Only Amazon Kindle ereaders can open Kindle (AZW) ebooks. An open industry group IDPF had been established as well to manage the development of the new standard. It was known as OEB, but by 2007 it had developed into Epub. Already in 1999, the first version of Epub was created. For instance, Microsoft was active in developing ebook technology in the early days of the world wide web. The Mobi format is regarded as a subset of AZW that Amazon has developed further.Įbooks existed before the Kindle was launched. The French company Mobipocket had created an ebook file format Mobi that is still compatible with Kindle products. The origins of this Kindle ebook file format is in Mobipocket that Amazon had acquired earlier. AZW is a proprietary file format whose specifications only Amazon knows in detail. In 2007, when Amazon launched the Kindle ereader and the Kindle ebook store, the company had decided that AZW was the file format for ebooks it marketed. The mighty online store deserves all the credit for creating the market for ebooks about ten years ago with its investment in marketing of ebooks.

Why? Well, to be blunt, the reason is Amazon. There are popular devices that can’t open some types of ebooks. This is not the case with ebooks and ereaders.

I mean, if I buy a new computer, tablet or phone, and connect it to the internet, I can read all the published pages online – it really doesn’t matter which brand my device happens to be. The long answer is worth reading as well, because there are tips for power users.Īfter having ebooks as mass market products ten years, file formats still cause confusion. This is a question we hear often and see frequently in our inbox: which e-reader is able to open common ebook formats? Can the Kindle do everything, is Kobo better, or Sony the best? The short answer is quite simple: you have to choose your side.

Do kindles read epub