Will Kindle get ePub support?

[PharaohsVizier]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

It has to do with B&N's stupid customer service policies. If they'd just straighten up and do it right, they'd get no complaints from me.

Derek

Like what? From what I hear Barnes and Nobles makes policies that I'd make if I ran a store. If you compare them to Amazon, well that's not exactly fair is it?

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by PharaohsVizier

Like what? From what I hear Barnes and Nobles makes policies that I'd make if I ran a store. If you compare them to Amazon, well that's not exactly fair is it?

This is a kindle forum. And I will state that Amazon's customer service for *my* broken K2s has been *first rate*!!!

Derek

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by PharaohsVizier

Like what? From what I hear Barnes and Nobles makes policies that I'd make if I ran a store. If you compare them to Amazon, well that's not exactly fair is it?

What's fair got to do with it? These are two corporations competing for your business. Service is an element which Amazon has chosen to emphasize to get business. Customers will gravitate to the companies that match their priorities. I value service, so Amazon came into the picture with an advantage for me. Your decision may be different but it's not wrong and the concept of "fairness" doesn't really seem to enter into it. Just because this kind of service is less of a priority for you doesn't make the comparison unfair or irrelevant.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

This is a kindle forum. And I will state that Amazon's customer service for *my* broken K2s has been *first rate*!!!

Derek

Broken K2s plural? How many Kindles have you broken?

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by delphidb96

This is a kindle forum. And I will state that Amazon's customer service for *my* broken K2s has been *first rate*!!!

Derek

Maybe you should have gotten a Sony, Derek. I've had my Sony 505 for 2.5 years -- nothing broken, nothing repaired, still works great, just like the day I received it.

Seriously, however, I would find it troubling, no matter how good the customer service may be, that an expensive device required multiple repairs. Although great customer service helps soothe the anger and angst, I'd be much happier if I never had to call on customer service because the device worked as it should.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by Rolando

I wasn't thinking in terms of Amazon selling epub, I just want to be able to load ePub into the Kindle and be able to read it. Like others have mentioned, by requiring users to convert epub files, Amazon is giving away a competitive advantage to its competitors to do support epub.

Amazon could pretty easily add ePub to the list of formats that are supported by their conversion service (via email to 'mykindle@kindle.com'). They would not have to change any Kindle software or web UI (beyond an update to documentation). I keep sending this suggestion to kindle-feedback@amazon.com, but for some reason they don't do everything that I suggest to them, as brilliant and obvious as these suggestions often are.

Personally I would not want native ePub support on Kindle unless it also supported Adobe DRM. What would be the point?

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Amazon is the one that needs to add ePub to be able to have library support.

No, that's only one way to do it, and it is unlikely to happen because of Amazon's investment in mobi format. Instead, Amazon needs to get Kindle format/DRM supported by Overdrive (and other such services).

Overdrive supports Mobipocket (owned by Amazon), Adobe 'ADEPT' DRM, Microsoft reader DRM, and audiobook DRM. It is not tied to Adobe DRM.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by tomsem

No, that's only one way to do it, and it is unlikely to happen because of Amazon's investment in mobi format. Instead, Amazon needs to get Kindle format/DRM supported by Overdrive (and other such services).

Overdrive supports Mobipocket (owned by Amazon), Adobe 'ADEPT' DRM, Microsoft reader DRM, and audiobook DRM. It is not tied to Adobe DRM.

I agree that seems more likely. And Amazon could probably dictate any terms they wanted with Overdrive, not the other way around, if Amazon saw a marketing advantage in doing it.

Still not clear what business advantage Amazon really gains by supporting any format other than their own. (I can see the advantages for ebook diehards, of course).

[Rolando]

Originally Posted by kjk

Still not clear what business advantage Amazon really gains by supporting any format other than their own. (I can see the advantages for ebook diehards, of course).

I think the point of supporting ePub on the Kindle would not be extend the popularity of Amazon's Mobi format, but rather to extend the popularity of their Kindle hardware, by making the Kindle more useful and versatile to more people.

