# Google to Sell and Rent Digital Textbooks

Google has announced that in August they’ll begin selling and renting textbooks through the Google Play store. This will put the company on par with Apple, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble, all of which have already entered the digital textbook market.

A Google representative said that they will offer “a comprehensive selection of titles” from the five biggest textbook publishers: McGraw-Hill, Pearson, Wiley, Macmillan Higher Education, and Cengage Learning. The books will be accessible on Android and iOS devices, as well as in browser windows.

The textbooks will support highlighting, notes, and bookmark syncing across multiple devices. While they didn’t go into specifics on pricing, they said they will rent and sell books for up to 80 percent off of retail prices.

At the event Google also announced a new tablet and a Chromecast TV dongle, which you can read about [here](http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-23437476).

\[Via [TechCrunch](http://techcrunch.com/2013/07/24/google-to-launch-play-textbooks-in-august-partners-with-5-major-publishing-houses/)]


---

# Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation

If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter:

```
GET https://help.simnetonline.com/blog/2013-posts/google-to-sell-and-rent-digital-textbooks.md?ask=<question>
```

The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.
