Content for PocketBook

[apostolos1975]

Hi all,

I have a naive question regarding PocketBook devices. Where can I buy ebooks for them? For example, can I go to Amazon and buy books from them and then get them on my device? Or some other big e-stores?

Thanks in advance

[Billi]

You can use every other bookstore except Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Most bookstores sell their books with a copyright protection (DRM), the Pocketbook is able to read ePubs with Adobe's DRM protection (ADE).

[jshzh]

I thought Pocketbook had been designed for people who read books of multiple formats and didn't intent to buy ebooks.

[jekvb]

Originally Posted by jshzh

I thought ........ and didn't intent to buy ebooks.

I haven't read that anywhere in PocketBook's mission statement....
:-)

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by jshzh

I thought Pocketbook had been designed for people who read books of multiple formats and didn't intent to buy ebooks.

If they didn't expect you to *buy* commercial ebooks they wouldn't be paying the Adobe Tax to provide ADEPT DRM ebook compatibility. Instead, they would ship products like the (otherwise interesting) Jetbook mini that *require* you learn about DRM-stripping and Calibre to get commercial ebooks from Amazon, B&N, or the ADEPT shops onto the reader.

Realistically, you need to actually buy at least *some* drm'ed ebooks from time to time to get full value from a PB reader. Unless all you read is 19th century-or-older copywrite-free ebooks, or pirate everything in sight, in which case there are other, cheaper readers more attuned to your approach.

[AnneT]

Bewrite.net has lots of DRM-free epubs, that are not necesserily old stuff...

[jshzh]

lol. Kindle also supports some "formats without DRM" but does that mean Amazon's main target consumers are those who don't intend to buy from Amazon stores?

Pocketbook doesn't pay tax for Adobe, pocketbook users pay for it. The company will - theoretically - lower the device's price if there is only PDFviewer on it.

[troll05]

Don't forget, PB also offers an own bookshop with bookland, so they intend to earn money with selling DRM books too.
And although the western websites are pretty crap right now, the russian Bookland page looks pretty impressive, even if I don't understand on word.

Bewrite.net has lots of DRM-free epubs, that are not necesserily old stuff...

Bewrite is not exactly a bookstore but a small independant publisher who decided against DRM

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by AnneT

Bewrite.net has lots of DRM-free epubs, that are not necesserily old stuff...

So does Baen, which I've been known to recommend around here one or twice.

The issue
is whether Pocketbook expects its customers to buy books and I'm pointing out that the only reason to include ADEPT DRM support---which, in addition to license fees, requires development and support effort---is if you expect reader users to buy at least some DRM-encumbered ebooks.
Odds are, a new PB reader without adobeviewer; say one that relied on FBreader and coolreader alone would not only sell for less but also require zero post-sale support from the GiK. Now, pkbo and graynm...

Want to set up a poll to see who would buy a PB reader without DRM support?

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

Want to set up a poll to see who would buy a PB reader without DRM support?

It would be interesting to know how much it would affect sales. You say removing support for ADE would reduce post-sale support, but I disagree as they would likely field tons of calls from users who want to know how to read their newly purchased ebooks. I doubt that support would advocate stripping the DRM, as it could leave them open to litigation.

Personally, I don't buy books with DRM, but I can't promise that I never will, so I don't mind paying a few bucks more just in case. Not having support for ADE would not have made me more eager to buy my 902. Also, I doubt that the cost of ADE is borne mostly by the device maker. It would make more sense to build that cost into the books, as the cost to Adobe probably scales with the number of books rather than the number of devices.

[troll05]

Originally Posted by rkomar

It would be interesting to know how much it would affect sales. You say removing support for ADE would reduce post-sale support, but I disagree as they would likely field tons of calls from users who want to know how to read their newly purchased ebooks. I doubt that support would advocate stripping the DRM, as it could leave them open to litigation.

Personally, I don't buy books with DRM, but I can't promise that I never will, so I don't mind paying a few bucks more just in case. Not having support for ADE would not have made me more eager to buy my 902. Also, I doubt that the cost of ADE is borne mostly by the device maker. It would make more sense to build that cost into the books, as the cost to Adobe probably scales with the number of books rather than the number of devices.

Not to forget members of MR are quite a minority of all users with a PB, and a great many of them need DRM support because things like Calibre plugins, publishers like BEAN ore BeWrite are totally foreign to them
I also think that license fees for Adobe are mostly payed by publishers who want their books protected, and the reader software is more or less free (apart from development for the individual readers), as they handle it with Adobe Writer and Reader software. Without the free reading software Adobe wouldn't be as known as they are, and there is already reading software for mobilephones, tablets and PC with DRM support available for free, e.g. Aldiko

[fjtorres]

Originally Posted by rkomar

Also, I doubt that the cost of ADE is borne mostly by the device maker. It would make more sense to build that cost into the books, as the cost to Adobe probably scales with the number of books rather than the number of devices.

Actually, Adobe charges both ends.
Yes, they charge booksellers. But they also charge hardware (and reader app) developers, so there is a direct bundled cost to consumers for the DRM support.
(And that is why Amazon doesn't support epub; they don't want to pay Adobe or, field support calls by the million. )

[jshzh]

At the end, the reader is charged twice!

[fjtorres]

It's called a business model: hijack a "standard" bandwagon early, wrap yourself in the flag of interoperability, and make sure everybody pays through the nose.
Then watch the money roll in...
...for a while.

[j.p.s]

Originally Posted by Billi

You can use every other bookstore except Amazon and Barnes & Noble. Most bookstores sell their books with a copyright protection (DRM), the Pocketbook is able to read ePubs with Adobe's DRM protection (ADE).

The selection is very limited, but you can use the Amazon store. Just check the book's listing for:
"Number of simultaneous devices: unlimited."

Those books have no DRM and can be read on any device that supports mobipocket. Among these are all books published by O'Reilly, none of which are pre 1920.