azw3 vs mobi vs prc/pdb on a Kindle

[dhdurgee]

Is there a reason to go with an azw3 file over a mobi file on a K3W? On a KT2?

I am asking as I have been using Sigil with KindleImport and KindleGen to update some of my eBooks, mostly adding proper covers to those without them, and KindleGen creates both files. The azw3 versions are larger than the mobi files, often 2-3x larger, so what does an azw3 offer me on my readers that a mobi does not?

I am including prc/pdb in my title as well as I have some of these files as well and might want to update them and was wondering what advantages the other formats would have there. I guess that might depend if the internals of the prc are TEXtREAd, zTXTGPlm or BOOKMOBI formatted.

Dave

[Cinisajoy]

Which kindles are you referring to?
I have never heard of a K3W.

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

Which kindles are you referring to?
I have never heard of a K3W.

K3W = Kindle 3 Keyboard - WiFi model - S/N: B008 xxxx
KT2 = Kindle Touch 2(Basic - 7th generation) - S/N: 90C6 06xx

Dave

[Cinisajoy]

I am not sure your K3 as it is referred to here will read azw3.
I am not sure about your K7.
Note, All K3's had wifi. Some also had 3G.
Oh moderator, where is the link to figure out which device one owns. I forgot to bookmark it.

[dhdurgee]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I am not sure your K3 as it is referred to here will read azw3.
I am not sure about your K7.
Note, All K3's had wifi. Some also had 3G.
Oh moderator, where is the link to figure out which device one owns. I forgot to bookmark it.

I am aware of the types of my kindles, that is why I included the S/N prefixes. I know that all of them can read all of these file types. I am simply wondering if there is any reason to prefer the newer format azw3 file to a mobi or pdb/prc file. The files are larger, so unless there is a particular reason to prefer them I would use the older formats instead to make more space available on the Kindle.

Dave

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by dhdurgee

I am aware of the types of my kindles, that is why I included the S/N prefixes. I know that all of them can read all of these file types. I am simply wondering if there is any reason to prefer the newer format azw3 file to a mobi or pdb/prc file. The files are larger, so unless there is a particular reason to prefer them I would use the older formats instead to make more space available on the Kindle.

Dave

I get you know them but I was thinking for ease and convenience to others here so we can easily answer a question.
Now must ask, how many books do you own?
I am guessing you side load because I know Amazon sends the file they think is best to the device.
My personal opinion is if you are just reading with a default font, stick to the smaller file format.

[notimp]

On a Kindle where JBPatch still works (we are talking firmwares from around 2013) you go with .mobi - because of JBpatch's hyphenation (best in class for a Kindle) and page formating options.

On every other firmware version you go with azw3 - because you can add hyphenation (soft-hyphens) to it using a Calibre Plugin called "hyphenate this".

As for the "why?" that almost lies embedded in this two answers -

Amazon uses three (? new one for .kfx) entirely separate eBook Viewers (render engines) on Kindles.

.mobi is the best possible (objectively, looking at the featureset) format for one.
.azw3 is the best possible (objectively) format for another one

and

.kfx is so closed down - lets call it "in a class of its own".

When ixtab (the author of JBPatch) worked on making tweaks possible to the viewer engine for .mobi - Amazon reacted highly agressively and confrontational, changing the obfuscation of the code repeatedly, in short term intervals.

(Think of it as "not only was the code they use scrambled", but they took the effort to scramble it differently each time ixtab made some advances.)

Nowadays we know why - because Amazon wants to declare some formating features "Amazon exclusive" and wont allow the best eBook viewer to be used with formats that arent distributed by them exclusively.

Its called company politics.

(The jailbreak scene is allowed custom screensaver pictures and thats pretty much it.. (There are other uses for a jailbroken Kindle (VNC, some dedicated Apps) but those arent in wide circulation.) - Also, from time to time Amazon allows us to educate others how to use some breadcrumb features they leave accessible for some time, before they randomly close them down (such as actually useable font scaling or embedding user picked fonts).)

