Fictionwise released a beta version of its eReader software for use on BlackBerry

[Kris777]

Fictionwise Inc., an e-book retailer in Chatham, said today it released a beta test version of its eReader software for use on BlackBerry devices. This software lets users purchase and download electronic versions of books that can be read on laptops, desktop computers, smartphones and PDAs.
...


http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp?aID=77647

[kevindorsey]

Everyone is getting in on the e-book game.

[shighfield]

I for one was very glad to see this. I've been a huge fan of the Ereader format for a long time. I don't like reading on the BB as much as I used to (Dedicated devices so much easier on my eyes) but it's sure handy to be able to carry a book with me on my BB for those times your stuck watiing around for someone.

[astrodad]

I also this article on WSJ (may require membership) that goes into more detail:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123793101397630541.html

[All4Fun]

Originally Posted by shighfield

I for one was very glad to see this. I've been a huge fan of the Ereader format for a long time. I don't like reading on the BB as much as I used to (Dedicated devices so much easier on my eyes) but it's sure handy to be able to carry a book with me on my BB for those times your stuck watiing around for someone.

Because I'm ignorant and still relatively new to the site, why are you a fan of the ereader format?

For now, I've been reading ebooks exclusively on my blackberry using the eReader software and Mobipocket Reader. Although I own books in both formats, I seem to enjoy the experience better with the Mobipocket Reader. I can't quite explain why and my opinion is really subjective.

Although perhaps taboo, I find that the ability to strip the DRM off of a Mobipocket ebook straight-forward to do allowing me to convert to other formats for any ebook reader that I may own in the future.

[TallMomof2]

The one good point about the eReader format is that it's not locked into a device. As long as you can load the eReader software onto a device you can read any of the DRMed eReader format books. The key is the last eight digits of the credit card you registered at the site. It doesn't even have to be the card with which you purchased the books. As long as you keep a backup of the file and know the card number you'll be able to read that file.

With MobiPocket and Adobe DRM schemes the files are encoded for a particular device or sets of devices. If you no longer have that device then you cannot read that file. Vendors usually allow you to register three or four devices with MobiPocket and as long as the vendor is in business you can keep changing the devices. But if the vendor shuts down the server (for whatever reason) you are locked into the devices that are already registered. So your backups will continue to work on your registered devices. You get a new PC, PDA, ebook reader, or cell phone and that requires you to register its unique PID in order to get a file that you can read. If the vendor's DRM server is no longer up then you can't register your device. Your options are to either repurchase the ebook at a different vendor or remove the DRM.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by All4Fun

Because I'm ignorant and still relatively new to the site, why are you a fan of the ereader format?

For now, I've been reading ebooks exclusively on my blackberry using the eReader software and Mobipocket Reader. Although I own books in both formats, I seem to enjoy the experience better with the Mobipocket Reader. I can't quite explain why and my opinion is really subjective.

Although perhaps taboo, I find that the ability to strip the DRM off of a Mobipocket ebook straight-forward to do allowing me to convert to other formats for any ebook reader that I may own in the future.

Your not alone. I too prefer mobipocket over eReader. MobiPocket has vast experience developing eBook Readers and just seems to do a great job with creating readers for their customers.
As for the MOBI file format, ePub might be the open standard, but MOBI still remains the de-facto standard.

In the end I think both products are great but I still perfer MobiPocket/MOBI over Fictionwise/eReader

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

The one good point about the eReader format is that it's not locked into a device. As long as you can load the eReader software onto a device you can read any of the DRMed eReader format books. The key is the last eight digits of the credit card you registered at the site. It doesn't even have to be the card with which you purchased the books. As long as you keep a backup of the file and know the card number you'll be able to read that file.

With MobiPocket and Adobe DRM schemes the files are encoded for a particular device or sets of devices. If you no longer have that device then you cannot read that file. Vendors usually allow you to register three or four devices with MobiPocket and as long as the vendor is in business you can keep changing the devices. But if the vendor shuts down the server (for whatever reason) you are locked into the devices that are already registered. So your backups will continue to work on your registered devices. You get a new PC, PDA, ebook reader, or cell phone and that requires you to register its unique PID in order to get a file that you can read. If the vendor's DRM server is no longer up then you can't register your device. Your options are to either repurchase the ebook at a different vendor or remove the DRM.

Good point but the other side of the argument is that eReader requires a valid credit card. What happens if you no longer have the credit card? You find yourself in the same situation? What's worse is what if you've bought several books over the years with different credit cards, now you have to maintain a list of which books where authenticated with credit card 1 ,2 etc..

Also eReader is tied to one company. That means the eReader client and the eReader eBooks are all tied to one company, a double whammy if that business goes out of business, or now that B&N owns them they decide to shut down that division.

Though I do prefer MOBI, I'm not arguing mobi is a better solution, I'm just pointing out that there are two sides to every format every one has their strength and weakness.

.... AND the culprit always comes down to DRM.


=X=

[Kris777]

Originally Posted by =X=

Also eReader is tied to one company. That means the eReader client and the eReader eBooks are all tied to one company, a double whammy if that business goes out of business, or now that B&N owns them they decide to shut down that division.

=X=

B&N owns eReader, Amazon owns MobiPocket - what is the difference?

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Kris777

B&N owns eReader, Amazon owns MobiPocket - what is the difference?

