Interesting Kindle/.mobi connection

[Dave]

Was anyone aware that Amazon's Kindle book files use ".mobi" as the file extension?

Maybe it'll subliminally get more people used to the whole idea of .mobi as an Internet extension as well...or then again, maybe it'll have no effect at all.

Just thought it was interesting...

[coast]

Nice observation, dagersh. I will investigate further. Repped.

[seanboy]

Do u have an example of this connection (web site, etc..)?

Just interested to see what they are doing. thanks!

[Gerry]

Could this be what Dagesh is referring to?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_pg_2?...3A.mobi&page=2

Look at numbers:

15
16
17

[Dave]

Here's a link just showing some file extensions, including ".mobi":

http://www.fictionwise.com/help/eBook-Formats-FAQ.htm

As you can see there, it's likely short for "Mobipocket" format...which is apparently what Kindle uses.

[kiwi]

Sony Turns the Page on E-Book Business Model
By Walaika Haskins
E-Commerce Times
07/25/08 8:47 AM PT

Sony has decided to make its PRS-505 Reader e-book compatible with the .epub file format, a growing standard that several book publishers have committed to support. This unties Sony's e-books from the company's own e-bookstore and allows third parties to sell Reader-compatible content....

The move is a significant step for both Sony and the e-book industry, Gartner (NYSE: IT) analyst Michael McGuire told the E-Commerce Times.

"Sony has had a rep over the years of being fairly proprietary," he said. "So this is a big move for Sony. But it's really very important for the overall digital book, e-book marketplace because aside from [Amazon's] Kindle, this is probably the leading device from the lead consumer electronics manufacturer that is a very well recognized brand."


Opening the Book

The device will be first e-book reader to support .epub files, the International Digital Publishing Forum's extensible markup language (XML)-based standard format for reflowable digital books and publications. With the format, publishers are able to use digital rights management in their content. They are also able to convert books into different formats and alter PDF-based e-books to fit within the dimensions of a reader's screen.

The Kindle supports its proprietary .azw file format as well as .mobi files.


Follow link to the whole article:

http://www.ecommercetimes.com/story/...ome=1217192672

[mediaadvantages]

removed

[Gerry]

Very interesting read.

To see Sony, Amazon, and .mobi mentioned in the same space regarding new technology is great!

This has now been labeled the Book Wars with Sony getting into the market.

And it specifically talks about formats and why Sony has decided to go open with theirs. It is basically a thumbs down to closed file extensions like amazon's .azw and a move towards acceptance on a broader scale. And .mobi is part of that broader scale and acceptance.

Sony's move toward greater openness with its Reader is a sign of growth, McGuire said.

"What you're seeing is maturation in Sony's view that what will keep you in business over time isn't necessarily having this locked-in proprietary technology -- Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) notwithstanding," he pointed out.

This move will give publishers a higher level of confidence in the long-term potential of the marketplace because they're seeing a major player support a standard like that, McGuire explained.

"Over time, that should help convince them that devices will start flowing out that are not pursuing different standards and could confuse customers," he added.

Anything the industry can do to unlock devices from particular formats will improve the entire industry, Chamberlain said.

"When consumers don't have to worry that they're going to end up with a dead-end hardware solution because the only compatible file type is in danger of extinction, it holds the mass market back greatly. That feeling of confidence is what most consumers are looking for," he continued.

The new openness from Sony, according to McGuire, will be seen as an important step -- if the market takes off.

"The short-term way to measure this is how Amazon reacts to this. Will this push them to be a little more open or at least support those formats? We'll see people try to push different formats in this sector as we did with music and the music players. But at some point there has to be a set of formats that all the readers are using," he noted.
__________________________________________

That last sentence is the keynote also for the future of .mobi.

We can and have confused the hell out of people wanting to view or use a mobile site with all the prefixes, suffixes, and sub-domains folks can come up with.

So I guess a great analogy is comparing the mobile internet and domain realm as being very similar to the countless music files...

Keep It Simple, Stupid! (KISS)

[HipHop.mobi]

keep fighting

[Javier Marti]

Isn't this about a file extension rather than an Internet (domain) extension?

[Gerry]

Isn't this about a file extension rather than an Internet (domain) extension?

Yes. Exactly.

A closed file extension. Proprietary.

Only amazon subscribers can use that file extension.

• Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
• More than 140,000 books available, including more than 98 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers.
• New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.

Or, they can use .mobi files from the daily downloads for free.

• Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
• More than 350 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.

If you go to Amazon and simply do a search for .mobi, you will see many Kindle choices come up (when you end up weeding through all the other crap)

I take this as being a good sign as it demonstrates that proprietary or privately held file extensions or programs are becoming a thing of the past.

I see direct correlation between these two subjects.

When we read this a little closer, basically Sony is saying hogwash on this idea. Why go with something closed? And the .mobi is already working with this technology.

As the author says, the next move is on Amazon and how they deal with their fee based subscriptions basically being given away for free.

Of course, that's just my view.