I wish downloading books was as easy...

[Quoth]

Google (Playstore Books) and Amazon also allow publishers to specify DRM-free, except the Amazon KFX (default for apps and for Kindle direct downloads) is always encrypted.

[Sirtel]

Originally Posted by Dsharma

Oh, and don't forget about your local library! A lot of them have e-books and audiobooks you can borrow through apps like OverDrive or Libby. All you need is a library card, and you're good to go! Plus, it's all legal and free. )

Not every country has local libraries where you can borrow ebooks and read them on your eink reader. My country doesn't, for example. There are plenty of people out there who don't live in the US and Western Europe.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Does that make my comment clearer?

A bit. But it's still not the simple, DRM-free, device agnostic format that digital music purchases are. And it would be easy to do. They just chose not to for what I think are spurious reasons.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Google (Playstore Books) and Amazon also allow publishers to specify DRM-free, except the Amazon KFX (default for apps and for Kindle direct downloads) is always encrypted.

Yeah, I left out Amazon because of their formats and Google Books because I haven't used them.

[ownedbycats]

Originally Posted by DNSB

Did you read what you wrote?



I found it odd and still find it odd that you would claim that Kobo books only work on Kobo devices and Google Play books only work on Android devices when both use Adobe ADEPT DRM for DRMmed ebook downloads. B&N is an outlier since it used a variant on Adobe's ADEPT DRM with a different decryption key.

Does that make my comment clearer?

Also, Kobo sells DRM-free books. If you download them through the website, you get a plain ePub. I think Google Play is the same.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by ownedbycats

Also, Kobo sells DRM-free books. If you download them through the website, you get a plain ePub.

Yeah, same with B&N (Kobo has the advantage that you can download directly from their website and the downloads aren't buried in a hidden folder).

I just wish that were the rule rather than the exception.

[Cactus Chef]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

Yeah, same with B&N (Kobo has the advantage that you can download directly from their website and the downloads aren't buried in a hidden folder).

I just wish that were the rule rather than the exception.

Their regular DRM is such a pain to defeat that it scared me away from ever buying ebooks from B&N. Which is a pity, because I think the Nooks are good devices, and I patronize their brick-and-mortar stores regularly.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Cactus Chef

Their regular DRM is such a pain to defeat that it scared me away from ever buying ebooks from B&N. Which is a pity, because I think the Nooks are good devices, and I patronize their brick-and-mortar stores regularly.

You can buy a Nook and load it up with books from elsewhere.

i used to buy from Amazon, but never owned a Kindle.

[ownedbycats]

One of the newer Kobo firmwares also has a sideload mode which doesn't require an account.

[Quoth]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

You can buy a Nook and load it up with books from elsewhere.

Don't they reserve part of the storage on some Nooks for B&N books only?

[Asawi]

Originally Posted by ZodWallop

They work if you understand DRM-removal. Otherwise Kobo books only work on Kobo devices, B&N books only work on Nooks and Google Play books only work on Android devices.

Not true except maybe for B&N. Kobo and Google use (or at least they did when I last bought from them - not very recently) regular Adobe DRM. So with ADE you can get them to any authorized devices.
(An FWIW, i have Google Books on an iPad as well as on Android. Bought a book that really needed bigger screen and colour to give it justice)
Having said that, DRM free is absolutely easier! I did a quick check on Google Books (or whatever the name is nowadays) and the Swedish books are DRM free as in other book stores, but the English ones have Adobe DRM.

[ZodWallop]

Originally Posted by Quoth

Don't they reserve part of the storage on some Nooks for B&N books only?

Yes. They seem to learn to stop doing it and then it is back with a vengeance.

[neil_swann80]

Have new Kindle devices removed text-to-speech and mp3 playback functionality to push for Audible integration?

[Quoth]

I don't know that they ever sensibly supported MP3.
The oldest ones had plain TTS and sort of badly supported MP3. Later Kindles had a sort of voice view accessibility feature, really hard to use, that could do TTS also, but not easily MP3. Some like PW3 work with a generic USB audio adaptor (because the 3.5mm jack socket removed) and needed a download. Ones with BT just needed paired BT earphones, which IMO are mostly inferior to €12 wired earbuds/phones. Some of those do Audible.

But MP3 and Audible are better on a phone. Possibly TTS is better on a phone too*. Pocketbook app TTS on Android is better than TTS on DXG, KK3, PW3, Oasis gen 2 and PW4.

Pocketbook App with TTS works on Android 6 to current (I tested 6, 7, 8, 10, 11) and I think on iOS.

Possibly the Kindle app on Android does TTS, but I haven't tested, because if you have an eink Kindle then it's trivial to convert to epub with Calibre (from separately downloaded Amazon files) and use Pocket book. Obviously use the Audible app for for Audible.
I use Musicolet for MP3s and DRM-free audiobooks on Android as it can remember position and is very good.

* Battery life isn't a huge issue for a phone as the display is blank (dramatically improved), but is dramatically poorer on eink because the ereader can't sleep. However I've not done a comparison.