MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Amazon against the rest, or where to get your books

Katsunami · 01-22-2012, 01:43 PM

When I started to fiddle with ereaders in 2007, there only was one relevant format: mobipocket. Epub didn't even exist. Now it's the other way around. Epub is the default format for all readers, except the Kindle, which uses a format based on mobipocket. I would like to know some of your thoughts.

1. Is it safe to buy ebooks from Amazon? They are very big, but they're alone, and not the standard. It's them against all others.
2. I will strip any drm from any ebook I buy. Therefore, I'm inclined to buy epub books, and then convert them to mobi, for use on the Kindle. This way, there is a better chance to be able to use the epubs in the future, without converting them.
3. Because of 1 and 2, I think that buying epub books and then converting them to Kindle format is safer than the other way around. It just feels more future proof. Same as programming on the computer: write a program to work in all the default cases, then adapt for the specific ones; you (almost) never do it the other way around.
4. Will Amazon ever allow epub on the Kindle? There are many rumors stating that they are working on it. Search the web, and you'll find many rumors very quickly.
5. Is Mobipocket.com still a relevant site; are those programs still updated? The library seems to be mostly empty.

If I feel epub to be a better choice than the Amazon / mobi format, then why do I have a Kindle? For me, the device came out of the reviews the best, with the least software problems, and, according to many reviewers, the best build quality. Being an embedded software engineer and backend web developer (so I know my way around computers), and already knowing about drm removal and format conversion, the lack of epub was not too big of a concern.

Still, I can say that, if I didn't know anything about that, I would be hesitant to get a Kindle and be fully locked into the Amazon format because of it. Ironically, that is what made the Kindle big, because the Amazon store is to the Kindle what the Apple store is to an iPod

I would like to know your thoughts and point of view.

01-22-2012, 01:43 PM	#1
Katsunami Grand Sorcerer Posts: 6,111 Karma: 34000001 Join Date: Mar 2008 Device: KPW1, KA1	Amazon against the rest, or where to get your books When I started to fiddle with ereaders in 2007, there only was one relevant format: mobipocket. Epub didn't even exist. Now it's the other way around. Epub is the default format for all readers, except the Kindle, which uses a format based on mobipocket. I would like to know some of your thoughts. 1. Is it safe to buy ebooks from Amazon? They are very big, but they're alone, and not the standard. It's them against all others. 2. I will strip any drm from any ebook I buy. Therefore, I'm inclined to buy epub books, and then convert them to mobi, for use on the Kindle. This way, there is a better chance to be able to use the epubs in the future, without converting them. 3. Because of 1 and 2, I think that buying epub books and then converting them to Kindle format is safer than the other way around. It just feels more future proof. Same as programming on the computer: write a program to work in all the default cases, then adapt for the specific ones; you (almost) never do it the other way around. 4. Will Amazon ever allow epub on the Kindle? There are many rumors stating that they are working on it. Search the web, and you'll find many rumors very quickly. 5. Is Mobipocket.com still a relevant site; are those programs still updated? The library seems to be mostly empty. If I feel epub to be a better choice than the Amazon / mobi format, then why do I have a Kindle? For me, the device came out of the reviews the best, with the least software problems, and, according to many reviewers, the best build quality. Being an embedded software engineer and backend web developer (so I know my way around computers), and already knowing about drm removal and format conversion, the lack of epub was not too big of a concern. Still, I can say that, if I didn't know anything about that, I would be hesitant to get a Kindle and be fully locked into the Amazon format because of it. Ironically, that is what made the Kindle big, because the Amazon store is to the Kindle what the Apple store is to an iPod I would like to know your thoughts and point of view. Last edited by Katsunami; 01-22-2012 at 01:47 PM.