It also seems to me that Amazon strengthens their native format and their brand if there are more devices out there (Kindles) that support and very tightly integrate into their service. In other words, give people more reasons to buy the Kindle, even if their initial interest may be something other than buying books from Amazon. Once you've bought a Kindle, Amazon's access to you and vice versa, becomes more likely to happen.

[PharaohsVizier]

Originally Posted by Alisa

What's fair got to do with it? These are two corporations competing for your business. Service is an element which Amazon has chosen to emphasize to get business. Customers will gravitate to the companies that match their priorities. I value service, so Amazon came into the picture with an advantage for me. Your decision may be different but it's not wrong and the concept of "fairness" doesn't really seem to enter into it. Just because this kind of service is less of a priority for you doesn't make the comparison unfair or irrelevant.

Yes certainly if you wanted to go BUY a Kindle I'm all for Amazon, afterall I'm here now. What I'm against is Derek coming on these forums and wishing for B&N's utter destruction, while trash-talking them for reasons that are really trivial at best.

[kjk]

Originally Posted by Rolando

It also seems to me that Amazon strengthens their native format and their brand if there are more devices out there (Kindles) that support and very tightly integrate into their service. In other words, give people more reasons to buy the Kindle, even if their initial interest may be something other than buying books from Amazon. Once you've bought a Kindle, Amazon's access to you and vice versa, becomes more likely to happen.

Amazon strengthens their native format by not playing the format game-it isn't .MOBI, or .AZW, or .TPZ, it is just Kindle to most people. What strengthens Amazon is their incredible ecosystem around Kindle.

To me, bringing in .EPUB takes the attention away from "Kindle", because .EPUB has associations with a different ecosystem, and opens the conversation to other e-Book manufacturers. Not sure why Amazon, from a business standpoint, would want that conversation.


(I don't think .PDF has the same baggage actually-it always seems to be more about personal/business documents than eBooks)

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Broken K2s plural? How many Kindles have you broken?

He hasn't broken any. Post #25 in this thread explains it all.

[simplyparticular]

Amazon has no financial benefit for supporting ePub (selling or not). The two things that moving to ePub would do would HURT Amazon - borrowing books from OverDrive, and buying from other e-Bookstores. The only way Amazon would support ePub is if it gets forced on them by the Agency 5 or some such reason that would prevent them selling e-Books at all.

And it wouldn't really solve anything, because Amazon probably wouldn't support Adobe's DRM anyway. So we'd have another flavor of ePub DRM to contend with.

And Derek is angry because B&N won't fix his bought-off-eBay Nook's broken screen, not because they won't honor a warranty. B&N doesn't fix screens as part of the warranty, PERIOD. In fact, they don't repair Nooks, they send new ones. I have no idea what Amazon's Kindle warranty includes, but I'd be curious to know if the 6 broken Kindles he's had repaired had screen damage, or other problems.

And yes, there are people who don't contact the manufacturer and put it up on eBay and buy a new one. They have deeper pockets than mine

[=X=]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Maybe you should have gotten a Sony, Derek. I've had my Sony 505 for 2.5 years -- nothing broken, nothing repaired, still works great, just like the day I received it.

Groan... My 505 broke after about 2yrs of owning it. I still debate returning it for and paying the $100 to get it repaired.
=X=

[delphidb96]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Maybe you should have gotten a Sony, Derek. I've had my Sony 505 for 2.5 years -- nothing broken, nothing repaired, still works great, just like the day I received it.

Seriously, however, I would find it troubling, no matter how good the customer service may be, that an expensive device required multiple repairs. Although great customer service helps soothe the anger and angst, I'd be much happier if I never had to call on customer service because the device worked as it should.

And were it not for my brand-spanking-new RMA from B&N, I'd seriously think about doing so - in order to steal the screen for my Nook.

Seriously, I'd rather buy a dog, shoot the dog, feed it to the cats, bag and drown the cats, pulp their bodies into biodiesel and waste the biodiesel on an outdoor air-conditioner than use a Sony.

Derek