Kindle for iPad - CSS for tables broken?

[jhowell]

I just did a test downloading four books to Kindle for Android and Kindle for iOS to see how the results differ.

• A book recently purchased from Amazon was delivered in KFX format to both apps.
  
• An older book purchased from Amazon years ago that does not support Enhanced Typesetting was delivered in MOBI format to both apps.
  
• Another purchased book that does not support Enhanced Typesetting was delivered in KF8 format to Kindle for Android, but as individual HTML fragment files to Kindle for iOS. These fragment files are what make up an AZK file from Kindle Previewer 2 and are also the same format used by Kindle Cloud Reader.
  
• I sent a Master MOBI produced by kindlegen (MOBI+KF8, what calibre calls a 'both' MOBI) as a personal document to my Amazon account and then downloaded it. Kindle for Android received KF8 format and Kindle for iOS received MOBI format.

So there is a difference between purchased books and personal documents when using Kindle for iOS.

[HarryT]

Thanks. I was pretty sure that the iOS app supported more modern formats than Mobi for books bought from Amazon, but I didn't realise that you got the Mobi version for a dual Mobi file in the Cloud. All the more reason to test with AZK files.

[JSWolf]

Why can't Amazon support KF8 on iOS?

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Why can't Amazon support KF8 on iOS?

they could but I am betting they won't. They will go for KFX next I think. AZK was an experiment toward KFX I believe. AZK expands itself to a set of files on installation.

Dale

[jhowell]

KFX is already supported by Kindle for iOS. In fact that app first support KFX in version 4.9, released in May 2015. KFX support wasn't added to Kindle devices and Kindle for Android until months later.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by jhowell

KFX is already supported by Kindle for iOS. In fact that app first support KFX in version 4.9, released in May 2015. KFX support wasn't added to Kindle devices and Kindle for Android until months later.

Interesting. But the Kindle previewer still build AZK.

Dale

[Hitch]

I admit I've skimmed this, but our experience is that NOTHING delivers AZK to the iOS app except sideloading via iTunes. It can't be emailed, dropbox-ed, clouded, nada. You have to hook your iOS device to iTunes via USB and manually slide it in there, via the "file sharing" and Kindle app. NOTHING else works.

If something does, I'd be thrilled to hear it. Despite putting instructions in our instructions that say "IF YOU ARE GOING TO LOAD YOUR MOBI FILE TO YOUR IPAD, EMAIL US FIRST FOR ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS," nobody ever bloody does, and I'm sick to death of hearing complaints about imaginary things. IOW, things that only exist because they're looking at the wrong damn file format on the wretched iPads.

Hitch

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by Hitch

I admit I've skimmed this, but our experience is that NOTHING delivers AZK to the iOS app except sideloading via iTunes. It can't be emailed, dropbox-ed, clouded, nada. You have to hook your iOS device to iTunes via USB and manually slide it in there, via the "file sharing" and Kindle app. NOTHING else works.

If something does, I'd be thrilled to hear it. Despite putting instructions in our instructions that say "IF YOU ARE GOING TO LOAD YOUR MOBI FILE TO YOUR IPAD, EMAIL US FIRST FOR ADDITIONAL DIRECTIONS," nobody ever bloody does, and I'm sick to death of hearing complaints about imaginary things. IOW, things that only exist because they're looking at the wrong damn file format on the wretched iPads.

Hitch

As JHowel said, he downloaded a book from Amazon that became a collection of files that was an unpacked version of AZK. Even side loading ends up as a collection of files. So the delivery from Amazon of some eBooks is AZK that is unpacked as delivered.

Dale

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Interesting. But the Kindle previewer still build AZK.

Kindle Previewer 3 (beta) internally produces KDF format, which is KFX just packaged differently. It has a Kindle for iOS emulation mode that shows how books will look in the Kindle for iOS app when they are delivered in KFX format.

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

As JHowel said, he downloaded a book from Amazon that became a collection of files that was an unpacked version of AZK. Even side loading ends up as a collection of files. So the delivery from Amazon of some eBooks is AZK that is unpacked as delivered.

Dale

Let me be clearer:

ASIDE from purchased books, the only way I know to see an accurate version of a "Kindle" book from MOBI format on iOS is to build the AZK, and sideload it to an iPad via USB through iTunes.

I didn't realize that somehow, purchased books were part of the discussion. I thought that the question was about previewing a book for iOS being produced.

Hitch

[dgatwood]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

That is not true for iPad. Amazon creates an AZK file for Kindle Reader on an iPad. AZK seems to be a prelude to the KFX format now being used by Amazon as its most advanced format, but it is not compatible with AZK either. I suspect, at some point KFX will roll out for iOS but KF8 never will.

Amusingly, iOS supports fixed-format KF8, which means they basically have most of the functionality working, and from talking to some of their developers a few years back, I expected full KF8 support by a couple of years ago. I wonder what set them back....

I guess they decided that trying to force people to buy their hardware was worth alienating the mobile users who spend the most money on on-device purchases. We'll see how that works out for Amazon in the long run....

[Hitch]

Originally Posted by dgatwood

Amusingly, iOS supports fixed-format KF8, which means they basically have most of the functionality working, and from talking to some of their developers a few years back, I expected full KF8 support by a couple of years ago. I wonder what set them back....

I guess they decided that trying to force people to buy their hardware was worth alienating the mobile users who spend the most money on on-device purchases. We'll see how that works out for Amazon in the long run....

Dag:

I'm not sure that's the bottom line (pun intended). I do know that Apple has cheerfully gone out of its way to obstruct that development. I don't recall everything that the good folks up north told me, but it's clear that it wasn't quite one-sided. (Probably retribution for the Zon refusing to bend over and hand the fruit folks the vaseline on the "everything purchased through the app has to pay us 25% [or 50%] or whatever it was debacle).

Suffice to say, the children don't play nicely together.

Hitch

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by dgatwood

Amusingly, iOS supports fixed-format KF8, which means they basically have most of the functionality working...

It supports fixed layout via AZK, not KF8.

Originally Posted by dgatwood

I guess they decided that trying to force people to buy their hardware was worth alienating the mobile users who spend the most money on on-device purchases.

Not true. Customers buying Amazon books will not notice the very slight differences in rendering between AZK on Kindle for iOS and KF8 on other platforms. And anyway, Amazon now delivers most books in KFX format which is supported by all recent device firmware and apps, including Kindle for iOS.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jhowell

And anyway, Amazon now delivers most books in KFX format which is supported by all recent device firmware and apps, including Kindle for iOS.

Not yet supported by K4PC/K4Mac, though.

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Not yet supported by K4PC/K4Mac, though.

Yes, that is the odd exception. I don't follow K4Mac, but K4PC is actively being maintained with a new update to 1.17.0 released just a few weeks ago.

Amazon definitely has KFX rendering ported to those platforms since it is included in Kindle Previewer 3. Perhaps they don't consider those platforms important enough to be worth the effort in adding KFX support. (Or perhaps it is already in the works.)