Quote:
Originally Posted by HarryT
They bought Mobi presumably so that they would have access to their DRM technology to use on the Kindle, and that's exactly what they've done.
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Next to Google, Amazon probably have as much practical computing power and expertise as any commercial organization on planet Earth. The idea that they needed to buy a [then] miniscule concern like Mobipocket in order to own a form of DRM that their programmers could probably have surpassed in a long weekend's work is faintly amusing.
Amazon bought Mobi because it gave them the opportunity to take effective control of the independent hardware market. It was simply quicker and cheaper than establishing their own standard in the marketplace. It's the old Microsoft tactic – when you notice a marketplace you don't control, buy one of the players and use your strength to make it the market leader.
Having bought Mobi I presume there was no reason not to tweak it for use on the Kindle in the short term – after all they had a stock of 50,000 files ready to go in the format. But you can be sure that they will close the door finally on interoperability between Mobi and Kindle whenever it suits them.
The Kindle is meant to be a straightjacket – it's just that it's a more comfortable straightjacket than any of the others on sale.