No Adobe ePub for Kindle? Really?!?!?!?

[mickeyfinn]

I'm new to "ereader world," so I have to check into this further.

Can you only get things to read on a Kindle from Amazon? That's it?

If I own a Kindle I won't be able to electronically borrow and return books from my local library using ePub?

No free ePub books from ANYWHERE?

I hope this isn't true about the Kindle, but greed is wiping this country outand I wouldn't be surprised.

Can you find free books to read anywhere using the Kindle?

[ATDrake]

You can't use DRM-ed ePub (or non-Amazon-DRM-ed Mobi, which the libraries sometimes use) on the Kindle without stripping the DRM, which we are not to discuss on MR for the forum's own protection, due to its being considered illegal in certain areas.

You can, however, use DRM-free Mobi which several sites have, and convert any other DRM-free format to Mobi and read them with perfect ease on your Kindle.

Hope this helps.

[mickeyfinn]

so Kindle (Amazon) makes it difficult and limits access to the number of free ebooks Kindle owners can read, correct?

which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

[Hoyt Clagwell]

There are plenty of free books available for the Kindle.

Check here:

http://inkmesh.com/free-ebooks/?site=kindle

Or here:

http://inkmesh.com/free-ebooks/?site=baen

Or here:

http://inkmesh.com/free-ebooks/?site=smashwords

Or here:

http://www.feedbooks.com/publicdomain

Or here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/ebooks.php?forumid=128

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

so Kindle (Amazon) makes it difficult and limits access to the number of free ebooks Kindle owners can read, correct?

No, not particularly. They just kind of don't encourage you to use formats other than their own or buy from other stores which use a copy-restriction scheme they don't want to shell out to license.

You're perfectly free to download all the public domain books you want over at Project Gutenberg, or buy all the MultiFormat books over at Fictionwise, or get the entirety of Baen's Webscription catalogue, or indulge yourself with erotica from Ellora Cave's Jasmine Jade website, which are all DRM-free and available in Mobi.

You can even buy out all of Carina Press which only carries ePub, but DRM-free ePub that you can freely convert to the Mobi format.

It's just that if you want to read books on your Kindle that originally came in copy-restricted formats which aren't Amazon's own, you have to jump through hoops.

Mind you, there's no excuse for why Amazon doesn't support the older form of Mobi-DRM on the Kindle, since they bought and own the Mobipocket format outright. So they are deliberately limiting people there, especially since a lot of people bought a lot of old-style Mobi-DRM books back when it was the dominant format.

Other than that, I'd say they were more lazy and cheap in not wanting to pay for developer support/DRM-licenses for the Kindle, rather than deliberately restrictive.

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

I'd say probably the Nook Color. It supports both the B&N and ADE flavours of ePub/PDF DRM out of the box, and if you root it, you can install the Kindle for Android and eReader for Android apps, giving you access to both those DRM formats. And then you can also read non-DRM books on it, too.

But it's not e-ink, if that matters.

[mickeyfinn]

I guess this is all too much for me. I find it very frustrating trying to wade through all these techno-terms.

Mobi, DRM, DRM-free, non-Amazon-DRM-ed Mobi and on and on and on.

Screw it. I'll go to the library where ALL the books are free.

I can get online and request a book from one library in the system and it will be at my library in two days maximum.

I can wait. There's something to be said for "instant gratification" and there's something to be said for having patience too.

I remember teaching my children to speak and later on, to read. If it were possible, I suppose it would have been easier to "download" these skills to them all at once.

But I would have missed out on some of the best times of my life and some of my fondest memories.

Yeah, the hell with ereaders. Electricty fails, batteries die. When this happens give me a blanket, a book and a candle. I'll be fine.

If you're around, maybe I'll read to you.

[ATDrake]

Just get yourself an Adobe ePub/PDF supporting reader and you can read all of your library's e-books without problems (except the few remaining Mobi format ones).

