Quote:
Originally Posted by Kali Yuga
As to MOBI, Amazon's ebooks are available on almost any platform that can support Whispernet; for better and for worse, they have zero interest in selling you an ebook that isn't hooked into their database(s). And yes, shock and gasp, they really want you to buy their ebooks instead of buying them from Apple or B&N. As such, unless Sony or B&N decides to implement Amazon's ebook protocols, switching to ePub would not produce the results you'd necessarily expect.
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Correct.
Amazon has stated that they will license the Kindle DRM but *only* if the licensee supports Whispernet. Which renders Adobe's Adept servers redundant.
If whispernet is non-negotiable it follows that Amazon supporting whispernet means a *fourth* DRM-flavor for ePub.
Not something most people want to see.
Me, I'd love it; I want DRM to become such a humongous mess publishers finally wise up and dump it. With three incompatible flavors on ePub we're off to a good start.
And Amazon "monopoly dreams"? They're not looking to *establish* domination of book retailing; they're looking to *maintain* it. That ship has already sailed; long before Kindle was introduced. All they're doing is converting their *existing* pbook customers to ebook customers. And that is why mainstream kindle buyers don't care about lock-in; they were already buying their books from Amazon to start with.
And that is why Nook hit the ground running and has already become a solid number two in less than a year. And funny how nobody gripes about B&N's exclusive DRM, huh?
The reality, though, is the mainstream consumers don't *care* about formats or drm or technical features. They want to buy a book and read it. Many (most?) don't even care about resale rights or lending or libraries. They want a cheap read and that's it.