E-Books Mobipocket

Summary:

The Mobipocket file format is a binary format for the distribution of eBooks. It is one implementation of the Open eBook Publication format with a number of proprietary extensions. The Open eBook Publication format is developed and specified by the IDPF (International Digital Publishing Forum) an independent organization formerly known as the Open eBook Consortium.

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E-Books Mobipocket

lasatalayas 25 Mar 2007 16:38

On one of the Lulu Forums I saw a reference to Mobipocket in connection with the production, publication and distribution of E-Books and thought it worthy of investigation. As it could be an alternative way of producing E-Books I think that it is probably better to start a thread here rather than on one of the Lulu Forums.
Mobipockets home page can be found at
http://www.mobipocket.com/en/HomePage/default.asp?Language=EN
whilst the developers page is at
http://www.mobipocket.com/dev/default.asp

My initial reaction is that Mobipocket could be of interest to UK Wiki Lulu members but it needs some careful examination first as it does not appear to be just a case of using any existing PDF as the source for a new book.

Having started this thread I'll add my further thoughts and comments as they develop.

Ken.

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Peter Rogerson 26 Mar 2007 15:44

I downloaded the mobipocket software onto my laptop and converted one of my books to it. It seems to be a unique format in much the same was as the Microsoft Reader is a unique format. I can see there eventually being too many different formats on the market to do any more than confuse, but I would like to see, say, two or three becoming dominant so that a market place becomes established. Pdf is okay, but a text needs to be dedicated to a single computer so that those nassssty pirates don't start profiting from the labours of others.

Peter

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Taffybach 27 Mar 2007 09:18

I already have The SPider Gem published in Mobipocket format.
Note too that Mobipocket is the partner of AMazon so it is highly likely that the format will be one that survives.

See http://www.mobipocket.com/en/eBooks/BookDetails.asp?BookID=33135&Origine=1426

Initially sales went well, six in the first 6-8 weeks but it has been quiet this year with no additional sales.
In the next couple of weeks it will be added on Amazon as an ebook link so I am hoping for more sales as a result.
I checked the pricing of similar size and genre and have pitched it at $6.99 (about £3.50).

As I mentioned, with Amazon now behind it and with the inbuilt copy protection I think the Mobipocket solution will be around some time - pity it's French though :-)

taff

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Peter Rogerson 27 Mar 2007 09:55

For those who don't know, mobipocket is a cross-format reader. I have the PC Windows version on my PC (I just installed it so that I could provide this information). The download file is smallish (3.4 meg) and it installs easily. Besides a huge assortment of titles you can buy you can convert your own. I have just converted A Fall From Grace - one of mine and I'll take any opportunity to mention titles - and the conversion process takes a minute or two. The end result, if converted from a text file, is readable though not perfect with odd paragraph breaks, but then I fed a raw MS Word document into it. I'll try converting the pdf version and see if that's any better and will doubtless let you know.
I think it would be an advantage if we we as a group looked at everything that is avaialble and made a joint decision as to what would best suit our individual purposes and add out support to that I have personal experience of both Microsoft Reader and now Mobipocket and if I had to choose which I prefered I would have to come down on the side of Microsoft Reader - just. I think it would be helpful to all of us if we had a comprehensive debate on the subject because one day downloads are going to be as important as books. Look at what's happening in the field of music, with fewer CDs being sold and more downloaded. As a group we'll probably never be huge, but I feel we should try and establish a group opinion on available hardware and software that may be relevant in the future. With Mobipocket being allied to Amazon it may win out in the end, but then Reader is a Microsoft product. Are there any more?

Peter

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

lasatalayas 27 Mar 2007 13:52

Having only spent a very sghort period of time investigating Mobipocket my initial reaction is that it may be quite suitable for novels as it continuously flows the text onto the screen but but quite so good for book that have a lot of formatted layouts and images.

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Taffybach 27 Mar 2007 16:41

Yep I can imagine the converter having quite a few problems with layout if there are a lot of graphics involved.

Peter, give it a go with the PDF but when I tried it actually gave a much better conversion from MS Word than the PDF.

As for deciding on a solution as a group I'm not sure I would want to be tied to one option. I'd prefer choice.
Unfortunately a small group like this would have little impact on any decision It will be the successful ebook sellers that will decide the surviving formats for us and more than likely based on whatever is successful in the US.

