Barnes and Noble Moves to ePUB

Gear Diary is reader-supported. When you buy through links posted on our site, we may earn a commission at no cost to you. You can learn more by clicking here.

cvr_confused_0azg

Teleread received a tip from one of their readers that books downloaded from the Barnes and Noble eBook store are coming in ePUB now, instead of the legacy PDB format used by eReader/Fictionwise.

It also seems that Teleread is jumping on the “eReader is generic” bandwagon, since they point out that even Barnes and Noble can’t keep them straight.

From Teleread:

Now here is where the lamentable tendency many have of calling e-book readers “e-readers” (or, using Barnes & Noble’s studlyCapped form, “eReaders”) really comes back to bite the consumer. Because what B&N obviously means is “works with the e-book reading devices you already own (as long as they’re one of these four)” but what the consumer is going to see is “works with the eReader™ you already own.”

And so if the consumer has one of the devices eReader supports that are not iPhone, Blackberry, Windows, or Mac—to be precise, this includes Android, PalmOS, old Windows CE, new Windows Mobile, Symbian, and OQO—he is basically out of luck, and has no way of knowing this until he’s already sunk the cash.

So to clarify: If you want to read an eReader(TM) book, you can read it in the B&N program or in the official eReader(TM) program. If you want to read a new B&N eBook, you can only read it in the B&N program, which they are helpfully also calling an eReader, though not the same one. Despite the fact that B&N owns eReader AND B&N eBooks. So who’s on first?

Have you found your B&N books are showing up in ePUB now? Are you reading on a platform that doesn’t support B&N yet, but has an eReader(TM) program? Share your experiences below!

As an Amazon Associate, we earn from qualifying purchases. Thanks for your support!

About the Author

Zek
Zek has been a gadget fiend for a long time, going back to their first PDA (a Palm M100). They quickly went from researching what PDA to buy to following tech news closely and keeping up with the latest and greatest stuff. They love writing about ebooks because they combine their two favorite activities; reading anything and everything, and talking about fun new tech toys. What could be better?

1 Comment on "Barnes and Noble Moves to ePUB"

  1. I found when loading up the eReAdEr software on the Droid that I could grab my eReader stuff but not the Fictionwise books … or was it the other way around … AAAARRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!

Comments are closed.