reading .mobi formats

[bobcdy]

Although primarily I read epubs, occasionally there are a few mobi/prc ebooks that I'd like to read on my Sony PRS-950. I've had the reader for some time but today I tried downloading a mobi file to the 950 and the reader refused to recognize it. After checking on supported formats I realized finally that mobi is not supported by Sony.

Is there any workaround (short of coverting the mobi file to epub); perhaps an alternate firmware?

Bob

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by bobcdy

Although primarily I read epubs, occasionally there are a few mobi/prc ebooks that I'd like to read on my Sony PRS-950. I've had the reader for some time but today I tried downloading a mobi file to the 950 and the reader refusted to recognize it. After checking on supported formats I realized finally that mobi is not supported by Sony.

Is there any workaround (short of coverting the mobi file to epub); perhaps an alternate firmware?

Just convert to ePub with calibre. There's very little formatting possible in a Mobi file that doesn't transfer well to the ePub format. (Poetry alignment is the only one that springs to mind, and very few mobipocket books use that.)

[bobcdy]

Thanks for the rapid response. I was hoping to avoid converting - I've done it before with Calibre and it works fine but is simply another step to go through before I can start reading; also once in epub format I'm strongly tempted to 'improve' it with Sigil, and that always takes a bit of time.

I'm surprised that someone hasn't developed a mobi-friendly alternate firmware for the Sony - I tried and am still using the prs+ firmware that is an improvement over the Sony but still does not allow reading mobi/prc.

[sabredog]

I am afraid these days ePUB is the standard and MOBI has lost market edge. Amazon is the only big pusher of MOBI (AZW format) now.

I have a lot of MOBI format ebooks that I used Mobipocket PDA reader to read. They converted well enough using Calibre.

Originally Posted by sabredog

I am afraid these days ePUB is the standard and MOBI has lost market edge. Amazon is the only big pusher of MOBI (AZW format) now.

I have a lot of MOBI format ebooks that I used Mobipocket PDA reader to read. They converted well enough using Calibre.

I guess that is why Amazon Kindle book sales reportedly make up 65% of the eBook market.

No doubt ePub is a better standard and used by more ebookstores, but all those ebookstores combined only sell about half as many eBooks as does Amazon.

@bobcdy, the only current eReader with a Pearl screen that I'm aware of which views ePub and mobi is the new Kobo Touch. I haven't read any reviews as to how well it does though. The only alternative firmware I know of for the Sony Readers is PRS+ and it does not offer alternative reader apps even for ePub, much less for mobi.

[sabredog]

Originally Posted by jswinden

Thanks for insulting my intelligence. Appreciate it.

I won't even bother to clarify what I said.

[bobcdy]

It's too bad that the era of ereaders that don't restrict format (like my trusty old Bebook One) has passed, at least for the major players in the ereader field.

I'll just continue to use the Bebook rather than the Sony for mobi/prc - as long as one doesn't need a touch screen, it's really adequate for most ereading (and it has an easily replaced and inexpensive battery!)

[sabredog]

My wife has two Jetbook Lite ereaders which can display MOBI format ebooks, which is handy to have.

Certainly, one of the things I had to sort out when I became a PRS-300 owner early last year was converting my rather large Mobipocket library over (I used mobipocket reader on my PDA and windoze phone). Thanks to Calibre that task was made a great deal easier.

The choice to go to a Sony ereader was in part influenced by the decreasing availability of MOBI format ebooks available to purchase, even after geographic restrictions.

[bobcdy]

jswinden
Thanks for the info about the Kobo, but my bebook is ok for now.

As for epub versus mobi, I've created ebooks with both and have found that epub is far more versatile in formatting options and ease of editing than mobi. Although Amazon is a big seller (of everything it seems), anyone creating complexly formatted ebooks probably will always go with epub even though sales ops are better with Amazon's format. Thus, I imagine that Amazon's ebooks are limited to simple-formatted novels and such without tables and other complexities.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No doubt ePub is a better standard and used by more ebookstores, but all those ebookstores combined only sell about half as many eBooks as does Amazon.

I think you missed the point. iTunes might be the biggest and most popular digital music store in the US, but you'll never hear anyone refer to the .aac format as the "market standard" for sound files, because it isn't. Amazon and mobi works the same way... they may be the biggest and most popular ones, but their choice of default format has nothing to do with that.

Originally Posted by bobcdy

jswinden
Thanks for the info about the Kobo, but my bebook is ok for now.

As for epub versus mobi, I've created ebooks with both and have found that epub is far more versatile in formatting options and ease of editing than mobi. Although Amazon is a big seller (of everything it seems), anyone creating complexly formatted ebooks probably will always go with epub even though sales ops are better with Amazon's format. Thus, I imagine that Amazon's ebooks are limited to simple-formatted novels and such without tables and other complexities.

BTW, I got a Kobo Touch yesterday. I checked out the mobi viewer and must say it is not very good. The ePub viewer is very good though.

I agree that ePub is much better than mobi, but I don't think a 6" eInk device will ever adequately display "tables and other complexities". It is just too small of a screen and whenever someone bumps up the font size those beautiful tables will look like garbage anyway.

Originally Posted by ScalyFreak

I think you missed the point. iTunes might be the biggest and most popular digital music store in the US, but you'll never hear anyone refer to the .aac format as the "market standard" for sound files, because it isn't. Amazon and mobi works the same way... they may be the biggest and most popular ones, but their choice of default format has nothing to do with that.

No, I didn't miss the point. Whereas I fully agree that ePub is way better of an eBook format than mobi, I cannot consider a format that populates less than a third of eBooks as the de facto industry standard REGARDLESS of how many companies choose it for their bookstores. Hopefully it will come to be the standard someday, but it is not there yet. I personally would like to see mobi go away, but I doubt that happens anytime soon.

[ScalyFreak]

Originally Posted by jswinden

No, I didn't miss the point. Whereas I fully agree that ePub is way better of an eBook format than mobi, I cannot consider a format that populates less than a third of eBooks as the de facto industry standard REGARDLESS of how many companies choose it for their bookstores.

That depends entirely on how you look at it. You can choose to look at the number of sold eBooks, and come to the conclusion that since most of them are mobi, that is the standard. Or you can look at the number of providers of ebooks, and come to the conclusion that since most of them elect to use ePub as their main/default format, that is the standard. So as with so much else in life, it depends largely on our point of view.

And whether we can be bothered to explain it instead of laughing at those who don't share it, or not.

[bobcdy]

jswinden,
Actually there are ways around the limitation of tables: for 6" readers, for example, once can choose a smaller font-size for tables (perhaps font-size: .7em) that will allow some magnification without screwing up the tables), and of course with the upcoming larger ereaders tables probably will work better that with 6" readers. I've found, however, that pretty complex formatting is possible with 6" readers in my attempts to emulate old book formatting in my mobileread epubs. Of course with really complex tables, I need to use images for the book tables but these images seem ok with 6" readers.
Bob

[pidgeon92]

The nice thing about Calibre it that you don't even have to manually do the conversion..... If you have the non-DRMd .mobi file already in Calibre, it will automatically convert it when you send it to a Sony device.