The four strongest (business wise) applications are Mobipocket, MS Reader, Palm Reader and Adobe Reader.
There are a lot of ebook startups and many have their own readers. My opinion is that although there is still room for one of those startups to push tot he fore the most will fall by the wayside.

The real solution is for the ebook providers to make the ebook itself multiformat and you can see that Fictiowise have already started to do this and I suspect that Amazon/Mobi will follow suit.

taff

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

SusanatLulu 27 Mar 2007 17:10

Hello

I've tried reading using MS Reader on a handheld PC but never tried converting a document to that format.

One idea - I can't remember the figures, but a large percentage of books are sold at airports. Some sort of device that could be loaded on the spot with e books might sell well at airports. Lots of reading matter and lightweight.

Susan

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Vibracobra23 27 Mar 2007 17:56

Airports would be a perfect place for such devices; train and coach stations likewise. I think this may be one area where the e-book readers do well. Peter makes the comparison with music downloads, and there is surely no doubt that the e-book market will rapidly expand, but there is a fundamental difference in that music is an aural experience and is therefore less prone to the fatigue caused by the visual electronic experience. Music can be just as enjoyable whether listening to mp3, CD, vinyl, cassette or 8-track, and although there is obviously debate as to the absolute quality of such formats, for most listeners it doesn't make a great deal of difference which format is used. Reading large amounts of text from an electronic screen can be quite tiring, as I know from the endless hours of proof-reading, and almost everyone I know would much rather read from the printed text than from a computer or reader screen. With respect to proof-reading, I personally find it far preferable to proof-read from the printed text as the fatigue caused by the electronic print causes a higher number of errors to be missed; and the format may be more suitable for short stories, poems, reference books etc. I have been using computers for about 16 years now so am no luddite in this respect; for the most part I am a great advocate of all things electronic. But I'm not sure that the electronic word could, or should, ever replace the printed word, but, as Susan mentions, there are definitely locations and situations where it would prove a definite advantage. The computerised office was originally mooted to be the nail in the coffin of the endless reams of paper filling every office in the land; whereas the amount of paper generated now is far more than it ever was before the advent of the PC. Downloads for music will inevitably replace the tangible format; the look and feel of a printed book is something that I would not wish to lose.

---

"One does not discover new lands without consenting to lose sight of the shore for a very long time." ~ André Gide

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Taffybach 28 Mar 2007 08:55

I agree. The main push with ebooks in readable format will likely be for travellers. Although looking further ahead we should gradually see the 'pc' becoming the centre point for the home entertainment system. As more people have this integrated system I can see the market growing for ebooks in audio format. With technology expanding rapidly in the area of communications (I see IBM are developing an optical chip that by 2010 will speed up download by a factor of 8-10 over the fastest current broadband!!) and with the persoanl leisure system becoming closer by the year, I can imagine a market where people will download immediate access to an audio ebook (whether read by a person or via the ever improving text to speech converter).

With an integrated entertainment system you can lay on the soafa and have the dulcit tones of the current Joanna Lumley washing over you as you listen to yoiur favourite novels.

Noe that said, there is still the tactile element. Board games haven't died out due to computers and probably never will. Similarly hard copy books won't either but as people become more concerned on environment issues and also see the benefits of having a large online library to hand with low cost access then habits change.

taffybach

Re: E-Books Mobipocket

Peter Rogerson 28 Mar 2007 11:27

I know this isn't relevant to commercially produce e-titles, but my observations may have some validity. I have converted the same title to Microsoft Reader and Mobipocket use. For mobipocket I converted both a text file and a pdf file. Judging from the qualities of these self-converted titles I prefer Microsoft Reader. The Mobipocket text is clearer being larger and with a clear font, but paragraphing is indistinct, the titles merge on the same line as the start of the text and the whole thing looks muddled. I haven't looked at any settings that might improve things because I haven't found any!! On the other hand Microsoft Reader looks more like a book albeit on screen, has settings for font size and will read the book to you if that's the kind of thing that works for you. If nothing else it would help the partially sighted or blind even though the pronunciation, being phonetic, has fun with some proper nouns! If anyone out there could complete this brief analysis of protected readers I think it would be helpful.

Peter

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