Your taking my comments out of context, I'm not putting an significance on B&N owing FW, more that FW is the only company that sells ereader and makes the ereader ebook reader.

Which is not the case for MOBI files.

Of course you can argue this is true for Mobipocet. But amazon is not a struggling company and B&N is has has been.

=X=

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by =X=

Good point but the other side of the argument is that eReader requires a valid credit card. What happens if you no longer have the credit card? You find yourself in the same situation? What's worse is what if you've bought several books over the years with different credit cards, now you have to maintain a list of which books where authenticated with credit card 1 ,2 etc..

Also eReader is tied to one company. That means the eReader client and the eReader eBooks are all tied to one company, a double whammy if that business goes out of business, or now that B&N owns them they decide to shut down that division.

Though I do prefer MOBI, I'm not arguing mobi is a better solution, I'm just pointing out that there are two sides to every format every one has their strength and weakness.

.... AND the culprit always comes down to DRM.


=X=

I don't really care for DRM period but at least with eReader you are not tied to a set of devices if the company goes out of business. A set of devices that eventually become obsolete and are replaced. Then you can't load your DRMed mobi files because the server that generated the original files is gone. Since you only need the last eight numbers of the CC to unlock the eReader files, I keep that in my password program so it's always available. As long as I possess the unlock code and have a device that runs the eReader software I can read that file.

I've used the eReader software for many years so I am partial to it but Mobi is more widespread. Personally I'd rather have DRM tied to a file and not a device.

[shighfield]

Like Tall I also store the last 8 digits of the cc used in a password manager. Also with fictionwise (Assuming they are still in business) you can update the encryption with a new credit card number at no charge.

[All4Fun]

From my perspective, the mobi and ereader formats are equally portable in that I can strip off the DRM from the mobi file and convert that file to any other format directly with Calibre that I may need in the future. With ereader. I can also remove the DRM and export to html with the "ereader2html" tool allowing me to convert to another format also.

With the portability question out of the way, which format between mobi and ereader is more flexible or technically superior?

[=X=]

Originally Posted by All4Fun

With the portability question out of the way, which format between mobi and ereader is more flexible or technically superior?

Oh the answer to that question is ePUB or LIT.

For me it's not so much which format is better but which format provides the most flexibility with the least effort.

For me that is MOBI for several reasons

Mobipocket make great reading clients with great features set making reading a real pleasure.

They also make great tools for creating MOBI files.

The community support for MOBI is great, there are a good amount of tools that allow exporting to different formats or even creating MOBI from different formats.

Also the tools are more reliable and do a better job converting without losing information.

With eReader that is not the case, so far the reading clients are not as sophisticated as Mobi and the community support does not seem to be as complete as MOBI.

BTW you might want to check this tread out.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ewpost&t=43690

=X=

[All4Fun]

=X=,

I appreciate the link to the ereader2ereader tool. I'll try it when I get home later this evening.

It's interesting your thoughts about mobi considering your efforts with the ereader2ereader tool. It leaves me with an impression that you are impartial to a particular format.

As you've stated and I agree with, I want to work with the format that provides the most flexibility.

"lit" is indeed very easy to work with. My sense about "epub" is that it's the standard but hasn't been widely adopted yet and tools aren't widely available yet.

When buying from the stores, I tend to choose "mobi" so I don't have to do any conversions for my blackberry. If mobi is not available, then it's "lit" or "epub" if those versions are available. "ereader" format tends to be my last choice if I have no choice and really really want the book.

I still have several purchased "ereader" ebooks that I bought when I had a palm device several years ago. I'm glad that I can preserve these books and not lose them because I don't use a palm device anymore.

Originally Posted by =X=

Oh the answer to that question is ePUB or LIT.

For me it's not so much which format is better but which format provides the most flexibility with the least effort.

For me that is MOBI for several reasons

Mobipocket make great reading clients with great features set making reading a real pleasure.

They also make great tools for creating MOBI files.

The community support for MOBI is great, there are a good amount of tools that allow exporting to different formats or even creating MOBI from different formats.

Also the tools are more reliable and do a better job converting without losing information.

With eReader that is not the case, so far the reading clients are not as sophisticated as Mobi and the community support does not seem to be as complete as MOBI.

BTW you might want to check this tread out.
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ewpost&t=43690

=X=

[=X=]

Originally Posted by All4Fun

It's interesting your thoughts about mobi considering your efforts with the ereader2ereader tool. It leaves me with an impression that you are impartial to a particular format.

Well I try to be and am willing to experiment with new formats. Ultimately what I'm after is the best solution. One that will give me the best price, flexibility, and user experience.

After my effort, the effort you mentioned I realized eReader is just not there yet. I like FW and their pricing model, but their books are just not there. To be fair I read a lot of Non-Fiction books with tables, images, graphs, and links. The eReader does not handle them well. Now for regular chapter book fiction the file format is just fine.

Originally Posted by All4Fun

When buying from the stores, I tend to choose "mobi" so I don't have to do any conversions for my blackberry. If mobi is not available, then it's "lit" or "epub" if those versions are available. "ereader" format tends to be my last choice if I have no choice and really really want the book.

Yes I waffle between MOBI and LIT when I buy books. I've pretty much standardized on LIT because I use TTS a lot.