Showing posts with label EPUB. Show all posts
Showing posts with label EPUB. Show all posts

Sunday, 29 January 2017

MOBI FILES

In self-publishing and eBooks, we see the formats of ePub and PDF make a good mark. Because of versatility and range that they have, PDF and ePub are mostly used by publishers and authors to bring out their works. One other factor that works for these formats are that, they can be opened, read, and modified in almost on any device, application, platform, or operating system. Of course, each of these formats have their own pros and cons in regards to the reading features, book format support, device compatibly and much more. These were perhaps some factors in making a universal file format by name Mobi.

Mobi Files was initialy launched by a relatively unknown company by name MobiPocket systems which came about claiming an alround universal appeal for eBook formats. Yes, you had epub files which were almost as popular as PDF, or Docs and such, but they fell short in being robust when loaded with media files and enhancements. Hence, users needed something more than just the plain attributes of ePub files, and Mobi tended to come into the place.

Amazon, which was an internet giant by the time Mobi became a bit popular amongst avid ebook readers had already planned to get into eBook reading scene, with its intended reader, Kindle. Now, Mobi became the perfect fit for intended Kindle device as it was still at a stage where it could be tweaked to conform to the requirements of Amazon. Thus, an association with Mobi came out helping either of the parties. However, Amazon ignored one basic fact where, it could not make Mobi to be compatible with all the machines in the world. That still would become a forte of ePub. If you are an avid reader of eBooks you must know that broadly eBooks were being categorized into basic text matters form like Doc, PDF, HTML, etc or advanced multimedia laded eBook format like ePub, Mobi, CBR etc. Of course, with time the differentiation between these two forms have faded. Thus, Mobi came to be a greater option. 

Tuesday, 8 November 2016

OPEN EPUB ON PC

Epub is perhaps the most popular eBook format in the market, beating Mobi at its game over the years. Epub has been brought out International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF) and is maintained by them. They ensure that every ePub is created, designed and maintained as per the guidelines set down by the forum. Due to this ePub is mostly universally accepted, and compatible across various devices, as it is a base for eBook. The following are some of the eBook epub readers which are highly ranked:

1.       EPUB Reader: As the name implies, EPub reader is a clutter free, no frills, ePub reader available for free in the market. Having said that it is no frills attached, doesn’t undermine its capacity as an eBook reader, as it supports multi versions of ePub books, PDF’s and more. Also, with its robust conversion tools, ePub can also be converted into other text content formats.

2.       Calibre: An all stop shop for everything eBooks, Calibre has been delivering innovative features for conversion, purchase, highlights, annotations, bookmarks, etc. for eBooks, especially ePub files. They support epub files natively, and can also be used to share eBook files among different platforms and systems. If you are of course a writer, calibre can help you convert the epub file into Amazon Kindle supported Mobi file eBooks. All in one solution, Calibre makes everything related to eBooks super easy.

3.       Sigil : Sigil scores high in ease of use and intuitive user interface when it comes to processing eBooks, either free downloads from online or loaded into the device from external sources. Sigil and Calibre are perhaps the only two software tools which provide all the facilities a user might need in making, transferring, converting, re-converting, publishing and promting eBooks, moreover in the case of ePub. The ePub scanning codex in Sigil is more effective, as it can process multimedia ebooks, and even windows non-compatible ePub files.


However, apart from the above popular tools, you can also use Online tools like Google Play books, Amazon Kindle (when converted to Mobi), Nook reader, Kobo readers, Moon+ reader (especially for android smart devices) and more. Epub as referred to earlier is the most compatible multi-platform multi-device reflowable eBook format, and becomes a good option for avid eBook readers. This is one of the best methods to Open EPub on PC. 

OPEN MOBI FILES ON PC

The main advantage of having eBooks is that you can read them wherever you want, be it exclusive reader devices or windows/android powered devices. Thus, youcan read eBooks on smartphones, tablets, readers, and even PC systems. The following are some of the free softwares which allow you to open and read Mobi files in Windows PC:

1.       Sigil: This multipurpose eBook reader or converter, can work with any Windows version ranging from Windows XP to the latest Windows 10. Sigil is a free software and a bookshelf provider as well. Sigil has a good collection of eBooks in its library which can be accessed through the application. It supports inter convertibility of Mobi files into other formats like ePub, PDF, Doc etc.

2.       Amazon Kindle Application: The best eBook reader which can read Mobi files is Amazon’s native eBook reader called Kindle. You can download the application from Kindle store for your 32-bit or 64-bit systems. As Mobi is a native format for Amazon Kindle, the support for Mobi files is fully featured. As it were, earlier versions could read formats like PDF, ePub files as well. However, with the latest versions this support has been removed. The best thing about this Kindle application is that, once you login with your account, you can sync your reading habits across devices. Kindle uses a tool called as Whispersync, which allows for this sync.

