Mobipocket, one of our formats here at the Diesel eBook Store, was created by the lovely French couple, Thierry Brethes and Nathalie Ting. Their smart and lofty goal was to introduce an eBook format that could be rendered on a multitude of devices. It’s no wonder that Mobipocket quickly become as popular as it is. Whereas other earlier formats were designed for a particular device or company, Mobipocket strived to unite all eBooks on any and all reading devices. Democracy in action. Vive la liberté!
But, like all good murder stories, this one gets complicated.
In 2005, Amazon was hunting for a new format / platform, acquired Mobipocket. Ironically enough, Amazon then did a complete 180 on Mobi’s original intention by creating a new hybrid version that it promptly tethered to that little white plastic gismo, the Kindle (ever hear of it?). It is said the Kindle format is 99% pure Mobipocket with a wee bit of gobbledygook thrown in, so that it can be rendered on the Kindle or Kindle-supported apps, only.
In November 2006, Thierry and Nathalie said au revoir to Amazon.
Despite the somewhat contradictory nature of Amazon’s strategy, they still kept Mobipocket.com and their Mobipocket distribution side business, eBookBase, up and running. In fact, Diesel was quick to sign up for eBookBase in 2005 and has consequently served up thousands of Mobipockets to its customers throughout the years.
Last month, eBookBase informed their client base that they had no current or future intentions of renewing their contracts with the Agency Five (Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin and Simon & Schuster) and that they were pulling all A5 books off our site. Say what?
But wait, there’s more. Here are some other examples of Amazon’s neglect of the once proud Mobi format:
• The last Mobipocket software release of Mobipocket eBook Reader 6.2 was all the way back in 2008.
• In September 2009, Amazon announced that eBookBase was no longer accepting any new accounts for eBook distribution.
• Mobipocket was supposedly about to launch an iPhone app, in August 2008, but never did. Amazon launched their iPhone app for Kindle on March 3, 2009 and just launched their latest version on June 11 2010. However, still no iPhone app for Mobi. Or for Android, for that matter.
So, what does this all signify? Is this the swansong for Mobipocket? Did Amazon give up the Mobi-ghost? The clues are fairly tantalizing. But we’ll let you decide.
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Sadly, I think Mobi is dead. I used it for years on my Palm, but I suspect that the “open” ebook format mantle has now been assumed by EPUB, which also has some advantages over Mobi.
RIP, Mobi. We remember you with fondness.
Hey John, We feel your pain. BTW. What is your Palm of choice? I was fondly attached to my m505 for years.
I have Mobipocket on my Palm Tungsten T5 and Ereader too. I like that there is a variety of readers that I can put on my Palm, that’s one of the reasons that I didn’t bother with one of those book readers, they aren’t multi functional (calendar, etc.). I’m just keeping my fingers crossed that nothing happens to Ereader or I’m up a crick in terms of mobile reading. If the Kindle or Ebookwise (I think that’s what it’s called) had more functionality I might consider switching out but they don’t so I’m not!
We’ll miss MobiPocket – it was a truly universal format. While the DRM (Secure) version is truly a pain in the a%# when swapping devices, at least it WORKED on all devices. Adobe’s new ePUB does not.
I’m with Melanie, I’ve always used a multi-function device (all of them Windows Mobile) ’cause it’s powerful enough to take all my business documents in my purse and using the same device to read while I’m waiting for whatever/whoever was icing on the cake. .
I’m grateful that an eBook publisher is releasing news on this issue to the reading public.
For me, DRM has already killed Mobi. I dumped it after buying a title and then discovering I could not transfer it to my newly acquired digital reader.
I’d like to see Amazon let us read our Mobipocket books on our Kindles and I’d be happy. Or, at least convert the titles to the Kindle format. Either way, I’m not holding my breath. I was introduced to ebooks via my Palm T/X. A great device for reading and playing games. A precursor to the iPod Touch w/out the touch.
I thought you could read MobiPocket titles on the Kindle. My understanding was that .mobi and .azw files are pretty much the same, just different extensions.
The nostalgia for Mobipocket is touching, but I abandoned the format years ago for reasons that have nothing to do with Amazon. First, Mobi had a bad tendency to lose its place in a book if you paged backward. Second, the DRM scheme was difficult to work with (and Mobi once told me that I couldn’t change my list of PIDs to accommodate a new device because I’d changed the list too frequently in their view; I had to submit a support ticket, and beg to be able to access my purchases). And third, their support-forum responses were usually brusque, often dismissive, and sometimes downright snotty.