Take this as an opinion piece..

edit: Also - you can use third party viewers on jailbroken Kindles which allow you to use all open and reverse engineered formats (epub, azw3, ...) - but you loose ease of use, dictionaries, Amazons annotation feature (which isnt half bad...), so theres that. But at least once a Kindle is jailbroken, you know that you'll always have this as a fallback.

edit2: As for the larger azw3 files. Amazon promoted .azw3 as a container for both .mobi and .kf8 for its entire format life. When you think of .azw3 the way current Kindles see them, you are actually thinking of .kf8 in the .azw3 wrapper. .azw3 mostly becomes that much "bigger", because there are both the .mobi and the .kf8 version of a book embedded in one .azw3 file.

Amazon used it as a transition technology (to get away from .mobi and .prc which had a legacy of being "rather open").

Calibre has an option to only package the .kf8 file in there (actually it is its default .azw3 setting for some time now), which almost halfs its filesize.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Cinisajoy

I am not sure your K3 as it is referred to here will read azw3.
I am not sure about your K7.
Note, All K3's had wifi. Some also had 3G.
Oh moderator, where is the link to figure out which device one owns. I forgot to bookmark it.

Do you mean this:

https://www.amazon.com/mn/dcw/myx.html#/home/devices/1

[Dr. Drib]

Or this:

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Serial_Numbers

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Or this:

https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Kindle_Serial_Numbers

This one. Thanks a million Don. Bookmarking now.

[JSWolf]

Actually, if your Kindle can handle KF8, you go with KF8. You do not go with Mobi for many reasons. JB or not, stay away from Mobi.

[notimp]

Please qualify your statement. I hate it, when people try to push through a standpoint by their reputation alone.

You may win the public opinion, but you prevent others from making informed decisions.

Also - of course I disagree. If JBPatch is available on your firmware, you go with mobi.

.azw3 has some additional formating options (almost no one turned out to be using, because epub 3.0 didnt stick as a production format) but thats it from my POV.

Also .mobi files on Kindles are always displayed as "justified by default" - which eliminated the need to reformat most of them before you can start reading.

Nowadays you have to almost always tweak them manually, before you can go on to read them (hyphenation, justified text, ..).

If you want to know in what format you should store them for posteriority, the answer is always epub or - the most current open (/reverse engineered) format you can get your hands on (because of the odd possibility that someone took advantage of the new formating options within the format.).

The case that "newer is always better" from a usability and featureset standpoint on Amazons Kindles isnt as straight forward as you might think.

[JSWolf]

Most Kindle eBooks are converted from ePub. A lot of eBooks use at least one feature that Mobi does not support. So going with KF8 means the eBooks will look better and work as expected. As you said, if you want hyphenation, you can use the Hyphenate This! plugin. It works very well.

[Cinisajoy]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Most Kindle eBooks are converted from ePub. A lot of eBooks use at least one feature that Mobi does not support. So going with KF8 means the eBooks will look better and work as expected. As you said, if you want hyphenation, you can use the Hyphenate This! plugin. It works very well.

What features does Mobi not support?

[notimp]

Name the features you are talking about that get lost in your opinion. .azw3 (.kf8) has brought less new stuff to the "playing field" than you might expect.

And as .css formating conventions go - it was mostly hit and miss anyhow. You can argue, that once people accepted azw3 as the new default, they optimized their .css sheets for it - but thats all minor stuff in comparison (think floating text around objects, marginally better alignment options for some objects, stuff like that).

But lets not draw this out beyond its purpose here... Look at both, decide for yourself. The usage with JBPatch is a fringe case anyhow. (And in the end you almost always want hyphenation - so...)

For me its more about the story behind it (azw3 (kf8) by no means was that much better "featurewise" - it mostly served another purpose... ).

If the ePub 3.0 featureset became more widely used, the story might have been different.