3.       Mobi Pocket reader:Mobi format was initially brought out into the market, by MobiPocket systems, before getting acquired by Amazon. Hence, MobiPocket systems continue to support Mobi format by their native eBook reader called Mobi reader. Like the above-mentioned tools, this software can also be downloaded and installed for free. Beyond the usual features, Mobi Pocket supports highlighting, annotations, bookmarking, and page effects as well. Additionally,Mobi Pocket devices have their library of eBooks, across genres, which users can browse and download. 


Thus, you can Open Mobi Files On PCand get a more greater reading experience like never before. 

Saturday, 1 October 2016

How To Create Epub Files?

Since, we have a basic understanding of what EPUB files stand for, we now have to look at what it takes to actually create an Epub file. Usually, all the major document formats are capable of being converted into ePub format with minimal effort. However, the first step in converting them is to check for their DRM lock, as copyright protected text formats (say, a password protected or write protected PDF file) are difficult to convert into ePub format. Now, conversion of ePub is necessary if you want to enjoy eBook experience within a sleuth of eBook readers like Nook, Calibre, CBR Reader etc, and also further convert it into Amazon Kindle supported Mobi format as well.  Lets see how to create ePub files : 

1.      Online tools: There are many online format converting tools which actually change PDF, Doc with relative use. Though sites like FoxyUtils, Zamzar or ePub Changer, are all quick and free of cost, the quality is somehow missed in these. There can be a lack of text flow, quality discounting, and pages getting mixed up. However, for eBooks which have lesser number of pages, you may use these tools for quick conversion. 

2.      Desktop Clients: Apart from the above options, you may also download and install free softwares like Sigil, Calibre, etc which process your Doc, PDF files and result in outputting ePub. However, It is advisable that you use Doc files, which are highly supported by all the devices, for conversion. Many publishers also use HTML as the base format for conversion. This is done because, you can save textual material and images as separate folders in HTML, which helps in editing the whole documents in a split screen format. 

3.      Kindle Direct Publishing Tools: In addition to the tools above, Amazon also offers its own downloadable conversion tools, which can convert ePub to further Mobi format. Though it is not entirely converting into ePub category, you can still edit, view and process ePub file. The major disadvantages of using KDP conversion tools, is that you cannot save the resultant output in any other format except Kindle supported Mobi file. However, it still remains a robust option to edit, and format ePub files. 

4.      Using Softwares for High Quality eBooks: Now these above methods might work best if you have a major textual material that needs to be converted to eBooks. However, when animations, multimedia and high quality premium eBooks, are involved, these following tools can be used – Apache’s OpenOffice, Scrivener, Apple’s Pages for iOS and Mac, Adobe’s InDesign and QuarkXPress. These software’s offer high end convenience to convert, process and prepare the eBooks in EPUB format including graphical content. 

Thus the above tools answer the question of the topic, How to Create ePub files.

Wednesday, 28 September 2016

HOW TO READ EPUB FILES

The latest revolution in Book reading practice has been the introduction of eBooks. Ebooks have become the most convenient and easy to use book cultural option which makes buying, viewing, transferring and carrying millions of books ridiculouslyeasy. The major format which actually facilitates the change in culture, is PDF, Doc and ePub. EPub format introduced by International Digital Publishing forum, cam etc supersede the existing old digital book format. Thereby the new format supported the various technological content related changes, which included support for graphical inclusions, multimedia content, three layered depth enhancements etc. Thus, ePub became the household benchmark for the creation of highly engaging and involving reading experience.

The major advantage that ePub has at this point of time is its versatile nature. When we say versatile, we mean that ePub is by far the most compatible eBook format out there, extending support to all the major eBook readers. Of course, as with technology, over the years ePub underwent some changes, and eventually Amazon for its kindle devices preferred and adopted Mobi format (getting its base and roots from ePub) as its native eBook format. Having said that, ePub still is a go to eBook format for devices like Nook, Kobo, Google Books, Apple iBooks etc, which majorly covers all the eBook needs. The major features of ePub are – Reflowable content (scrolling pages), Support for Vectore designs (much like HTML), Resizable Fonts, Support for MathMl etc. Also, ePub format was a pioneer in introducing Digital Rights Management (even supporting third party DRM services as well). This feature authorized and secured digital publication work from illegal use all over the world. Let’s see the process involved in how to read EPub files:

The top device independent readers of ePub which are applicable both to windows and Mac OS X, are –

  • 1       Nook: NOOK is a completely free eReading application for many platforms, including Windows 8! Introduced by publishers of high repute – Barnes and Noble, this application is free to download and is compatible with all the major devices.
  • 2       Calibre : A one stop shop for all things ePub, is Calibre. With this not only can you red eBooks on android, windows and iOS devices, you can also, edit, convert and transfer eBook in ePub or other formats to other devices over web. Additionally, you can also register your work for DRM within this tool.
  • 3       EPUB Reader: What better way to read ePub books than to just download ePub reader. This native support reader adheres to all the layers and formats of ePub books and is the best tool to read them. Also, as it is built for responsiveness, EPUB reader works best if you have a touch device such as iPad or Windows tablet devices then this is your best option.


These are the devices and tools that answer the major question of the topic, how to read ePub files.