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twowheels · 06-08-2011, 10:53 PM

I've been considering subscribing to the ebook versions of Analog and Asimov's, but am a bit concerned with Amazon's take on archiving back issues of periodicals.

Since these magazines are the types of things that you might want to re-read or share interesting stories with others I'm a bit concerned with Amazon's policies. If I understand them correctly (purchased from Amazon):

The periodical is automatically sent to one of my devices
I can read the periodical on that one device, though I can (now) also open it on my Android phone (color might be nice for these periodicals, though I'll still prefer eInk and the larger screen for the actual reading)
If I want to keep a past issue I have to save it on my Kindle manually or strip the DRM (never tried it so I don't know how hard it is, not asking for instructions).
If, for some reason, I have to (or choose to) replace my device, I can no longer read the manually saved issues
7 issues will be kept in my archive, all past issues are NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO ME

Is my understanding correct?

Alternatively I can buy the periodicals from Fictionwise... the benefits there are that I can get the DRM free MultiFormat version in a richer formatted (I assume) ePub, or even richer formated (I assume) PDF depending on where I'm reading it, which seems to be a big plus.

The drawbacks seem to be that it's more expensive (not much, but a little bit) and, worse, I have to buy each issue individually and download it manually. Does Fictionwise not have a way to subscribe and have the periodical mailed to me each month?

Perhaps I should just give in and buy the paper version, or, cheaper still, be content with the 50 year old issues on PG. :-)

06-08-2011, 10:53 PM	#1
twowheels Wizard Posts: 1,788 Karma: 13412766 Join Date: Nov 2010 Device: Kobo Clara HD, iPad Pro 10", iPhone 15 Pro	Fictionwise vs. Amazon for Periodicals I've been considering subscribing to the ebook versions of Analog and Asimov's, but am a bit concerned with Amazon's take on archiving back issues of periodicals. Since these magazines are the types of things that you might want to re-read or share interesting stories with others I'm a bit concerned with Amazon's policies. If I understand them correctly (purchased from Amazon): The periodical is automatically sent to one of my devices I can read the periodical on that one device, though I can (now) also open it on my Android phone (color might be nice for these periodicals, though I'll still prefer eInk and the larger screen for the actual reading) If I want to keep a past issue I have to save it on my Kindle manually or strip the DRM (never tried it so I don't know how hard it is, not asking for instructions). If, for some reason, I have to (or choose to) replace my device, I can no longer read the manually saved issues 7 issues will be kept in my archive, all past issues are NO LONGER AVAILABLE TO ME Is my understanding correct? Alternatively I can buy the periodicals from Fictionwise... the benefits there are that I can get the DRM free MultiFormat version in a richer formatted (I assume) ePub, or even richer formated (I assume) PDF depending on where I'm reading it, which seems to be a big plus. The drawbacks seem to be that it's more expensive (not much, but a little bit) and, worse, I have to buy each issue individually and download it manually. Does Fictionwise not have a way to subscribe and have the periodical mailed to me each month? Perhaps I should just give in and buy the paper version, or, cheaper still, be content with the 50 year old issues on PG. :-) Last edited by twowheels; 06-08-2011 at 10:56 PM.