Can JK Rowling bring on e-book standardization?

[Toxaris]

Basically there are 3 formats in use (disregarding PDF...)
1. ePUB
2. mobi
3. FB2

The FB2 is mostly used in Russia and other Cyrillic countries, or so I have been old. The ePUB is used all over the world, so also outside the US.... Mobi (aka Kindle) is mostly US and UK based. Perhaps if you only consider English native countries, the Kindle is dominant. I am not convinced, but it could be. However, the US (and UK) is not the complete world (although some like to think so). Even so, how many buy a book at Amazon to immediately convert it to ePUB?

Main problem is the lack of figures, partly to blame geo-restriction. As long as not *all* online stores across the world publish their figures, it is very hard to say which format is dominant. Also, geo-restrictions holds back spreading of ePub.

I will not participate in a discussion which format is better. I have read enough about it and I have my opinion, but that is not relevant.

However, as soon as Amazon/Kindle would support ePub, global domination would be theirs I am afraid.

[murraypaul]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

Basically there are 3 formats in use (disregarding PDF...)
1. ePUB
2. mobi
3. FB2

Plus whatever formats are commonly used in Japan, and other countries with more complicated scripts.

[karunaji]

I am certainly not against better standards or standardization for ebooks. I just don't believe that pushing one standard over another is going to help.

Epub might be better but it doesn't mean anything if Kobo does not support centered blocks. I was able to install FBreader on Kindle device to read epub directly but the navigation was worse than in the native Kindle framework, so I stopped using it. I find it easier to use Calibre to convert to mobi and then read in Kindle framework rather than use the original epub files in FBreader. Ultimately it is the device including reader software that is most important not the format.

Kindle should be improved (including support of more formats) but our demands for epub is not going to help much unless there is serious competition. If Sony, for example, would release a new reader with vastly better features and improved reading experience so that many people would sell their Kindles to migrate to Sony without looking back, then Amazon would be forced to innovate and provide similar or equivalent features. But as it is now, Sony is only marginally better while being more expensive.

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by murraypaul

Plus whatever formats are commonly used in Japan, and other countries with more complicated scripts.

Corrected, I should have said 'three most common formats'.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by CleverClothe

Ah, you are still dodging the question.

If you ask me to prove the sky is blue, I'm not going to teach you about spectra absorption, I'm going to tell you to look up.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

Corrected, I should have said 'three most common formats'.

Most common to who? Which languages/countries are we talking about?

The NL is not the whole world (although some like to think so).

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

You may be projecting.

This is pretty well-known if you follow global e-book sales at all. http://dhdeans.blogspot.com/2011/02/...ew-by-200.html



So you are suggesting that the US doesn't really have over 80% of the e-book market because there is a large number of uncounted sales in the former eastern bloc? Anything is possible, of course, but it would be better if you provided some data.

You admit that neither you nor your source even attempted in any way shape or form to obtain data from these regions.

I called you, and by extension your source, on asserting that primarily US data equates to world data. Misleading at best and an intentional lie to manipulate the marketing at worst.

Now you insist that if I dont have the data myself you have to be allowed to claim English speaking data really could be world data.

Not gonna happen. The claim you posted was fraudulent.

You and they need to simply say "as of this date within the US, Canada, Britain, and Australia" rather than worldwide when that is the only data you are looking at.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Phogg

You admit that neither you nor your source even attempted in any way shape or form to obtain data from these regions.

I called you, and by extension your source, on asserting that primarily US data equates to world data. Misleading at best and an intentional lie to manipulate the marketing at worst.

Now you insist that if I dont have the data myself you have to be allowed to claim English speaking data really could be world data.

Not gonna happen. The claim you posted was fraudulent.

You and they need to simply say "as of this date within the US, Canada, Britain, and Australia" rather than worldwide when that is the only data you are looking at.

In the absence of hard data, there is industry expertise and past experience, market comparisons, experience, social buzz, and other indications that one case use to make an educated guess.
There are piles of indications to suggest that the market of English speaking countries for eBooks overwhelms the rest of the world in terms of percentages.
http://www.sonyrumors.net/2010/12/02...japan-by-2012/

Do you have ANY rational argument for suggesting otherwise?
So far, we have only heard the Eddie Murphy "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" argument.

I can see an argument for "if you discount all the English-speaking countries, then the rest of the world has different numbers" but why on Earth would anyone do that?

