Sony Reader Lives on with Rowling!

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Mobipocket was obsolete the day ePub came out and it's time for it to just die and go away. If that happens, ePub will be the format. But if Amazon does go ePub, I hope they don't decide on a different DRM.

Different than whom? B&N? Sony/Adobe? Ugh. B&N made ePUB a sort of one-step-forward two-steps-back sort of thing by choosing their own DRM. And the door is wide open for Amazon to do the same if they go ePUB.

Rowling has stated in the PR that the main reason for her putting the books on Pottermore is to guarantee availability for all Readers. Indeed, the Kindle question came to mind for me immediately as well.

This is the first real opportunity for a someone to have major influence on universalizing the industry. She could, potentially, force Amazon to support ePUB, maybe even starting a change to the format at large. She could also force everyone to a single, common DRM. Or she could just offer Reader-specific versions of the books (Nook version, Sony version, Kindle version, etc.).

-Pie

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by DMB

What do you get out of this? Why are you bothered if Kindle users are able to get HP books in mobi format? How does that harm you?

What you don't seem to get is that Mobipocket is holding us back somewhat. If you have a Kindle and decide that you want to swap it for an HP themed Sony, you would not be able to take with you your Kindle eBooks. They wouldn't work. If you had a Sony and decided you wanted a Kindle, again, your library would not go with you. How is this good for users? If you have a Sony and want a nook or Kobo, you can take your library of ePub with you. Amazon is hurting users (in the long run) because when they decide they want a different reader, they will either have to stay with Amazon or lose their library.

Now Sony started off with BBeB (LRF/LRX) and they eventually went ePub only int heir eBookstore. They allowed users to redownload all their previously purchased eBooks in ePub. What Amazon could do is the same sort of thing. Still support AZW/Topaz and add in ePub. Then all the AZW eBooks could be changed to ePub on Amazon and Amazon would then be selling ePub.

The only thing I have a fear of is that Amazon would do some sort of different flavor of DRM. And that would cause a new set of issues. The idea is to get one format and one DRM (until DRM goes away except for libraries). I would like to be able to buy any reader I wanted without worry of losing the library I have. And if one format has to give, it will have to be Mobipocket as that is the lesser of the two formats. If Rowling's technical team do thing correctly, you'll be able to see ePub giving a much better reading experience for the HP eBooks vs Mobipocket format. Sure the text will be the same, but it's more then that in this case. The books used different fonts to differentiate things and that would work in ePub, but not Mobipocket.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

This is the first real opportunity for a someone to have major influence on universalizing the industry. She could, potentially, force Amazon to support ePUB, maybe even starting a change to the format at large. She could also force everyone to a single, common DRM. Or she could just offer Reader-specific versions of the books (Nook version, Sony version, Kindle version, etc.).

-Pie

You have a much different opinion of Rowling's sphere of influence than I do.

The Harry Potter eBooks will, I predict, sell well and will make her a tidy bit of money. The idea, however, that a single set of ~7 books will "force" Amazon, B&N, Adobe, Sony, and Kobo to do X is very unlikely in my opinion.

IIUC, she doesn't need to offer more than two "reader-specific" formats if she continues to avoid a "locking" DRM in favor of her "tracing" DRM (i.e., the watermarks). ePub and Mobi would, I believe, cover all the readers on the market.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

Different than whom? B&N? Sony/Adobe? Ugh. B&N made ePUB a sort of one-step-forward two-steps-back sort of thing by choosing their own DRM. And the door is wide open for Amazon to do the same if they go ePUB.

Rowling has stated in the PR that the main reason for her putting the books on Pottermore is to guarantee availability for all Readers. Indeed, the Kindle question came to mind for me immediately as well.

This is the first real opportunity for a someone to have major influence on universalizing the industry. She could, potentially, force Amazon to support ePUB, maybe even starting a change to the format at large. She could also force everyone to a single, common DRM. Or she could just offer Reader-specific versions of the books (Nook version, Sony version, Kindle version, etc.).

-Pie

Yes, B&N did more harm then good in terms of the DRM used. iBooks we just pretend it doesn't exist as a lot of their ePub is not really ePub.

There is no need for specific reader versions for all the readers that handle ePub. One ePub is all that's needed as it won't have DRM. The only place it will need to be different is for iBooks.

I'm hoping we'll get kids saying "Mommy, why doesn't my Harry Potter books like like Timmy's? His have all nice fonts and are better formatted. I want a new reader. I don't like my Kindle.".

But to be serious, this is the chance to maybe make eBooks better then they are now by consolidating into one format. I do feel that Rowling has the clout to hopefully force Amazon to do what Amazon has not wanted to do and that is go ePub.

