Which format? Free books via Phoenix Pick

[Villordsutch]

Every so often Phoenix Pick posts a free ebook and they publish it in numerous formats.

I know the Kindle likes mobi and epub but I am unsure which I should be downloading.

What format should I go for?

[DiapDealer]

I know the Kindle likes mobi and epub but I am unsure which I should be downloading.

You're mistaken. A stock Kindle doesn't "like" ePub. At. All.
Mobi is your only choice.

[Villordsutch]

Will get mobi then

Why is that btw?

oh and

Thanks for that

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by Villordsutch

Why is that btw?

I think it was either a smart business decision or all part of an evil plot to take over the world. Opinions vary, but those two seem to be the most popular.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by Villordsutch

Why is that btw?
...

Largely because when the Kindle line was introduced MOBI was the best format choice and there was no such thing as ePub.

[Villordsutch]

Excellent and the evil swines

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by dwig

Largely because when the Kindle line was introduced MOBI was the best format choice and there was no such thing as ePub.

There is also of course the minor point, which possibly may have influenced Amazon's decision, that they (Amazon) own Mobipocket.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by HarryT

There is also of course the minor point, which possibly may have influenced Amazon's decision, that they (Amazon) own Mobipocket.

It wasn't that they "owned Mobipocket", but instead that they decided they needed a format and software for the ebooks and devices they were planning and chose an existing product, buying the whole company rather than simply licensing the format, instead of developing from scratch.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by dwig

Largely because when the Kindle line was introduced MOBI was the best format choice and there was no such thing as ePub.

Not a valid excuse. Sony was only BBeB when the 500 came out and later on they did add ADE (ePub) to the 505. Amazon could have done the same thing.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by Villordsutch

What format should I go for?

For the free books which they offer with multiple format downloads available, I always pick up one of each. One day I might acquire a different reader or want to experiment with a second-hand one which uses an older format.

Also, their PDFs seem to come from the workflow which produces their print books, and might be useful in correcting any typos which show up in text-based e-versions.

For the stuff I actually buy from them and there's only one choice of format, I get the ePub on the grounds that it's easier to tweak to my liking if I don't like the formatting and will be automatically compatible without conversion with any ePub-reader that I might be using in the future.

[dwig]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Not a valid excuse. Sony was only BBeB when the 500 came out and later on they did add ADE (ePub) to the 505. Amazon could have done the same thing.

No, its a totally valid for why Amazon didn't start with ePub. Like Sony, they couldn't have.

There are a number of reasons why they chose to stay with MOBI and only Amazon knows all such reasons. It is obvious though, that a move to ePub, at least to ePub with ADE based DRM, would mean abandoning a major feature in the "Amazon/Kindle Experience".

ADE's DRM scheme prevents the use of Amazon's direct to the device delivery and requires a degree of adeptness with computer software. Amazon's DRM system allows for a vastly easier delivery scheme. One that doesn't require any significant computer knowledge. Moving to ADE's DRM would also mean that Amazon would be paying money to Adobe and relying on an outside company's performance which, the later being a business risk.

They could have moved to ePub and used a DRM scheme of their own, avoiding ADE. This would have had some advantage to the user with respect to non-DRM ebooks but would still have resulted in the same incompatibility issues with DRM'd books.