[JSWolf]

What is happening is we have people here quoting articles that guess on what's going on inside the US borders. The world does not stop at the US borders. I've read lots of things saying that this reader and that reader are top readers in other countries and they aren't Kindles. They are ePub capable readers like Pocketbook or Sony or Onyx. Plus, I also read of publisher putting out in non-English in ePub. I read more of ePub related things outside the US then anything truly Kindle related. I base the face that ePub is #1 because it is. I also base that on the fact that eBooks do not begin and end in the USA.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I base the face that ePub is #1 because it is.

Well, there you go. Can't argue with that.

[Toxaris]

Originally Posted by queentess

Most common to who? Which languages/countries are we talking about?

The NL is not the whole world (although some like to think so).

Most common globally. Most common in availibility. Most common in reader acceptance. Need to go on?

Frankly, I don't care about the situation here in the Netherlands. Our time as world power is long gone and no tears here. Apparently you feel offended by my remark that the US and a lot of its inhabitants tend to act as they are the world. I don't care if they do, but there is a whole world outside their borders with different ideas and customs.

But I digress. If I look around in the real world and on different websites and all, it seems that the two main formats are ePUB and mobi. In the ideal world the readers would support both formats, in the real world it will unfortunatly not. Who will win? No idea. Perhaps ePUB, perhaps mobi, perhaps a third format. I do know that by creating my own books in ePUB I should be able to change it to another format, since it is open.

Has one writer the power to make a format leading or even winning? I don't think so. What will? Money and power. They only way we as reader will have any influence is with our wallets. And I doubt if even that has much impact...
Most books are available in multiple formats anyway. If publishers want to spend the money to make multiple formats instead of pushing one format, it is their choice. Then again, I hate to think what will happen if the publishing world will create their own format...

Due to the spread of e-books, backwards compatibility will be a problem/issue. You don't want to buy a new version if you change your reader. The publishers and retailers would love it of course. Older devices are not getting updates with newer versions of reading software. In my opinion that will also be a risk with ePUB3 or ePUB in general.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by ApK

In the absence of hard data, there is industry expertise and past experience, market comparisons, experience, social buzz, and other indications that one case use to make an educated guess.
There are piles of indications to suggest that the market of English speaking countries for eBooks overwhelms the rest of the world in terms of percentages.
http://www.sonyrumors.net/2010/12/02...japan-by-2012/

Do you have ANY rational argument for suggesting otherwise?
So far, we have only heard the Eddie Murphy "Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?" argument.

I can see an argument for "if you discount all the English-speaking countries, then the rest of the world has different numbers" but why on Earth would anyone do that?

Gouund control to space cadet APK...Ground control to space cadet APK... Come down to reality APK...

I never sugested disregarding the English speaking world.

Stop trying to put words in my mouth.

I suggested that while they might not all have expensive E-ink readers there are a lot of electronic readers around the globe reading electronic books and if you do not come up with a way to count them then pushing an ethnocentric assertion that your little group represents the world is not research, and it isnt reality its just jingoistic marketing blather designed to make some target group feel like part of some elite if they buy the righf product.

I reject the hype because it was misrepresented from the beginning.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Toxaris

The ePUB is used all over the world, so also outside the US.... Mobi (aka Kindle) is mostly US and UK based. Perhaps if you only consider English native countries, the Kindle is dominant. I am not convinced, but it could be. However, the US (and UK) is not the complete world (although some like to think so). Even so, how many buy a book at Amazon to immediately convert it to ePUB?

Originally Posted by Toxaris

Most common globally. Most common in availibility. Most common in reader acceptance. Need to go on?

Apparently you feel offended by my remark that the US and a lot of its inhabitants tend to act as they are the world.

No, my point was that you're making sweeping generalizations that aren't based upon any facts. Would love to see some hard data on why you think epub and mobi are the leading formats. You accuse Americans of thinking they're the center of the world, yet you're being very Euro-centric in your thinking.

As for U.S. inhabitants "acting like they are the world", according to this article, the U.S. accounted for about 80% of global ebook sales in 2010. That is not a small marketshare.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by Phogg

Stop trying to put words in my mouth.

Learn to read. I wouldn't go near your mouth.

Never mind the rest of the English-reading world, the US market is a "little group" in terms of ebooks? OKaay. From all appearances, even if all ebook consumers in the rest of the world outside of Amazon's range UNANIMOUSLY got behind some single other format, Amazon would STILL be number one in the world on pure numbers.

Still waiting for some reason or evidence suggesting otherwise, but all I see is blithering and blustering.

[ApK]

Originally Posted by queentess

As for U.S. inhabitants "acting like they are the world", according to this article, the U.S. accounted for about 80% of global ebook sales in 2010. That is not a small marketshare.

Pish posh, Queentess, what would the book industry know about book sales? Surely JSWolf and Phogg are far more authoritative sources!