interesting article. it's great that make a point of talking about the format war (or "tower of e-babel") because i suspect many consumers aren't too aware of that. and it's probably the biggest hurdle ebooks have to overcome in the near future (there are a few other ones like drm and prices but format is very important). the good news is that at least in europe epub is making huge strides, as this quote seems to attest :
Quote:
Speaking at the Book Fair, Richard Palk, Sony's new business contents and services manager, said the company was ditching its proprietary format in the UK: "ePub has become the de facto UK consumers' format of choice," he said, adding that Reader and ebook sales were above expectations. "We see demand for ebooks and digital readers growing in the UK. It's clear that a reading revolution is beginning."
Crucially, Sony has allied itself with Amazon's retail rivals. Waterstone's has been selling ebooks in ePub format since the launch of the Reader. "We strongly believe that there should be a single format available to all," says Neil Jewsbury, Waterstone's commercial director. "We are pleased that Sony and the digital publishing industry agree that ePub is the most accessible and user-friendly format."
|
i really think it's now more a question of "when" than "whether" for epub, which is great news.