Quote:
Originally Posted by kranu
Hmmm.. that's not the case. ePub and mobi are two different formats. Different lanes in a road are the same format.
A better example would be:
You buy a car, you can only drive on the road. You can't drive on the railroad tracks.
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A better analogy is DVD. The Kindle is akin to HD-DVD and ADE is akin to Blu-Ray DVD. You currently need different hardware to be able to read the different disc formats. Like you need a Kindle to read Mobipocket/AZW and you need a reader from anyone else to read ePub.
The problem comes down to the fact that Amazon wants control of the eBooks that they sell. They don't want people to go to other stores to bu say the latest NY Times best seller. So Amazon makes it so they are they only ones who sell Mobipocket with AZW DRM and have the only reader that can display this. Sony used to be just like that with BBeB (LRX) but Sony went with ADE and now you can buy eBooks from other shops that work fine on a Sony Reader. Everyone else's dedicated reader has gone to ePub except Amazon. Mobipocket is dead. eReader is dying. MS Reader is dead. So why is Amazon not going with ePub when everyone else is? The think is, do we want Amazon to be #1 world wide when they have an inferior format?
The problem comes in when someone with reader A wants to buy reader B or the other way round with reader B being a Kindle and reader A ADE capable reader. The library they have won't move. So either they have to keep both readers or lose their previous library.
It would be best for users world wide if all readers supported the same format with the same DRM.