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Mobipocket for the iPhone/iTouch: Why not? It’s good enough on my Blackberry
May 21, 2008 | 9:08 am
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By Joe Wikert
A Mobipocket app for the iPhone will appear later this year, as Kevin Tofel noted in a blog post. He then went on to question what sort of impact this will have on the Kindle. A couple of readers commented that the reading experience on a Kindle is much better than an iPhone/iTouch, and the readers also noted that Amazon owns Mobipocket, so they’re not likely to kill their own device.
True and true, but now that I’ve been using Mobipocket on my Blackberry for a bit, I have to admit there are many other factors that come into play. The first one is price. If you just spent several hundred dollars on an iPhone/iTouch, are you likely to spend another $399 on a Kindle? Sure, some people are gadget freaks and don’t mind spending this much, but I don’t think that’s true for the majority of us.
"Good enough" and convenient
Secondly, there are the "good enough" and convenience factors. Do I want to read from a computer screen or other non-E Ink display for hours at a time? No way, but what I’m finding with Mobi on the Blackberry is that I’m reading more at unusual times simply because my Blackberry is handy. I wouldn’t think of taking a book or a Kindle to the grocery store, but I’ve read a good chunk of The Last Lecture on my Blackberry there. Ditto for my daughter’s dance recital last night—what else are you supposed to do when your child is in one 2-minute segment of a 2-hour show?!
The Mobi experience on my Blackberry is plenty "good enough" for me and I suspect that will be the case for quite a few iPhone/iTouch owners. Plus, just like the Kindle, as long as I have a cellular signal I’m only a couple of clicks away from quickly downloading my next Mobi book.
Moderator: The Blackberry model in the photo may or may not be the one Joe uses. – D.R.
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Comments:
From Amazon’s perspective, the key is to control distribution. Amazon has got to be worried about disintermediation–i.e., publishers selling directly. Sure they’d love to make a fortune from selling Kindles, but if customers have to come to them to buy eBooks, even if that means going through the Mobipocket store rather than the Kindle store, they still end up ahead. I’m really curious why Amazon hasn’t included Mobipocket in the “other editions” section of its own Amazon store. Perhaps the people who manage the Amazon store haven’t gotten the word that Mobipocket is an Amazon company.
Rob Preece
Publisher, http://www.booksforabuck.com
(P.S., like most ePublishers, BooksForABuck.com sells both directly and through distribution (including mobipocket and the kindle store). On a per-book basis, our margins are MUCH higher on direct sales than sales through distribution because distributors tend to charge about 50% as their commission.)
“Secondly, there are the “good enough” and convenience factors. Do I want to read from a computer screen or other non-E Ink display for hours at a time? No way, but what I’m finding with Mobi on the Blackberry is that I’m reading more at unusual times simply because my Blackberry is handy. I wouldn’t think of taking a book or a Kindle to the grocery store, but I’ve read a good chunk of The Last Lecture on my Blackberry there. Ditto for my daughter’s dance recital last night—what else are you supposed to do when your child is in one 2-minute segment of a 2-hour show?!”
Absolutely. I find I do a lot more reading in Mobi on my Bberry simply because I have it with me 24/7.
I have been reading ebooks on my various mobile phones for years. I find the iPhone screen best of the lot by a long chalk. I like the upright format best, because like a newspaper or magazine column, this allows me to read at the fastest speed. I am hoping the iphone readers will evolve to allow me an even greater choice of paper texture and colour, font and typeface colour. I really enjoy ringing the changes!
Frankly I can’t imagine why anyone would want to lug around a Kindle! On eReader in my iPhone I can even look words up in the very comprehensive Webster College Dictionary.
My only gripe is that Mobipocket are not providing a reader for their DRM protected books. I have eight and am having to keep an old phone to read them on.
Amazon are doing something a bit dodgy when it comes to pricing. I was looking at a book the other day $26 on Mobipocket, $14 for a Kindle version. That’s just not right.