel bad for any company that tried to compete with Google, because they can basically do anything they want!
“The connection between this initiative and the Kindle was my first thought too. Amazon is rolling out the Kindle in the same way as Apple did the iPhone. I think there is an arc whereby the iPod was the greatest thing in the world at one time and everyone was willing to pay $300-$400 to easily move into the digital music world. Now that people have been digital for a few years DRM really starts to itch and as a result I at least have become indifferent as to the device that plays my music. Amazon wants to collect the same $300 transition fee. Google however could go straight to home base by sponsoring an e-ink open-source (grind down the cost and up the output) tablet powered perhaps by an Android-based operating system (if that’s even necessary) that would allow the world to at least read the off-copyright books. And there is the rub. Amazon’s got quite a hold on the copyright book publishers. But they could certainly be convinced (I heard there was silence recently at the Frankfurt book-fair as Amazon made its pitch) that a single company holding their customers is not in their interest. So they might indeed like to offer their copyright works on a “G-Book.””
I think its a great feature for the iPhone. The screen is not that small, as everyone says.
.. and is FUN too! So let’s read this book
http://books.go...amp;page_num=23
“options fo contrary to flesh and blood; never any that Was judged even by the learned Heathens I themselves witness learned Plutarch, who hath written a whole Book, of this very subject : ) so grossely and manifestly to oppose nature, and to. overthrow all grounds and principles of humane sense or reason, as the Stoicks did”
“Google is using an extraction technology called Optical Character Recognition (OCR), that captures and formats the text from the page so that it can be easily viewed on a mobile browser.”
Why the odd explanation of a basic fact? OCR isn’t just for mobile browsers; it’s captures any text for digital storage on any computer. I’ve been using it for decades now.
It’s like saying, “Google is using a display technology called Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) that formats and displays the text from the page so it can be easily viewed on a mobile browser.” Not wrong, just oddly stating the obvous.
It jarred with me to. On http://www.momsanddads.com maybe, but on a tech blog?
Is there a reason blackberry’s can’t access the site? I mean…come on. I’ve just started reading on my 8830 and find it a pleasure. Much better than rereading emails or drive-by-media news. One day soon i hope..until then will keep using Mobibook
I used to read books on my BlackBerry before getting the Kindle, the Kindle is in a league on it’s own
The advantage that the Kindle has over reading books on an iPhone or G-phone isn’t just the bigger screen that’s easier to read on.
People might complain about the cost of the Kindle, but if you look at the all in cost for the iPhone or G-Phone the Kindle is quite a deal. A 8GB 3G iPhone will run you $199 (v free for a simple phone) and the data plan is $30 a month or $720 for the two year lock-in (we’ll ignore the voice plan because someone with a simple phone would pay that too).
I’m not saying that there aren’t lots of other benefits to the iPhone, but if you’re someone who doesn’t need/want a smart phone and likes to read, you can buy two Kindles and $199 of e-books during the same two year period (and get all of the free books out there as well).
I used to read stuff on the Blackberry before getting the Kindle… doesn’t even come close.
I use http://www.booksinmyphone.com but my eyes start to burn if I read too long.
This won’t come close to the kindle..
joke.
Google Book Search should be integrated in the Kindle as a free or very very cheap service. Amazon should let Kindle users pa a minimal fee per megabyte people use on such specially optimized features as Google Book Search, Google News and Google Reader.
Google should optimize a version of Android for E-Ink Ebook readers.
Comon Google, we know you are working on it. Just release it now. We really don’t care if it’s beta or even alpha. Release your stuff now, you are making it open source eventually anyways.
By the way, Google Android on E-Ink readers will make a $100 E-Ink reader a possibillity this year. Not even subsidized. If you subsidize it using the wireless data service and content subscription, then the E-Ink readers will definitely be free. In a size that can fit the pocket and using a touchscreen for taking notes.
I think there is already a better alternative on the iPhone and it is called Stanza. It is better because it allows you to store the books on the iPhone so you can read them when you are offline (especially relevant for Touch users or for people who are often in zones where 3G is not available). This is a must feature for any serious ebook reader on the iPhone. You can download books, many of them free through project Gutenberg, directly on the iPhone, or you can load any ebook or OCR scanned PDF file through their companion app for the computer. So Stanza is already way ahead of this, but I like to see that there is competition coming!
Too many basic OCR errors. They need to improve the scanning process bigtime.
no answer.
the phones batteries just DO NOT work!
According to another article this also works on the iPhone: http://www.info...cleID=213202148
To those who are skeptical about reading a book on a small screen – just try reading for an hour on the iPhone. I bet you’ll like it more than you’d expect.
The OCR recognition isn’t perfect, but if you’ve tried it you’ll notice that you can tap any block of text and see the original scanned image of that block. So the original formatting and layout of the scanned work is always available (as long as you’re in data coverage).
I don’t own a Kindle, but I’m pretty sure it doesn’t do that. And since so many of the books Google’s making available are late 19th and early 20th century, the original layouts can be fascinating typographically and culturally.
I don’t work for Google, not even close (work in video games) but I find this pretty amazing.
Even though some might find reading on the iphone or android phone perfectly fine, most people probably won’t. If Google can integrate pico projectors in future phones and tone down the brightness, then I can see their Book Search start to rival the Kindle. Just lay the phone down, throw the book onto the wall, and enjoy!
Thanks for info
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