This isn't Amazon vs. the rest of the world. This is the better format ePub vs. Mobipocket. And Mobipocket would do well by going away in place of ePub. Heck, even Microsoft knew better and we no longer have MS Reader format eBooks being made. It's just a shame that Amazon diesn't know better to stop splintering the market big time.

[Elfwreck]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

The only thing I have a fear of is that Amazon would do some sort of different flavor of DRM. And that would cause a new set of issues.

If Amazon decided to support DRM'd epub, they'd probably come up with their own DRM, because they don't want to pay Adobe for licensing rights.

I suspect the reason they haven't allowed Kindles to read ePub is that they want to avoid customer confusion--they can't, with the current setup, allow DRM'd mobi & PDF on the same device, and allowing non-DRM'd ePub would get them flooded with angry customers who weren't paying attention to labels, and expected their Nook purchases to transfer over.

Two years ago, the non-DRM commercial market for ePubs was tiny. It's not anymore; several growing publishers, including a *huge* slice of the romance market, are selling them. Amazon may be considering opening the Kindle to those ebooks because they're actually losing potential customers to the Nook.

If they do, they'll need to actually *explain* DRM, and so far, none of the ereader manufacturers with a bookstore have wanted to do that. They've all just said, "You can read our books on our device and on your computer; click here to download the software you need!" For the most part, most of them don't want to explain filetypes at all, much less DRM.

If Rowling's technical team do thing correctly, you'll be able to see ePub giving a much better reading experience for the HP eBooks vs Mobipocket format.

I continue to believe they'll offer PDFs, not ePub, until I hear otherwise from somewhere official. They'll want to control the layout a lot more than is possible with ePub on different readers.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by Elfwreck

I continue to believe they'll offer PDFs, not ePub, until I hear otherwise from somewhere official. They'll want to control the layout a lot more than is possible with ePub on different readers.

One hopes the Pottermore team will eventually abandon that goal as unrealistic and with zero real need or use case. I'm fairly certain the biggest fan frustration thus far hasn't been rage over the Big Print editions of the books on the grounds that Grams and Gramps aren't getting the same experience as the kids.

Rowling only has a Kindle, right? Tweak some in-house mobi version until it looks perfect on her eReader and then release it in mobi/epub for the rest of us to read with our custom font sizes and margins. What she doesn't know won't hurt her.

[JSWolf]

They won't be PDF. PDF won't give readers the ability to change the text size and keep a good reading experience. People will complain. This is not what Rowling is after.

[DMB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What you don't seem to get is that Mobipocket is holding us back somewhat. If you have a Kindle and decide that you want to swap it for an HP themed Sony, you would not be able to take with you your Kindle eBooks. They wouldn't work. If you had a Sony and decided you wanted a Kindle, again, your library would not go with you. How is this good for users? If you have a Sony and want a nook or Kobo, you can take your library of ePub with you. Amazon is hurting users (in the long run) because when they decide they want a different reader, they will either have to stay with Amazon or lose their library.

Now Sony started off with BBeB (LRF/LRX) and they eventually went ePub only int heir eBookstore. They allowed users to redownload all their previously purchased eBooks in ePub. What Amazon could do is the same sort of thing. Still support AZW/Topaz and add in ePub. Then all the AZW eBooks could be changed to ePub on Amazon and Amazon would then be selling ePub.

The only thing I have a fear of is that Amazon would do some sort of different flavor of DRM. And that would cause a new set of issues. The idea is to get one format and one DRM (until DRM goes away except for libraries). I would like to be able to buy any reader I wanted without worry of losing the library I have. And if one format has to give, it will have to be Mobipocket as that is the lesser of the two formats. If Rowling's technical team do thing correctly, you'll be able to see ePub giving a much better reading experience for the HP eBooks vs Mobipocket format. Sure the text will be the same, but it's more then that in this case. The books used different fonts to differentiate things and that would work in ePub, but not Mobipocket.

What you don't allow for is that millions of Kindle users are happy with their device and don't want a change to your preference. I have long been part of the Amazon world for book buying and am happy with that. I find the ebooks I want to read there unless they are subject to geographic restrictions. So far I haven't found any that are available in ePub in the UK and not mobi that I want to read. If necessary, I'd be prepared to buy the odd thing in ePub, strip the DRM and convert to mobi, but so far it hasn't been necessary.

Are you terribly inconvenienced by having a device that reads ePub and not mobi? If so, then perhaps you made the wrong choice, despite your view about the superior qualities of ePub.

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by fjtorres

This is really important to you, huh?
That epub exterminates all possible competition?

Fair'nough, I guess...
Just bear in mind that it'll be a cold day in the amazon jungle when Bezos pays adobe for ADEPT.

I would politely suggest that the "format war" is a smokescreen and that the fight for ebook market share is a DRM war and that universal ebook interoperability will not come this decade or next. It may never arrive.

