Amazon Kindle might be the worst thing that could happen to e-books?

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Zoot

Well, those .azw files are probably vanilla unencumbered .mobi files. Somebody needs to take a converted file and try renaming it to .mobi and see if it's readable with Mobipocket or whatever. I bet it works fine.

Z.

They are indeed just renamed Mobi files.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by resistor

Actually, EVDO is 3.1Mbits, about the speed of a low-end DSL or cable connection. Hardly slow.

And speed isn't really that critical for books - they're tiny compared to music tracks.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by gmanacsa

Amazon has apparently already abandoned purchasers of their DRMd Mobipocket titles with no upward path to the Kindle. Microsoft essentially abandoned purchasers of protected Windows Media music files with no upward path to the Zune.

You have made a very good point. I bought $200 worth of e-books from Amazon in .lit format, so what good are they doing me now? They never did work on the HP CE device I owned because, despite announcing that they were releasing a reader for this format, M$ never did, at least during the time I owned my HP. Will they work on a Kindle...Sure <G>.

[wgrimm]

Originally Posted by jharker

If you don't trust Amazon, you don't have to go through them. Use the Kindle like you'd use an iPod. You still get these bonuses:

• Free Wikipedia wherever you are
• Easy file searching
• Built-in dictionary lookup
• Note taking
• Bookmarking

No other e-reader offers anything close to all those features built-in.

But the ease of wirelessly buying and downloading books and newspapers directly from Amazon is what will sell this to the average user and make it take off in a larger sense. We enthusiasts may be big in heart, but we're small in numbers. The Kindle is designed for the average user, not us.

The REB made it easy to buy content- just plug into a telephone line. They are practically everywhere, and the number to call was toll free. Its browser easily let you download websites to read on the reader- Wiki or whatever.

These features won't save the Kindle from oblivion.

[tompe]

Originally Posted by wgrimm

You have made a very good point. I bought $200 worth of e-books from Amazon in .lit format, so what good are they doing me now? They never did work on the HP CE device I owned because, despite announcing that they were releasing a reader for this format, M$ never did, at least during the time I owned my HP. Will they work on a Kindle...Sure <G>.

Yes, they will work. You have to convert them to mobi-format using ConvertLit and mobigen.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by wgrimm

You have made a very good point. I bought $200 worth of e-books from Amazon in .lit format, so what good are they doing me now? They never did work on the HP CE device I owned because, despite announcing that they were releasing a reader for this format, M$ never did, at least during the time I owned my HP. Will they work on a Kindle...Sure <G>.

Why don't you just use ConvertLIT to convert them to HTML, and then BD or MobiGen to convert to DRM-free Mobi format? That way you can read them on both your CE device and the Kindle.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by Zoot

Well, those .azw files are probably vanilla unencumbered .mobi files. Somebody needs to take a converted file and try renaming it to .mobi and see if it's readable with Mobipocket or whatever. I bet it works fine.

Z.

Did that with an .AZW ebook I downloaded last night. Mobipocket reader cannot read more that the title and cover page. I get the same error that I got before I registered my PID so it's DRMed.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by da_jane

You know what I don't get? Where are these extra books coming from? I.e., all the publishers I contacted said their books would be available in all formats (except for Wiley). So when Amazon says it has 80,000+ ebooks, what are they?

Amazon has the Digital Text Platform
that allows anyone with an Amazon account to create ebooks for the Kindle and sell them on Amazon. I'm sure that's from where the additional books originate.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by TallMomof2

Did that with an .AZW ebook I downloaded last night. Mobipocket reader cannot read more that the title and cover page. I get the same error that I got before I registered my PID so it's DRMed.

No, that's not what was being discussed. We were saying that when you upload a DRM-free Mobi file to the Kindle it gets "converted" to AZW, but that AZW file is just the original renamed Mobi file. Rename it back to ".mobi" or ".prc" and Mobi reads it fine.

AZW files you buy from Amazon are very likely just standard Mobi DRM files using a PID hidden in the Kindle.

[TallMomof2]

Originally Posted by HarryT

No, that's not what was being discussed. We were saying that when you upload a DRM-free Mobi file to the Kindle it gets "converted" to AZW, but that AZW file is just the original renamed Mobi file. Rename it back to ".mobi" or ".prc" and Mobi reads it fine.

AZW files you buy from Amazon are very likely just standard Mobi DRM files using a PID hidden in the Kindle.

