Quote:
Originally Posted by Argel
Never said that Amazon would shut down Mobi, but it does make sense for them to ensure that Mobi DRMed books don't open on the Kindle - or at least those which were bought from other vendors - and vice-versa. It's one of the ways in which they will seek to make the Kindle a 'must have'.
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My theory on why they don't interoperate is that Mobipocket has agreements with the companies that sell books in its format that it shall not undercut the price. Mobipocket.com sells books. You'll notice the prices are insane compared to other resellers. This agreement is why. I think Amazon is trying to keep the Mobipocket business and the Kindle business separate so it can argue that it is not violating this agreement while still being able to charge competitive prices. The .azw books, despite being Mobipocket format, are not nominally the same and cannot be read on Mobipocket software or anything other than a Kindle without using ToS-violating and possibly illegal methods.
Like Harry said, Kindle is only US. There are still plenty of people around the world that make a good market for Mobipocket.