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03-25-2009, 12:08 AM | #1 |
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Fictionwise released a beta version of its eReader software for use on BlackBerry
Fictionwise Inc., an e-book retailer in Chatham, said today it released a beta test version of its eReader software for use on BlackBerry devices. This software lets users purchase and download electronic versions of books that can be read on laptops, desktop computers, smartphones and PDAs.
... http://www.njbiz.com/article.asp?aID=77647 |
03-25-2009, 02:08 AM | #2 |
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Everyone is getting in on the e-book game.
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03-25-2009, 09:09 AM | #3 |
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I for one was very glad to see this. I've been a huge fan of the Ereader format for a long time. I don't like reading on the BB as much as I used to (Dedicated devices so much easier on my eyes) but it's sure handy to be able to carry a book with me on my BB for those times your stuck watiing around for someone.
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03-26-2009, 10:08 AM | #4 |
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I also this article on WSJ (may require membership) that goes into more detail:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB123793101397630541.html |
03-27-2009, 08:29 AM | #5 | |
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For now, I've been reading ebooks exclusively on my blackberry using the eReader software and Mobipocket Reader. Although I own books in both formats, I seem to enjoy the experience better with the Mobipocket Reader. I can't quite explain why and my opinion is really subjective. Although perhaps taboo, I find that the ability to strip the DRM off of a Mobipocket ebook straight-forward to do allowing me to convert to other formats for any ebook reader that I may own in the future. |
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03-27-2009, 09:43 AM | #6 |
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The one good point about the eReader format is that it's not locked into a device. As long as you can load the eReader software onto a device you can read any of the DRMed eReader format books. The key is the last eight digits of the credit card you registered at the site. It doesn't even have to be the card with which you purchased the books. As long as you keep a backup of the file and know the card number you'll be able to read that file.
With MobiPocket and Adobe DRM schemes the files are encoded for a particular device or sets of devices. If you no longer have that device then you cannot read that file. Vendors usually allow you to register three or four devices with MobiPocket and as long as the vendor is in business you can keep changing the devices. But if the vendor shuts down the server (for whatever reason) you are locked into the devices that are already registered. So your backups will continue to work on your registered devices. You get a new PC, PDA, ebook reader, or cell phone and that requires you to register its unique PID in order to get a file that you can read. If the vendor's DRM server is no longer up then you can't register your device. Your options are to either repurchase the ebook at a different vendor or remove the DRM. |
03-27-2009, 01:09 PM | #7 | ||
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As for the MOBI file format, ePub might be the open standard, but MOBI still remains the de-facto standard. In the end I think both products are great but I still perfer MobiPocket/MOBI over Fictionwise/eReader Quote:
Also eReader is tied to one company. That means the eReader client and the eReader eBooks are all tied to one company, a double whammy if that business goes out of business, or now that B&N owns them they decide to shut down that division. Though I do prefer MOBI, I'm not arguing mobi is a better solution, I'm just pointing out that there are two sides to every format every one has their strength and weakness. .... AND the culprit always comes down to DRM. =X= |
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03-28-2009, 12:58 AM | #8 |
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B&N owns eReader, Amazon owns MobiPocket - what is the difference?
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03-28-2009, 07:57 PM | #9 | |
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Which is not the case for MOBI files. Of course you can argue this is true for Mobipocet. But amazon is not a struggling company and B&N is has has been. =X= |
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03-30-2009, 09:33 AM | #10 | |
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I've used the eReader software for many years so I am partial to it but Mobi is more widespread. Personally I'd rather have DRM tied to a file and not a device. |
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03-30-2009, 09:50 AM | #11 |
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Like Tall I also store the last 8 digits of the cc used in a password manager. Also with fictionwise (Assuming they are still in business) you can update the encryption with a new credit card number at no charge.
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03-30-2009, 11:01 AM | #12 |
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From my perspective, the mobi and ereader formats are equally portable in that I can strip off the DRM from the mobi file and convert that file to any other format directly with Calibre that I may need in the future. With ereader. I can also remove the DRM and export to html with the "ereader2html" tool allowing me to convert to another format also.
With the portability question out of the way, which format between mobi and ereader is more flexible or technically superior? |
03-30-2009, 11:44 AM | #13 | |
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For me it's not so much which format is better but which format provides the most flexibility with the least effort. For me that is MOBI for several reasons Mobipocket make great reading clients with great features set making reading a real pleasure. They also make great tools for creating MOBI files. The community support for MOBI is great, there are a good amount of tools that allow exporting to different formats or even creating MOBI from different formats. Also the tools are more reliable and do a better job converting without losing information. With eReader that is not the case, so far the reading clients are not as sophisticated as Mobi and the community support does not seem to be as complete as MOBI. BTW you might want to check this tread out. https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...ewpost&t=43690 =X= |
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03-30-2009, 01:47 PM | #14 | |
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=X=,
I appreciate the link to the ereader2ereader tool. I'll try it when I get home later this evening. It's interesting your thoughts about mobi considering your efforts with the ereader2ereader tool. It leaves me with an impression that you are impartial to a particular format. As you've stated and I agree with, I want to work with the format that provides the most flexibility. "lit" is indeed very easy to work with. My sense about "epub" is that it's the standard but hasn't been widely adopted yet and tools aren't widely available yet. When buying from the stores, I tend to choose "mobi" so I don't have to do any conversions for my blackberry. If mobi is not available, then it's "lit" or "epub" if those versions are available. "ereader" format tends to be my last choice if I have no choice and really really want the book. I still have several purchased "ereader" ebooks that I bought when I had a palm device several years ago. I'm glad that I can preserve these books and not lose them because I don't use a palm device anymore. Quote:
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03-30-2009, 03:43 PM | #15 | ||
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After my effort, the effort you mentioned I realized eReader is just not there yet. I like FW and their pricing model, but their books are just not there. To be fair I read a lot of Non-Fiction books with tables, images, graphs, and links. The eReader does not handle them well. Now for regular chapter book fiction the file format is just fine. Quote:
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