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Jack Tingle · 01-02-2011, 12:00 PM

Why are there so many different ebook formats?
History.

Which ones are the most loved and preferred?
Depends on who you ask. WRT text publishing: My favorite is MS Reader .lit. No one uses that much anymore. Mobipocket .prc/.mobi/.azw is very good at the modest number of things it does. ePub is a lot more capable than Mobipocket, but all of the things it does aren't really required unless you're doing some pretty challenging publishing.

Why would you convert a PDF to a MOBI for example?
PDF is a very inflexible (intentionally) format. Mobi is a very flexible, small footprint format. If you want a smaller file, which can be read well on a less powerful platform, and which reflows to a wide range of screen sizes, mobi/prc/azw is a good choice. It's also Kindle's native format, with all the advantages of the Amazon ecosystem.

Which file format is the most user friendly for an ereader newbie?
Whichever one your reader, in your case, a JBL, reads natively. JBLs fortunately are pretty omnivorous, but ePub works very well on them, so that would be your default choice, I'd guess. I own a JB-non-L, and tend to choose ePub when it's available. On my Kindle 3, I use .prc or .mobi.

Regards,
Jack Tingle

01-02-2011, 12:00 PM	#19
Jack Tingle Punctuation Fetishist Posts: 557 Karma: 1070000 Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: The Bluest Commonwealth In East America Device: Kindle PW, Nexus 7 (2013), Galaxy S5 phone, Galaxy Tab 4 8.0	Why are there so many different ebook formats? History. Which ones are the most loved and preferred? Depends on who you ask. WRT text publishing: My favorite is MS Reader .lit. No one uses that much anymore. Mobipocket .prc/.mobi/.azw is very good at the modest number of things it does. ePub is a lot more capable than Mobipocket, but all of the things it does aren't really required unless you're doing some pretty challenging publishing. Why would you convert a PDF to a MOBI for example? PDF is a very inflexible (intentionally) format. Mobi is a very flexible, small footprint format. If you want a smaller file, which can be read well on a less powerful platform, and which reflows to a wide range of screen sizes, mobi/prc/azw is a good choice. It's also Kindle's native format, with all the advantages of the Amazon ecosystem. Which file format is the most user friendly for an ereader newbie? Whichever one your reader, in your case, a JBL, reads natively. JBLs fortunately are pretty omnivorous, but ePub works very well on them, so that would be your default choice, I'd guess. I own a JB-non-L, and tend to choose ePub when it's available. On my Kindle 3, I use .prc or .mobi. Regards, Jack Tingle Last edited by Jack Tingle; 01-02-2011 at 12:04 PM.