Sorry, I read it differently. If you are talking about emailing .PRC files to Amazon and then back to your Kindle I'm a little curious to see if they add DRM *but* on page 78 in the User Manual it states:

"The conversion service on Your Kindle is meant for the receipt of personal, non-commercial documents only. You may not authorize the sending of documents from automated distribution services."

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by mitja_i

document conversion by Amazon only (office, picture formats)

You can use any software you want to convert to .MOBI on a Desktop PC and then copy it to the Kindle via USB. For Windows, MobiPocket Reader (or Creator) is one way to do this.

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Actually, the iPod is open... you can use many formats on it and it will play them just fine, including the ubiqitious .mp3. iTunes is "semi-open" it will support any format that iPod does and synch them all to you iPod. iTunes is "closed" in that it will only sync to an iPod as a device.

What is "closed" is the iTunes store... but, this is changing now that they do have DRM free tracks. The next "great" move for openness would be for iTunes to support other devices. I think there is a simple file format standard that many of the devices support which would make it a driver free no brainer!

Kindle and Amazons Kindle store are starting out as iTunes did... one device and one store. I would hope eventually the content would become non-DRM... it is the only way that wide adoption will take place.

BOb

Actually the iPod itself only reads Apple's formats. All others are interpreted by iTunes when you get them in. The Kindle works the same way but they will charge for the conversions; until someone writes a patch software to do it.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by jharker

There's nothing stopping you from keeping your whole library in mobi format on your computer and updating to the Kindle by USB, in the same way that many people never buy from iTunes, keeping their music library in mp3 files.

This, I think, sums up my opinion of the situation, as well. To that end, I plan to recommend on my site that Kindle users can buy Mobi versions of my e-books and upload them to Amazon's conversion system to their Kindle. That way, if anything happens to their Kindle, or if they want to read the book somewhere else, they are free to do so.

On the other hand, I recognize that there are plenty of people who appreciate the iTunes system, and just want to buy from Amazon and let them do the heavy lifting. To that end, I will also put my books on Amazon for sale as Kindle e-books, and let people buy the books that way if they wish.

(Of course, Amazon takes a hefty chunk of the sales revenue, so I haven't decided how my pricing structure will reflect that yet.)

[yvanleterrible]

Originally Posted by Steve Jordan

This, I think, sums up my opinion of the situation, as well. To that end, I plan to recommend on my site that Kindle users can buy Mobi versions of my e-books and upload them to Amazon's conversion system to their Kindle. That way, if anything happens to their Kindle, or if they want to read the book somewhere else, they are free to do so.

On the other hand, I recognize that there are plenty of people who appreciate the iTunes system, and just want to buy from Amazon and let them do the heavy lifting. To that end, I will also put my books on Amazon for sale as Kindle e-books, and let people buy the books that way if they wish.

(Of course, Amazon takes a hefty chunk of the sales revenue, so I haven't decided how my pricing structure will reflect that yet.)

Yours might but what about those Mobi ebooks that are DRMd, can they be uploaded to the Kindle? Could the device be considered by the store that sold them?

Say Steve, will you try yor luck with Amazon? Please keep us posted about the negotiations, if there are any. I'm curious as how it's done. (just finished Berserker. Loved it!)

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Yours might but what about those Mobi ebooks that are DRMd, can they be uploaded to the Kindle? Could the device be considered by the store that sold them?

The impression I've gotten from the comments here is that DRM'd Mobi can't be converted, but I don't know if anyone's tried it yet. Since none of mine are DRM'd, I don't have anything to try it myself.

Originally Posted by yvanleterrible

Say Steve, will you try your luck with Amazon? Please keep us posted about the negotiations, if there are any. I'm curious as how it's done. (just finished Berserker. Loved it!)

Thanks! Yeah, I'm checking it out now (I have another holiday surprise in the works, and I need to finish that up first). But this is just the e-books, not printing, and (I hate to say it) with Amazon's new system, anyone can download an e-book to sell. Apparently, Amazon does not consider the need for extensive contracts or negotiations with e-books--which may say a lot about how they're considered at Amazon.

What will be significant is how well prospective customers can find my material in specific or random searches, as opposed to (printed) material that Amazon has selling contracts (and presumably promotional deals and perks) with. If it works out, I may get a lot more exposure, and great sales. But if non-entities like myself are just shoved into the virtual corner, it might not be worth the time and trouble for me to sell there. Time will tell, I suppose.