The Digital Reader

Jason Davis of Bookbee scored an exclusive interview with Mark Tanner, the new head of the Australian Google Ebookstore. Unfortunately, Mark couldn’t make any promises on when the GE would launch in Australia:

Even though I’ve had a play with the GE site (see how here), chances are that the question foremost on my mind was the same as the one on yours: “When?”

Unfortunately Mark has to follow the company line. “We’ve been very excited by the US launch of the Google Ebookstore – it went extremely well,” he said. “Within 24 hours we were the number one app in the Apple App Store. Not just in books though – overall. We are really happy with the response and there haven’t been any real glitches at our end. What Google does well is launch a Version 1.0 product and then iterate, and I think the public know that.”

I don’t think it will happen in the next 6 months. They’re just now getting someone on the ground in Australia. It’s going to take quite some time to sign up publishers and bookstore partners. In spite of what the WSJ reported, I don’t think this will launch in the next quarter.

via Bookbee