The unveiling of Google's new digital subscription service – dubbed One Pass – undoubtedly has a timely feeling about it, given it follows a matter of hours after the launch of Apple's equivalent platform for the App Store.

One Pass – unveiled by CEO Eric Schmidt during a visit to Humboldt University in Berlin – promises to equip publishers with much the same tools, albeit with what Google is pitching as a far more open set up than its rival.

For starters, Google will take just 10 percent of the revenue earned from subscriptions. That's a rate that compares rather favourably to Apple's model, which sees the firm take a 30 percent cut.

What's more, it would appear Google could be planning to roll One Pass out across multiple mobile operating systems, with no specific reference made to Android in amongst any of the company's press blurb.

Flexible focus

"By providing a system for user authentication, payment processing, and administration, Google One Pass lets publishers focus on creating high quality content for their readers," the firm says on the venture's website.

"Publishers have flexibility over payment models and control over the digital content for which they charge and the content that is free for consumers."

Google is claiming such flexibility is key in the digital subscription market. As such, publishers can set the terms as they see fit, selling subscriptions at any length, for individual articles or multiple issues, or on an auto renewal basis.

As with Apple's set up, One Pass appears to be pitched firmly at the print press for the time being, though speculation already suggests games could be on the agenda in the months to come.



[source: Google]