Google is one of the most innovative companies around the world. The company is not only good at developing new products and services but is particularly very competent in taking advantage of others’ hard work to grow its own business. Take the case of Apple iPhone. While many experts sided with Google during that episode (which is still ongoing), there is no question that Google is known for entering and dominating markets like no other company. So it’s no surprise that other companies are always wary of Google coming after their lunch.

Apple may have held off Google for now, but it seems Amazon will have to do so as well. Google is currently not planning its own e-book reader. The company is not in the hardware business, and it clearly knows what its core capabilities are. That is why it is focusing on developing a killer e-book store (Google Editions) that could challenge the supremacy of Amazon in the e-book reader market. Amazon has a huge advantage over its competitors with its Kindle store. But Google is planning to target all e-book readers that can run a browser by enabling their owners to download books through the web easily. So you won’t have to rely on Amazon or any other e-book provider (other than Google) to get your hands on more content on your e-book reader.

Google has officially declared war on Amazon for the e-book market supremacy. Unlike most companies involved in the e-book industry, Google does not have its own reader, but it has Sony and Coolerreads. Google and Amazon have been at it for a while now. Amazon is not a big fan of Google Books project. In fact, there are some giants (Microsoft and Yahoo) among the opposition. But that hasn’t stopped Google from trying to take over the world. Google has given a hand to Sony by bringing over a million titles to Sony store. Now Interead also gets a chance to use those books on its own e-book reader, Cool-er.

Cool-er reader is a cool looking e-book reader that does look a bit like a giant iPod, and it supports 19 formats including popular doc formats such as ePub and PDF. By partnering up with Cool-er reader and Sony, Google is sending a signal to Amazon that it has no intention of backing down in the e-book industry. It’s true that those million titles are all books in public domain, but that doesn’t take too much away from the fact that Sony and Interead customers will have many new titles to consume on their e-book readers.

It’s still not clear how Amazon will respond to Google’s latest attempt in the e-book industry. The company is trying to stop Google in its tracks with the help of companies such as Microsoft and Yahoo. And I wouldn’t be surprised if Amazon is thinking about adopting some of those other document formats that we have come to love. At the end of the day, most of the e-book readers on the market won’t be a threat to Amazon Kindle. By adopting some of those popular document formats, Amazon can raise the stakes in e-book industry wars. One thing is for certain. When companies compete, consumers win.

Your take: is Google the king maker in the e-book industry?

Many experts have talked about in the past that whichever company solves the content access riddle will probably win the e-book reader wars. It’s given that Sony was in the game way before Amazon entered the market. But Amazon’s innovative features and the overall Kindle experience has given Amazon a huge momentum in the e-book market. To give Amazon credit, it has kept up the pressure by introducing Kindle DX to reach to more market segments. But other competitors such as Sony and Plastic Logic are finally getting what the game’s about: content and convenience.

I recently wrote about Plastic Logic partnering up with Barnes & Noble to bring a huge library of content to Plastic Logic Reader owners. Sony has been forming its own partnerships, joining forces with Google to bring Google Books project to Sony Reader. Google Books Project gives Sony Readers access to 1 million public domain books which should make Sony Reader an decent alternative to Amazon Kindle. Amazon can always pick up Google Books as well, but at this point it doesn’t have any plans to.

Sony and Plastic Logic have addressed their content access issues a bit in the past few days, but they need to get things right with their devices as well. Amazon Kindle is by far the best designed e-book reader on the market, and the fact that Amazon is already working on color Kindle and more innovative designs should keep these companies worried. Sony Readers are very capable as well, but they are not Amazon Kindle but cost almost as much.

Sony and Plastic Logic seem like decent competitors to Amazon, but Apple seems to be poised to steal their thunder with its tablet, expected to be released in September. Plastic Logic has been in the works for a while but the manufacturer has taken too much time to introduce the device to the market. Sony had the lead in this market but did not build on it. So it’d be hard to see where Sony goes from here. It could all come down to what Apple does with its tablet. It will certainly not be just an e-book reader, and that’s what makes it a dangerous competitor.

Your take: what do you think Sony and Plastic Logic need to do to stop Amazon Kindle’s momentum?

Google has been shooting for world domination for years now. Google is not afraid to go after Apple to challenge iPhone or challenge Microsoft in the netbook market. So it’s not a surprise that Amazon expects a fierce challenge in its potential showdown with Google in the near future.  No wonder Amazon’s blood is boiling with Google expanding its Book Search service to provide even more content to its visitors. Under a deal between Google and Authors Guild, Google has the exclusive rights to orphan works. It’s no surprise that Jeff Bezos doesn’t like it one bit:

We have strong opinions about that issue which I’m not going to share … But, clearly, that settlement in our opinion needs to be revisited and it is being revisited.

Amazon is not the only company that is concerned with Google’s deal. Google needs to pass a few legal hurdles to get its hands on these books. And if Google has the exclusive rights to these books, how is Amazon going to digitize “all the books in the world?” Perhaps Amazon is more worried about Google selling books than its deal with Authors Guild. Google is wandering into Amazon’s territory, and you can expect Amazon to play even more offense in the future. Google may not be a direct threat to Amazon in the e-book market just yet, but any company that has discounted Google in the past has lived to regret it. Besides, when companies play cat and mouse, consumers win!

Your take: should Amazon play more offense against Google?

You thought Apple may be the toughest competitor to Amazon in the e-book market (with its upcoming MediaPad)? Think again. Google did announce a while back that it was planning to compete with Amazon (in an indirect way). But who knew Google had grand plans for the e-book market? Google announced that it is working on an e-book ecosystem that will put a whole lot of e-books in the hands of consumers. And unlike Amazon, Google publishers will get to set their own price.

Google has not decided whether its ebooks will be copy-protected. It’d be interesting to see whether Google tries to one up Amazon by making its ebooks available without it. Here is what Google’s spokesman had to say about Google’s big new project:

we hope to give publisher partners an additional way to sell their books by allowing users to purchase access to partner program books online. We want to build and support a digital book ecosystem to allow our partner publishers to make their books available for purchase from any Web-enabled device.

Google’s Book Partnership Program will offer consumers yet another way to access to a whole lot of titles to consume on their netbooks or even Kindles. I don’t believe Google will introduce an e-book reader to compliment its ebooks service, but Apple might! Google’s move can level the playing field in this market a bit. A lot of start-ups (e.g. Plastic Logic) and established companies (Sony) have trouble competing with Amazon due to their lack of access to enough ebook titles. But now they will have access to Google’s huge book database, and they can spend more time improving their hardware to go head to head against Amazon. And how about Apple MediaPad? Will Apple pounce on this opportunity to mount a serious challenge against Amazon Kindle? One thing is for certain. When companies compete, we win. And a competition between Google and Amazon will be a sight to see in the upcoming months!

Your take: will Google’s latest project put Amazon under real pressure? Can Google kill Amazon Kindle indirectly by allowing more Kindle killers to emerge out of nowhere?