Thread: Sony Reader Lives on with Rowling!
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Old 06-27-2011, 01:24 PM   #173
DMB
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf View Post
What you don't seem to get is that Mobipocket is holding us back somewhat. If you have a Kindle and decide that you want to swap it for an HP themed Sony, you would not be able to take with you your Kindle eBooks. They wouldn't work. If you had a Sony and decided you wanted a Kindle, again, your library would not go with you. How is this good for users? If you have a Sony and want a nook or Kobo, you can take your library of ePub with you. Amazon is hurting users (in the long run) because when they decide they want a different reader, they will either have to stay with Amazon or lose their library.

Now Sony started off with BBeB (LRF/LRX) and they eventually went ePub only int heir eBookstore. They allowed users to redownload all their previously purchased eBooks in ePub. What Amazon could do is the same sort of thing. Still support AZW/Topaz and add in ePub. Then all the AZW eBooks could be changed to ePub on Amazon and Amazon would then be selling ePub.

The only thing I have a fear of is that Amazon would do some sort of different flavor of DRM. And that would cause a new set of issues. The idea is to get one format and one DRM (until DRM goes away except for libraries). I would like to be able to buy any reader I wanted without worry of losing the library I have. And if one format has to give, it will have to be Mobipocket as that is the lesser of the two formats. If Rowling's technical team do thing correctly, you'll be able to see ePub giving a much better reading experience for the HP eBooks vs Mobipocket format. Sure the text will be the same, but it's more then that in this case. The books used different fonts to differentiate things and that would work in ePub, but not Mobipocket.
What you don't allow for is that millions of Kindle users are happy with their device and don't want a change to your preference. I have long been part of the Amazon world for book buying and am happy with that. I find the ebooks I want to read there unless they are subject to geographic restrictions. So far I haven't found any that are available in ePub in the UK and not mobi that I want to read. If necessary, I'd be prepared to buy the odd thing in ePub, strip the DRM and convert to mobi, but so far it hasn't been necessary.

Are you terribly inconvenienced by having a device that reads ePub and not mobi? If so, then perhaps you made the wrong choice, despite your view about the superior qualities of ePub.
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