And you can get plenty of promotional free e-books from the Sony and Kobo stores (from B&N, too, if you get a Nook or JetBook Lite). They get most of the same free time-limited promo books that Amazon does.

And the ePub format is becoming more and more common and you can get increasing numbers of both free public domain books and promotional copyrighted books in it, too.

DRM copy-restriction is a hassle which you shouldn't have to deal with if you don't want to.

[DiapDealer]

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

I guess this is all too much for me. I find it very frustrating trying to wade through all these techno-terms.

Mobi, DRM, DRM-free, non-Amazon-DRM-ed Mobi and on and on and on.

And yet you knew that libraries mostly lend ePubs that use Adobe DRM. Sounds like someone just needed a good rant. All better now?

[MichelRenaud]

Even Amazon list sources for millions of free books, including many available directly from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=2245146011

[booklover6]

the Kindle can read just about every format out there, except epub and Lit, which are easily converted by calibre to any format you want. Kindle will read txt, rtf, html, mobi, prc, pdf, and there could be more. As for DRM copies, there are some plug ins for calibre out there that can help in converting those types of books so that they can also be read on the kindle. the wifi is nice and so is the eink but if you can do without those things, the Jetbook handles all of the above formats except Lit, including epub and DRM epub too. I have the kindle and the Jetbook and like them both.

[SensualPoet]

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

Amazon is run by swine. They're lined up at the trough right now and eating their fill.

...

I will NEVER buy a bound book or an ebook from Amazon. I'll NEVER own a Kindle.

As is self-evident, the OP was disingenuous; he or she is not looking for real information.

Amazon has the most number of titles available, offers the easiest customer experience, and at competitive prices. No one seems to complain that Sony's and other devices aligned with Adobe don't play back Amazon titles. It is what it is. You want the most choice? Get one of each.

[GoSharks]

As Sensual Poet said, the OP is not really looking for information.... if you view his posts on the other forums you'll note that he is simply trolling for an audience. He provides nothing useful to a discussion and likes to rant against all things Amazon.

The ignore button is so handy!

[dwig]

Originally Posted by mickeyfinn

so Kindle (Amazon) makes it difficult and limits access to the number of free ebooks Kindle owners can read, correct?

Totally false!

The vast majority of free ebooks are distributed without DRM and are distributed in multiple formats, including both ePub and MOBI/Kindle. Most of the more limited number of free ebooks that are distributed with DRM are available from most major ebook stores and are thus available for most devices including Kindles and ePub devices supported by Adobe Digital Editions (ADE).

Ebooks without DRM can easily be converted from one format to another (discounting certain obsolete formats). Even non-ebook document formats, like PDF, can be converted with some success. There are a number of tools available, many are free. Calibre is the best all around converter and library manager. Amazon distributes there own tool, the Kindle Previewer, which can convert ePubs for use on a Kindle in addition to being an excellent test app for converted files.

which wi-fi ereader gives access to the most free ebooks?

There is no significant difference in the availability of "free ebooks". The only significant difference in "free" books would be loans from ebook libraries, which currently don't support the Kindle.

[booklover6]

I never heard of the Kindle Previewer! I'll have to check it out. Calibre works but is Super Slow on my PC dinosaur.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by SensualPoet

As is self-evident, the OP was disingenuous; he or she is not looking for real information.

Amazon has the most number of titles available, offers the easiest customer experience, and at competitive prices. No one seems to complain that Sony's and other devices aligned with Adobe don't play back Amazon titles. It is what it is. You want the most choice? Get one of each.

Given the thread you quoted from, I'd have to say that maybe the OP is right in some way. Amazon is trying to stop books from getting into the hands of people who are not Amazon eBook customers. Amazon does not care about creativity. They want the locks and the keys and they don't want anyone else to have them. Exclusivity is why I am glad I do not have a Kindle. I don't want anyone to take books and lock them up so only some people have access. Books are to be accessible by anyone who wants to read.