You have layed out the absolute worse case scenario!

A common format readable on all readers opens up the market. Right now, Amazon is not competing with B&N for books. B&N is not competing with Sony for books. Nobody competes. So price fixing is the result, and publishers dictate, sellers acquiesce, consumers pay.

Same goes for devices. What drives Kindle/Nook/Reader improving? Competition? Thing is, you buy based on bookstore, so they're not really competing on a level market. And R&D costs don't get spent, and e-Ink improves at a snail's pace.

We need to break the device/format lock-in. It's the only way to open the market. After all, I want to choose what Reader I use, and what bookstore I go to. I don't want to be stuck if, at some point, my favorite Reader starts sucking and all my books are DRM locked (yes, I can get around this, but the average consumer probably cannot).

Maybe it does not have to be a single format, but all formats must be supported by all devices. Same with all DRM. Though isn't it much easier to just pick one of each and run with it?

-Pie

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

A common format readable on all readers opens up the market. Right now, Amazon is not competing with B&N for books. B&N is not competing with Sony for books. Nobody competes. So price fixing is the result, and publishers dictate, sellers acquiesce, consumers pay.

With the market as it currently stands, even without DRM and with a single format, there would likely still be price fixing. As much as competition usually brings prices down, the publishers have changed that for the eBook world somewhat by dictating what Amazon/B&N/Kobo can charge instead of letting A/B/K set their own prices.

Originally Posted by JSWolf

They won't be PDF. PDF won't give readers the ability to change the text size and keep a good reading experience. People will complain. This is not what Rowling is after.

From the tenor of the announcements so far, I think this would be preferable to the Pottermore team. If they cared about people complaining, they wouldn't have taken years to release eBooks and they wouldn't be releasing them as "side-load only" so that only people who sign up with the Pottermore store can read them.

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by anamardoll

With the market as it currently stands, even without DRM and with a single format, there would likely still be price fixing. As much as competition usually brings prices down, the publishers have changed that for the eBook world somewhat by dictating what Amazon/B&N/Kobo can charge instead of letting A/B/K set their own prices.

Because of lock-in, none of these stores has a reason to go against price fixing. I felt like there was little more than a bit of grumbling by the retailers, and that was that. Since they have no competition, they don't have to fight against the price fixing. Introduce competition, and fear of being undercut at the cash register, and maybe things would be a bit different...

I am mainly speculating, and I honestly don't know if that would change the price fixing issue. But even if it didn't, I just don't see anything positive for consumers coming from this forced lock-in/lack of competition.

-Pie

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

Because of lock-in, none of these stores has a reason to go against price fixing. I felt like there was little more than a bit of grumbling by the retailers, and that was that. Since they have no competition, they don't have to fight against the price fixing. Introduce competition, and fear of being undercut at the cash register, and maybe things would be a bit different...

I am mainly speculating, and I honestly don't know if that would change the price fixing issue. But even if it didn't, I just don't see anything positive for consumers coming from this forced lock-in/lack of competition.

-Pie

All of them have an intensely good reason to go against the price fixing -- if they can boast cheaper prices than the others, then their devices will gain more market share.

You seem to be assuming a static OPEC-style arrangement where A/B/K/S have all cheerfully divided up equal market share and don't want to rock the boat. Any one of those sellers would LOVE to be able to point out that they have cheaper books than the other -- only the most device-picky would refuse to buy whatever eReader device they sell.

[advocate2]

Because of not being bound by the "Agency Pricing Model" forced on the sellers as a result of Apple's not being able to get market share any other way, Rowling is not establishing a sales model for just herself, but many other authors. As contacts between authors and publishers expire, authors can put new works into a Rowling/Sony model.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by advocate2

Because of not being bound by the "Agency Pricing Model" forced on the sellers as a result of Apple's not being able to get market share any other way, Rowling is not establishing a sales model for just herself, but many other authors. As contacts between authors and publishers expire, authors can put new works into a Rowling/Sony model.

If the prices are reasonable, then we'll see that a best selling author doesn't need to go agency to do well.

[anamardoll]

Originally Posted by advocate2

Because of not being bound by the "Agency Pricing Model" forced on the sellers as a result of Apple's not being able to get market share any other way, Rowling is not establishing a sales model for just herself, but many other authors. As contacts between authors and publishers expire, authors can put new works into a Rowling/Sony model.

So we can all buy direct from authors from now on? I really don't like the idea of cutting out the book sellers entirely, it's hard enough to keep an eye on all the books I'd like to buy without having to go to one-new-site-per-author.

Not that I have a problem buying direct from an author, per se, but being able to also buy everything from a mainstream supply store like A/B/K/S is exceedingly convenient. I would hate to see that cut out entirely, and I very much doubt that less famous authors could afford the loss in eyeballs...