[Hitch]

Originally Posted by impasto

This is a problem for me. I want my ebook (this is a collection of single-panel cartoons, similar category as The Far Side) to be available on portable devices: smart phones (Android and iphone), and Kindle eInks.

Uh...okay. Why didn't you just make it reflowable, with page breaks between each "page" or panel? Why all the fixed-layout brain-damage? ? What is it that you think you get, from FXL, that you wouldn't get from a properly-made reflowable eBook? Hell, for that matter, if you really want finite control, why not put each panel into its own HTML file, inside the ePUB, so that you can control top-margin, thus achieving near-fxl placement on the "page" for lack of a better word?

And secondly, with all due respect, you need more research-fu. You're all this way down the road, you've done a TON of work and now you're finding out that your file won't be downloadable by the millions of eInk readers? Dude...

This is because that's how I want to design the advertising campaign, and because of the market share. Availability on other devices is a bonus, but not absolutely necessary to me.

I'm sorry, but what the hell does the format of the book have to do with advertising campaigns?

You just wrote fixed layout won't be possible with kindle einks. Where is it stated how it works for iphone and android?

It's not. Phones with "Kindle for..." can view pretty much ALL formats of Kindle ebook. It's possible that Amazon may change its mind about that, but...I wouldn't bet on it. There is a chart, in the Kindle help pages, about what's readable where--except, it's wrong and out of date.

What you wrote appears to mean that even though I'm able to sideload, I may not be able to have it available for download from amazon. Did I understand correctly?

Yes, that's exactly right. You can side load it--but that does not mean it's downloadable as a purchased eBook to the same family of devices.

At this point I'm getting mixed up with all these scenarios - sorry.
Could you re-state it please what is required for iphone: fixed or reflowable?
And now I'm not even sure about Android phones?

You should, by and large, be able to download (as a purchaser) both FXL and reflowable ebooks to phones. I suspect that perhaps, you read on your phone a lot? I would not...I wouldn't overestimate the size of the Kindle phone-reading market. FWIW. Do people read on phones? Sure. Hell, I do it when I'm stuck somewhere or in a doc's office, etc. But would I do that by choice? Not on your life and given Amazon's saturation with Kindles, I wouldn't be surprised if many Kindle owners felt that way. (The Hitch rough poll of my customers and others in various and sundry "normal person" forums--not this hotbed of devoted e-Reading forum members--seems to indicate that.)

What am I to do to make it available as a second version of the book in reflowable layout on devices that dont accept fixed layout? I can easily prepare it (although it won't look as good as in fixed layout), and I will do it if I don't have another choice.

You can do that, but you may as well prepare yourself for the inevitable confusion AND, Amazon might put the kibosh on it--they are a bit pissy about publishing the same content twice. Yes, yes, I know, but don't argue with me, argue with them. I will say again that I kinda feel, from what you've said, that you're reinventing the wheel rather than simply making a reflowable correctly for the proposed content, but, hey, it's your book.

I got tired of KCC overriding the changes I made to TOC.ncx, and not being able to keep in the TOC.ncx the chapter titles only, without ALL other pages being listed. Oh, and KCC keeps crushing. Besides, I can add a few text pages in quasi fixed-layout pages, not as images.

Uh...okay. I think you misunderstand the NCX's purpose. Sure, you will get text pages, NOW, but bear in mind, you've either restricted text resizing--or you haven't. You can't mix both in the same eBook.

One more thought: I remember reading about programs that can send my epub (or mobi?) to my Kindle account. Is this equivalent to demonstrating that it will be available to download from amazon, or this is just another way of side-loading?

Yes, it's another way of sideloading, but worse--you'd be using the Kindle Document Service, which auto-converts the content FOR you. So, don't use that.

Hitch