So the fancy footwork before they get up in each other’s grills…
In May 2008 Mobipocket president and CEO Martin Gorner said Mobipocket would release updated readers for the various platforms, as well as release a new reader for the Apple iPhone by the end of the year. iPhone and iPod Touch owners cannot read DRM-locked Mobipocket books without bypassing the encryption and breaking the law.
Amazon’s new Kindle 2 uses Mobipocket file format. (I know, Kindle 2 won’t be available until 4-6 weeks after Feb. 9 when it’s released.)
Amazon owns Kindle 2 and Mobipocket.
So far the updated Mobipocket Reader for iPhone and iPod Touch has not appeared. Is Amazon holding it back until after the release of their Kindle 2? Or are they holding back their competition for the sake of, well, competition. All’s fair in love and war, type of thing, yah?
You’d think these companies would understand the rules of the free market economy as it applies to the Internet. Competition is good for everyone. If you don’t play fair the Internet Consumer will punish you by Googling your competition or by pirating your digital goods and making them available for free.
For Amazon to overlook this reality is unbelievable when considering the competition is one in which they will win both ways. That means they can’t lose.
They can’t lose by giving iPhone users a Mobipocket Reader capable of unlocking DRM eBooks because that will encourage the happy iPhone users to buy said eBooks from Mobipocket instead of sharing cracked versions illegally. (I repeat, Amazon owns Mobipocket.) And reading eBooks on the smaller iPhone screen will not be for everyone. Since, iPhone users are comfortable buying expensive handheld gadgets doesn’t it stand to reason that iPhone users who are interested in reading eBooks on bigger viewing screens would be more likely to put out the cash for an item like Kindle 2?
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[…] As mentioned before iPod is still waiting for its Mobipocket Reader for the very suspicious reasons mentioned here. […]