ePub vs Mobi

jstabe · 03-03-2013, 01:05 PM

Hopefully I'm putting this in the right place.

I have always had my ebooks in mobi format, probably just because I'm used to buying from Amazon. But since buying an Android tablet, I've become frustrated with the Kindle app. I went looking for something else to read with and discovered that not many readers handle mobi. I did find Moon+ Reader and here's where my questions come from.

I use Calibre to organize and then Calibre Companion to add books to my tablet. When I import books into Moon+ Reader, there are multiple problems with the books: dashes in between the words of a book title, tags I've never used added to books, tags I have added disappearing, and cover problems. I decided to try with ePub and none of that happens.

So, is this a Moon+ Reader problem? Is it something in calibre? Or is it because ePub is better (?) than mobi?

I guess I'm just curious as to whether or not it would be better to switch to ePub format.

Turtle91 · 03-03-2013, 01:56 PM

My .02 ...

It's always better to keep your documents in an open format like ePub...if for nothing else than keeping them portable. I have heard that Calibre occasionally has some issues with converting to mobi, but I haven't seen it personally. Try using Kindle previewer/kindlegen to convert a clean ePub...you shouldn't have any issues that way.

Cheers

jstabe · 03-03-2013, 02:04 PM

It does seem like ePub is the more customizable of the two. And it's definitely supported by more readers.

Thanks for the suggestion!

HarryT · 03-03-2013, 03:14 PM

No reason at all to use Mobi these days. Use ePub for most devices, and KF8 (essentially ePub in a wrapper) for Kindles.

AlexBell · 03-04-2013, 12:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No reason at all to use Mobi these days. Use ePub for most devices, and KF8 (essentially ePub in a wrapper) for Kindles.

I have done several poetry ebooks in which the ePub version honours page-break-inside:avoid, but the KF8 version derived from the ePub doesn't.

KF8 still has a way to go, in my opinion at least.

jstabe · 03-04-2013, 11:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

No reason at all to use Mobi these days. Use ePub for most devices, and KF8 (essentially ePub in a wrapper) for Kindles.

I'm starting to realize that.

I think at this point it's more habit than anything else for me. Time to change that!

JSWolf · 03-04-2013, 11:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstabe

I'm starting to realize that.

I think at this point it's more habit than anything else for me. Time to change that!

ePub definitely. It's just so much easier to edit an ePub eBook then a Mobi eBook.

jstabe · 03-04-2013, 01:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

ePub definitely. It's just so much easier to edit an ePub eBook then a Mobi eBook.

I'm starting to see that. And calibre has some great plugins that help with ePub.

JSWolf · 03-04-2013, 01:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jstabe

I'm starting to see that. And calibre has some great plugins that help with ePub.

Quality Check and Modify ePub are two very good plugins to use with ePub.

Jellby · 03-05-2013, 11:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by AlexBell

I have done several poetry ebooks in which the ePub version honours page-break-inside:avoid, but the KF8 version derived from the ePub doesn't.

That's up to the reading application... although when talking about KF8, reading application and format are pretty much the same thing. But I'm sure there are plenty of ePub readers that do not honour page-break-inside:avoid either.

Toxaris · 03-05-2013, 02:16 PM

Jellby, in essence you are right, but... With the readers it is a choice whether or not to support it. The ePUB format does support it. With the KF8 format essentially there is only one vendor/device that can handle it. So, apparently they decided it is not part of the format.

HarryT · 03-05-2013, 03:33 PM

Are there other methods that can be used to achieve the same effect?

Jellby · 03-06-2013, 05:38 AM

Maybe "display: inline-block" works in KF8/Kindle (but it is not officially supported in ePub).

03-03-2013, 01:05 PM	#1
jstabe Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Galaxy Tab 2 10.1	ePub vs Mobi Hopefully I'm putting this in the right place. I have always had my ebooks in mobi format, probably just because I'm used to buying from Amazon. But since buying an Android tablet, I've become frustrated with the Kindle app. I went looking for something else to read with and discovered that not many readers handle mobi. I did find Moon+ Reader and here's where my questions come from. I use Calibre to organize and then Calibre Companion to add books to my tablet. When I import books into Moon+ Reader, there are multiple problems with the books: dashes in between the words of a book title, tags I've never used added to books, tags I have added disappearing, and cover problems. I decided to try with ePub and none of that happens. So, is this a Moon+ Reader problem? Is it something in calibre? Or is it because ePub is better (?) than mobi? I guess I'm just curious as to whether or not it would be better to switch to ePub format.

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03-03-2013, 01:56 PM	#2
Turtle91 A Hairy Wizard Posts: 3,301 Karma: 20171571 Join Date: Dec 2012 Location: Charleston, SC today Device: iPhone 15/11/X/6/iPad 1,2,Air & Air Pro/Surface Pro/Kindle PW & Fire	My .02 ... It's always better to keep your documents in an open format like ePub...if for nothing else than keeping them portable. I have heard that Calibre occasionally has some issues with converting to mobi, but I haven't seen it personally. Try using Kindle previewer/kindlegen to convert a clean ePub...you shouldn't have any issues that way. Cheers

03-03-2013, 02:04 PM	#3
jstabe Enthusiast Posts: 37 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Galaxy Tab 2 10.1	It does seem like ePub is the more customizable of the two. And it's definitely supported by more readers. Thanks for the suggestion!

03-03-2013, 03:14 PM	#4
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	No reason at all to use Mobi these days. Use ePub for most devices, and KF8 (essentially ePub in a wrapper) for Kindles.

03-05-2013, 02:16 PM	#11
Toxaris Wizard Posts: 4,520 Karma: 121692313 Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Heemskerk, NL Device: PRS-T1, Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura	Jellby, in essence you are right, but... With the readers it is a choice whether or not to support it. The ePUB format does support it. With the KF8 format essentially there is only one vendor/device that can handle it. So, apparently they decided it is not part of the format.

03-05-2013, 03:33 PM	#12
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Are there other methods that can be used to achieve the same effect?

03-06-2013, 05:38 AM	#13
Jellby frumious Bandersnatch Posts: 7,543 Karma: 19001583 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Spaniard in Sweden Device: Cybook Orizon, Kobo Aura	Maybe "display: inline-block" works in KF8/Kindle (but it is not officially supported in ePub).