Quote:
Originally Posted by pdurrant
E.g. how about : Kindle+ format. On the new Kindle 4, Kindle+ format ebooks will look much better, but can still be read on all previous Kindles. (Kindle 4 also reads DRM-free ePubs.)
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The more I've thought about it, the more this makes sense. Storage is cheap and plentiful. Even the original Kindle had 256MB, and that's expandable. The Kindle 2 has 2GB.
Amazon don't want to have to support two ebook formats, one for old Kindles (Mobipocket) and one for new Kindles (ePub). They also don't want to lose the competitive advantage that their Topaz format gives them.
So Topaz books (which Amazon create from hard copy) remain Topaz books. But Mobipocket Books can now be supplied with an ePub version wrapped inside the Palm Database format of the Mobipocket book. Kindlegen generates this kind of ebook
now, and has done since version 1.1.
Amazon will just supplies Kindle books. Some will be Topaz, some will be Mobipocket, and some will be Mobipocket+ePub. The average reader will be oblivious as to which they have.
Kindle ebooks can be read on any Kindle hardware and software. Topaz Kindle ebooks and Mobipocket-only Kindle ebooks both still render on all kindle devices as they do now.
The new 'Mobi+ePub' Kindle books render using the Mobipocket version on current Kindle devices, but the next Kindle hardware (& selected future kindle software) will render the ePub that they contain.
Amazon retain simplicity for their customers — any Kindle ebook can be read on any device. Publishers can just supply the ePub to every distributor/retailer.
With a bit of luck, Amazon will also allow non-DRM ePub to be rendered by new Kindles. If not, a program to wrap ePubs in a Mobipocket shell will be simple to write. Or you can just drop them on Kindlegen.
Any drawbacks? What have I overlooked?