Google Launches New 3-D ‘Infinite’ Browser Bookstore

Google has put a new spin on digital books with the launch of WebGL Bookcase. The company has reinvented the library as a 3-D helix available for browsing from any Internet-connected device. The “infinite digital bookcase” holds more than 10,000 titles from Google Books. 

 

The books are organized into 28 subjects, including New York Times Bestsellers, Children's Books and Free Books. To choose a subject, click the subject button near the top of your screen when viewing the bookcase. The camera then flies to that area of the bookcase. Clicking on a book pulls it off the shelf and displays an enlarged version in the foreground. With a click, the book opens to reveal a synopsis. Want it? Once click takes you to Google Books  where you can purchase the title.

 

Smartphone and tablet users can use the included QR code on each book’s “flyleaf” to open the title.

 

The spiral bookcase can be spun left and right or up with a mouse or a swipe. The graphics were rendered with WebGL, a browser technology that enables fast, hardware-accelerated 3-D graphics.

 

Note that Google’s WebGL Bookcase is categorized as a Chrome Experiment, referring to Google’s Chrome browser, and the program is still being fine-tuned. Google recommends using Chrome browser for best results.