Personally, I don't like using the <span> technique for first letters...it can cause issues with searching, etc. because it breaks up the word. I use css to handle all the styling. If the user's device/app recognizes the css, then it looks great. If it doesn't support the css then they get a slightly reduced quality look...
Code:
CSS:
/* First Para in Chapter in lieu of Drop Caps */
p.first {text-indent:0; font-size:1em; clear:both}
p.first::first-letter {font-family:serif; font-size:2em; font-weight:bold;
float:left; margin:-.1em .1em}
p.first::first-line {font-variant:small-caps; font-size:1.15em}
HTML:
<p class="first">Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit.</p>