I still have my Palm T|X but I no longer read books on it. When I got my Kindle, I loaded the PRC file I was reading onto the Kindle, searched for a unique word on the page I was reading on my Palm, found it on the Kindle and have not looked back. I carry both everywhere I go. My Kindle has a much larger font for reading and my Palm has all sorts of files I need occasionally, like my shopping list. The power button no longer works so I have to let it time itself out, but that works for me. If it quits altogether then I will have to get something else for the contacts, shopping lists and all that stuff that doesn’t work that well on the Kindle. Maybe by then the iPod Touch will have a camera.
Nancy’s right about Adobe’s DRM over ePub not being particularly compatible between various vendor epubs DRM’d with Adobe’s, I think, Server Edition. The Nook can read Sony files, but not vice versa, for one example.
And now the iPad has its own DRM process (Fairplay) over ePub, though the press often says it uses ‘open ePub’ for its books for purchase.
devini,
I’m probably not understanding an important area at diesel-ebook, but I have Mobipocket books all over my Kindles. Did you mean Mobipocket books that have another type of DRM over them? I can just move any non-DRM’ d mobi book to the Kindle via usb and it’s directly readable.
In fact, most of us convert non-DRM’d pdf and epub files to mobi format so we can read them on our Kindles. (But I realize I am probably missing an important area here.)
In terms of prediction the doom of Mobipocket, you’re about sixteen months behind the times.
You ought to worry about the fate of the Fictionwise eReader format (as opposed to the B&N version) now.
grr, predicting the doom of…
I still use the Alpha version of the Jave Mobipocket reader on my Sony W995. Things have come full circle: from my Palm Centro running Mobipocket to the various e-ink devices I have owned and back to my Walkman phone running Mobipocket. It works rather well despite being an alpha; the biggest problem with it is that is very finicky about having more than one dictionary and about the way I add books. Other than that it is quick and versatile. It’s actually better than many eReading programs that get released for smartphones these days, which lack functions like search, dictionary, and annotation.
Chris Meadows –
I’ve been mourning the death of eReader since April. Yes, the site is still active, but I don’t believe B&N Corporate has restored any of the A5 titles that left on 4/1 and have been given no indication from their ‘customer service’ that they will be returning, ever. As I have been a happy eReader customer for many years and have spent literally thousands of dollars with them, this breaks my heart. As I had also been a loyal B&N customer for many more years than that, I am beyond pissed off. I cheered when B&N bought FW/eReader, knowing that at long last the ebook floodgates would open. I was right, but not for long.
I lusted for an iPad from the moment it was announced, but waited to make the purchase decision until I stood in the store on release day with one in my hands and found the eReader app in the app store. Imagine my dismay to get home and find the eReader software I’d spent so many happy hours with on my Palm was a pile of crap on the iPad. eReader ‘customer service’ strikes again: “We have no plans to update the software”.
So they’ve killed my book store. They’re not providing updated support which would enable me to read the hundreds of books I already bought on the larger device (the purpose for which I bought the thing).
Consequently I have voted with my wallet. I have abandoned eReader.com (not a huge step as there isn’t a lot left there anyway. I have abandoned B&N stores, both online and physical. Unfortunately, this leaves me pretty much at a loss for an ebook home. I like Diesel, but they’re still struggling with the A5 and buying more .pdb books for a nearly unreadable app isn’t gonna happen. I hesitate to buy a different format until I find something with a good, functional app and that I can trust will be supported for a while…not to mention decent pricing and a large, varied catalog.
I am so angry at the wonks at B&N for trying to force me into the Nook universe and nuking my happy reading world. I used to buy three to five books a week. Since April I’ve bought three, all from iBooks, which has a *lovely* reading app but the store itself completely bites. Beside that, I would like to give some of my money to a non-conglomerate like Diesel.
I feel like my brain is starving to death.
Update, 7/20/10: Will wonders never cease. eReader.com has released an update to their Apple app, making it ‘native’ to the iPad. The appearance is very sharp, it has a nice set of controls and makes excellent use of screen real estate.
No change in the eReader.com book store, it’s still severely A5-anemic, but wow it sure is nice to be able to read the hundreds of titles I already own without my eyes bleeding. Better late than never.
Hey Brandi, That’s right. ~ Better late and never. Diesel still has some tricks up our sleeves yet. BTW. We’ll have some more Agency Five announcements shortly. Stay tuned.
The Zune concentrates on being a Portable Media Player. Not a web browser. Not a game machine. Maybe in the future it’ll do even better in those areas, but for now it’s a fantastic way to organize and listen to your music and videos, and is without peer in that regard. The iPod’s strengths are its web browsing and apps. If those sound more compelling, perhaps it is your best choice.
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