Today Google unveiled Google eBooks, a new service for buying and reading digital books. Unlike competing services like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, Google eBooks is cloud-based, meaning you don't need a dedicated device to read books — virtually any browser will do.

Today Google unveiled Google eBooks, a new service for buying and reading digital books. Unlike competing services like the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook, Google eBooks is cloud-based, meaning you don't need a dedicated device to read books — virtually any browser will do.

Google's existing e-books service, Google Books, which provides the full text of many public-domian book, will be integrated into Google eBooks. As such, the new service has 3 million books available for reading, according to Google. "Hundreds of thousands" of those will be for sale.

In additions to browser-based reading, Google eBooks will feature apps for both iOS and Android devices. Font, type size, and line spacing are all said to be customizable. Since your books are stored online — with unlimited storage — they are automatically synced between all your devices.

When shopping Google eBooks, users will be able to buy directly from Google or from one of its bookseller partners, including Powell's and Alibris. Wherever you buy, your books are all kept in the same place.

that you'll be able to download copies of your books for offline reading as well, though Google made no mention of that in its statement. It also appears that the original working name for the service, Google Editions, has been abandoned.

Will cloud storage give Google an edge over competing services like the Kindle and Nook bookstores? The search giant is certainly an expert on cloud computing, but pricing will obviously be a big factor as well. A cursory look at a few featured launch titles on Google eBooks showed they were similarly priced to their counterparts in the Kindle and Nook stores. Stay tuned for PCMag's hands-on of Google eBooks.