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The expulsions have begun – Google Books gone from iOS

I just heard this morning that the Google Books app is no longer available through iTunes, and after some digging I can confirm this is true. Google Books is no longer listed in iTunes.

Curiously enough, the app running on my iPad still works. I fired it up and I can still read all the ebooks including the couple I bought. The app still has the link to the Google eBookstore website, too, which is probably why Apple pulled it.

Interesting. I really expected to see this sooner.

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Comments


Mike Cane July 24, 2011 um 9:45 am

It begins!! Just got an email from Amazon. Kindle 3G for $139. Coincidence? I don’t think so.

Nate Hoffelder July 24, 2011 um 10:25 am

Is that the Kindle 3G special offers that was sponsored by AT&T?

That happened a week ago.

Mike Cane July 24, 2011 um 1:31 pm

Dammit. You know, I didn’t check to see if that was the case. Shit. #FAIL #IBlameTheHeat

Mike Cane July 24, 2011 um 1:33 pm

Went and updated my post. It’s the AT&T Kindle.


Eric Landes July 24, 2011 um 10:00 am

Kobo and Bluefire removed stores, Google left. Very curious to see which direction B&N and Amazon decide to go.

fjtorres July 24, 2011 um 5:49 pm

I expect they’ll wait for Apple to delist them from iTunes.
Especially Amazon.

Ravi July 24, 2011 um 11:48 pm

Sadly, B&N seems to have caved (see Nook Kids app).

As for Amazon, will they announce their iOS app decision before or after they announce 1 million Kindle eBooks for sale? They’re at 1,005,000 according to Kindle for Android right now.

Ravi July 25, 2011 um 2:58 am

To be precise, Google hasn’t entirely left. For the moment(1), Google is the only ebook retailer with a full-fledged web reading interface. I wonder if that channel is why Google (apparently) has made a different decision than the other retailers.

(1) I suspect Amazon has a full Kindle for Web on ice (especially since Google' s bookstore is the existence proof that there isn’t an absolute licensing bar to the concept).

Nate Hoffelder July 25, 2011 um 7:50 am

But does that browser based reading app work in the iPad/iPhone?

Ravi July 25, 2011 um 8:46 am

Google claims:
"You can read Google eBooks on any browser with JavaScript enabled."

That doesn’t necessarily mean that the experience would be acceptable on an iPhone or iPad, but it does seem to claim it is possible.


Apple’s eBook Restraint Of Trade Begins | Mike Cane's xBlog July 24, 2011 um 10:02 am

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Breaking: More eBookstore Changes for Apple Devices | Gear Diary July 24, 2011 um 12:31 pm

[…] over at The Digital Reader caught some new changes this morning for ebooks on iOS. Google Books is gone from the App Store, and NOOKkids is now the same as Kobo — you can sync and sign in, […]


Mike Perry July 24, 2011 um 11:35 pm

I’m curious. I wonder if an app that search for ebooks on all the major web stores, including Apple’s, listed the prices, and provided a clickable web link would past muster.


Jeremy Banks July 25, 2011 um 6:25 am

"Curiously enough, the app running on my iPad still works."

Apple removing apps from the store has never removed them from users' devices. That would be idiotic and such a terrible PR move.


A Roundup post on this weekend’s iOS Reading App Massacre – The Digital Reader July 25, 2011 um 1:23 pm

[…] The Google Books app vanished from iTunes. […]


Joe July 25, 2011 um 2:47 pm

This all started back in Feb when Sony Reader was dumped. The advantage that the iPhone and more so the iPad has is the freedom from having to haul around multiple devices. Will the day come when all ebook apps are yanked off iTunes and you will have to carry both an iPad and an ebook device? This is a case where the free-market isn’t working. More ebook formats is not consumer friendly.


Apple Slams the Door on eBook Apps | 21st Century Library Blog July 27, 2011 um 9:24 am

[…] news on this developing story is that the Google app has been “pulled” and that the Nook Children’s app no longer has a link to the store. We have to expect that the […]


Apple renvoi l’application Google Books | eBook-Actu.com August 8, 2011 um 3:13 pm

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