O'Reilly Ebook Bundles: Mobipocket
It's hard to dispute that Amazon's Kindle has sparked renewed interest in Ebooks, and we want to make sure oreilly.com customers with Kindles can read our Ebooks. The Kindle cannot currently read the industry-standard EPUB files directly (though we hope that will change), so the Ebook bundle includes a Mobipocket file, which can be read on the Kindle.
Because the Kindle and other similar Ebook readers (like the Sony Reader and the iRex Iliad) are still relatively new technologies, there are frequent inconsistencies with how some page and text elements are rendered. For example, while the Kindle 2 does have basic table support, the first Kindle does not currently support tables. Both generations of Kindle recieved an update in February 2009 that gave them the monospace fonts necessary to better render computer code. Because we know there are times when you'll need to know exactly what the author meant in a particular line of code or table cell, our Ebook bundles include a PDF of the book, which is a faithful representation of the printed book.
O'Reilly in the Kindle Store
In mid April, O'Reilly added 160 DRM-free titles to the Amazon Kindle Store. Kindle owners now have a choice between purchasing many O'Reilly books directly from Amazon or getting an Ebook bundle of three DRM-free formats with lifetime updates direct from oreilly.com.
Getting a Mobipocket Ebook onto your Kindle
Ebooks purchased from oreilly.com won't appear on your Kindle automatically, but are easy to put there using the USB cable that came with your Kindle or via email.
To add a Mobipocket (".mobi") O'Reilly Ebook to your Kindle:
- Turn your Kindle on
- Connect the Kindle to your computer using the USB cable that came with your Kindle
- Drag and drop the ".mobi" Ebook file into the
documentsfolder on your Kindle - When the USB activity indicator on your Kindle stops flashing, "Safely Remove Mass Storage Device" (Windows) or "Eject" (Mac) the Kindle from your computer
- When the USB activity indicator on your Kindle stops flashing, unplug the USB cable from your Kindle
- The O'Reilly Ebook should now appear in your Kindle library
For more on transferring files via USB or via the Kindle's email service see sections 8.2 and 8.3 of your Kindle User's Guide.
Using the Mobipocket Ebook with other devices
There are Mobipocket-compatible Ebook readers for a variety of devices, including Blackberries. We have not tested our Mobipocket Ebooks on any device except the Kindle, and at this time cannot provide support for customers using Mobipocket Ebooks on devices besides the Kindle.
Feedback Welcome
If you have a question or a comment about our Ebooks, please send feedback to booktech@oreilly.com or through Get Satisfaction.
