Mobipocket vs. Kindle format

[tomsem]

It's sometimes stated that there's some sort of equivalence between Mobipocket and Kindle format, that Kindles can read Mobipocket files with no problems.

However, in looking over the Mobipocket file format documentation pages, there seem to be a number of documented features of the Mobipocket platform which are evidently not supported by Kindle. Things like:

JavaScript
Frames
Database access
HTML forms
Several <mbp: ... > tags - the only one Amazon documents for authoring of Kindle content is <mbpagebreak />. Of course some of the <idx: ... > tags are used for Kindle dictionaries, but Amazon does not document these.

There are also a number of 'best practices' cited there.

To what extent is the information on Mobipocket.com of value for developers of Kindle content? I find Amazon's documentation somewhat lacking, and wonder if anyone has made a systematic effort to go through the Mobipocket documentation and extract the still relevant parts of it to supplement Amazon's docs.

[ATDrake]

As a KindleGen user, I find the most useful info is on how to structure your Mobi book, the HTML tags it supports, how to create a dictionary, and how to put in the metadata.

Basically, only pay attention to the 3rd "Common" column under Cross-Platform support and assume that everything else is not supported.

[DMSmillie]

Originally Posted by ATDrake

As a KindleGen user, I find the most useful info is on how to structure your Mobi book, the HTML tags it supports, how to create a dictionary, and how to put in the metadata.

Definitely.

Originally Posted by ATDrake

Basically, only pay attention to the 3rd "Common" column under Cross-Platform support and assume that everything else is not supported.

Actually, I'd suggest that the middle column on that page (the one that includes Blackberry) is the closest match to what will work on a Kindle. For example, hyphenation isn't currently supported on the Kindle.

[DMSmillie]

Originally Posted by tomsem

It's sometimes stated that there's some sort of equivalence between Mobipocket and Kindle format, that Kindles can read Mobipocket files with no problems.

Heh... it's more than "some sort of equivalence", tomsem. Kindle format = MOBI format. Amazon bought Mobipocket, the company that developed the format, several years ago, to form the basis of their proposed e-book venture. That's why Amazon use the MOBI format, rather than EPUB, which wasn't yet developed at that point (or perhaps was still in its infancy, whereas the MOBI format was well established, having originally been developed for use on PDAs (such as the Palm) and then on mobile phones as they acquired many of features and functionality previously provided by PDAs).

However the Kindle device doesn't support the full range of features available in the MOBI format.

I wonder if you're aware of the Amazon Kindle Publishing Guidelines PDF? You'll find a link to it on the Kindle Publishing Programs page on Amazon.com. It contains a lot of really useful information and guidance on creating Kindle e-books containing a range of different content (e.g. images, tables, embedded audio/video). It also includes details on creating dictionaries. It's currently on version 1.8 - after you download the PDF, it's worth checking back once or twice a month, since they do update it now and then (either improving the existing content, or adding new content).

That page is also where you'll find links to download Kindlegen and the Kindle Previewer app, both of them invaluable when it comes to creating and checking Kindle ebooks.

[tomsem]

Thanks everyone.

Yes, I am familiar with the Amazon documentation & tools, which is why I asked about the relevance of the Mobipocket documentation, and what it might add in terms of clarification, helpful advice, or even otherwise undocumented features.

Hope they add some information before too long on tagging for page number support. I expect they are also going to have some changes in the works to respond to ePub3 when that is released later this year.

[susan_cassidy]

The page numbers work a completely different way for Kindle. There is a separate file with page numbers. Calibre already has a feature to fake up page numbers. There are threads about Kindle page numbers on mobileread.com.

[DMSmillie]

Originally Posted by tomsem

Yes, I am familiar with the Amazon documentation & tools

Well... you said "Of course some of the <idx: ... > tags are used for Kindle dictionaries, but Amazon does not document these", but that Amazon PDF I mentioned contains documentation on using those tags and creating dictionaries, so seemed like you hadn't come across it.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by susan_cassidy

The page numbers work a completely different way for Kindle. There is a separate file with page numbers. Calibre already has a feature to fake up page numbers. There are threads about Kindle page numbers on mobileread.com.

Sure, but only Amazon knows how they generates their page numbers. Calibre's page number generation is a hack - it doesn't offer a way to generate page numbers that match a physical copy of the book. Amazon needs to publish a spec for what they are doing, so people authoring azw for Kindle Store can ensure that their book will have an apnx file when people purchase it.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by DMSmillie

Well... you said "Of course some of the <idx: ... > tags are used for Kindle dictionaries, but Amazon does not document these", but that Amazon PDF I mentioned contains documentation on using those tags and creating dictionaries, so seemed like you hadn't come across it.

Sorry if I wasn't clear about that.