Google's Infinite 3-D bookcase: The definition of cool design

Google today introduced the "Infinite Digital Bookcase" on their official blog and predictably it has tech enthusiasts excited at this uber cool feature of Google. The Infinite Bookcase puts together all Google's books into a 3-D bookshelf, in the form of a helix. It looks like a huge column but the cool thing is that you can use your mouse to turn the shelf left, right and up and down. (Read more about Google books here) The 3-D feature in this bookcase design is sure to keep users happy to spend many hours just scrolling it around all directions. The Bookcase can be used in all updated browsers and can be found here.The Google bookshelf has books organised in 28 categories, such as free books, romance, bestsellers, science fiction etc. The design interface is minimal so you can choose which category you want to look in and the Bookshelf (which also acts as virtual librarian) will guide you to the right choices. While the 3-D feature might make it a problem for users who are using older machines, there is no doubt that the interface and design of the bookshelf is going to be a big plus in attracting users. The users are given the option of reading the book on their tablets or phones by using a quick response code app like Google Goggles.[caption id="attachment_111694" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="The Infinite Google Bookshelf. Screengrab from YouTube video."][/caption]Not all tech experts seem to be impressed with the design for the digital bookshelf though. David Coldewey writes in TechCrunch

Sure, there are books in rows. But it’s also a corkscrew extending to the sky. And people are used to seeing their books arranged spine out — which isn’t necessarily the best thing in the world, but it is a superior information density. And I wonder if it might be better to put people inside instead of outside?

Others such as Meghan Kelly in Venture Beat were quite excited with the design and felt that this was perhaps a move to get purchase more Google books, but felt it certainly was not a competitor to Kindle:

Choosing a book is also visually tasty. Once you click on a book, it bounces similarly to how an icon bounces on an Apple Mac application dock. After loading, a 3D version of the book pops off the shelf and opens to show you the above content. In order to read the book you have the option to purchase it from Google Books or take a picture of the QR code with your mobile device to read it on the go.

Only time will tell if Google's plan of virtual bookcase design was too ambitious. For now it's sufficient to say this seems like a very, very cool idea.Watch the YouTube video