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Can you convert any ePub to the Mobi format? No. Try to convert a DRM-enabaled ePub from an Amazon competitor like Google into a Mobi file, or try to convert a library eBook into a Mobi file. Amazon's Kindle platform is a prime example of an evil, locked in system.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20101206/tc_yblog_tec...

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Amazon's own lock-in aside, how can it be blamed for not being able to import others' DRMd books? That's what the (others') DRM is for.

Allowing a standard, open format to work on the Kindle would make sense for users; Amazon currently chooses to disallow it. Imagine having a DVD player that could only play Amazon-formatted movies and not standard DVDs.

Buy an eBook "from Google's eBookstore, you'll be able to read it on your desktop PC, your iPhone, the Nook, the Kobo eReader, the Sony Reader, or a garden-variety flip phone — just not your Kindle."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/yblog_technews/20101206/tc_yblog_tec...

We can't read Amazon eBooks on other devices, or in applications not authorized by Amazon, which locks users in. Evil.

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