Quote:
Originally Posted by Baldrake
So I'm thinking my choice is going to be based on availability and portability of books. The Kindle/Amazon combination is unacceptable because of their DRM - I'm not willing to buy books that can only be read on a Kindle. EPub devices look like a good choice for portability between devices, but there don't seem to be that many real bookstores that sell Epub books. (I really want the selection of a big bookstore.)
So is there a viable choice that gives a good selection of books without device lock-in through DRM? To be clear, I don't mind paying for books and I don't mind reasonable DRM, I just don't want my entire library to be locked in to one vendor's hardware.
|
There are tons of providers for .epub. I regularly purchase from 10 different sources.
.prc (Mobipocket) and .epub (.pdf as well) can be handled on quite a few units. But is this really a criteria? In 2 years you may switch from .prc to an entirely new format and run in the same problem than switching from Kindle.
Important to know: Kindle is using .azw, which IS .prc. (They've acquired Mobipocket).
You can strip both of them of their DRM and convert to other formats.
Sony for the moment is the only major one, whose format .lrx isn't stripable yet. But even for Sony there's a solution: It can handle .epub.
So, usually you'll be able to strip your books from DRM and convert to whatever format you choose.
If you switch from, let's say, Amazon to Sony in 2 years, you can port your entire library.