What Digital Formats Do You Prefer?

Hello Early Reviewers! I recently received a communication from one of our participating publishers, asking what the more popular digital formats were, when it came to giveaways.

Naturally, I realized that I wasn't sure! I do know that some of you have expressed dislike for the PDF format, which you find difficult to read. But which formats do you like? Does the format in which the book is available influence your decision to enter a specific giveaway?

My preferred formats are .mobi (Kindle) and .epub. The format does matter. I've previously accepted .pdf ebooks for reviews and regretted the decision. I'm wary of .txt for anything large. Any formats I don't recognize, I'll avoid, not knowing how they'll look on any of my devices.

I rarely request ebooks because it is never clear what formats will be available. Unless the book is .mobi (Kindle), I will need to read it on a computer (or do some gymnastics with converting which may or may not work very well). And that's not something I am willing to do for complete books...

I like epub because I prefer to read on my nook, but mobi is fine since I also own a kindle. I've gotten a few PDFs that were formatted well enough to read with little trouble, but generally they are a bit of a nightmare.

I prefer Kindle (.mobi) as it is easier to transfer and read. Sometimes PDF will open okay but sometimes difficult to read.

Mobi and epub work best for me. I can read a pdf, but it's not as enjoyable.

I prefer .epub because I have a Kobo eReader. I know there are ways of converting .mobi to .epub - I've just never done it. Most of my ebooks are either from the library or Early Reviewers, and so far I've been able to get .epub from both.

I'll take PDF if that's the only way to read something, but I don't like it :)

The only ebook I've ever requested through ER was a .pdf and it was fine. However, I did run right out and order the hardcover. ;-))

(It was Gone: A Photographic Plea for Preservation.)

The only PDF I've tried is a book I received here and it was a little harder to read than the mobi files (I think?) I've gotten on my Kindle.

it depends. Fiction is more easily readable in azw3/epub, depending on having or not a physical Kindle. For manuals and the like, pdf is far better, since it mimicks a paper book where the actual positioning of the text matters. I am told that cbr/cbz are great for comic books, but I read them only on paper :-)

.mobi for my Kindle, please.

I need to be able to read the book on a kindle. No strange apps.

I don't think I've ever gotten an ER ebook where Kindle wasn't an option, so I always do that. Most have been good, though for some, the formatting was weird. (Dark Currents was the one where I noted it in my review.)

fhudnell (#12):

ePub (used by most non-kindle readers) is hardly "strange".

AbigailAdams (#1):

I think that as long as both ePub and mobi (kindle) formats are available the vast majority of people should be covered. As always, format should be clearly specififed. If I requested an ebook and it came in a format I cannot read (i.e. only in Kindle format), I would mark it as unreceived and move on.

Kindle or EPub. And have Early Reviewers in the subject line of the Email so it doesn't get lost.

ePub is my preference. My software (both for PC and Android) will read .mobi as well, but the experience is a little more clunky. I think ePub includes the cover image, but .mobi doesn't?

I'll tolerate .PDF, but not on a mobile device.

>16 MHThaung: Files in .mobi format can include the cover image as well as those in .epub, but like for any ebook file, the publisher must add the image and the ereader must recognize it.

epub for preference. pdf if necessary. mobi I'd have to convert which is ok, but adds hassle. (Calibre does this well).

>18 reading_fox:

epub for preference. pdf if necessary. mobi I'd have to convert which is ok, but adds hassle. (Calibre does this well).

I'd agree with this priority list, with a minor footnote: If it's a technical book, PDF may be necessary for layout reasons. Sometimes the text and the illustration really have to go together in a precise relationship, and this doesn't work with epub.

For fiction, text or rtf is actually fine, because that means I can truly format it my way. But I almost never request fiction. (And, to be honest, I almost never request electronic forms, because it rarely works well for the sorts of extremely obscure books that I'm most interested in. :-)

I prefer the epub format, as I usually use my Kobo to read, but I can convert mobi using Calibre. PDF works, but is usually not as good a reading experience.

For fiction I would have no preference between epub and mobi because calibre makes it almost trivial to go back and forth between them.

But as >19 waltzmn: says, for technical books, PDF is usually necessary for layout reasons. And PDF generally means I'm restricted to reading on a computer rather than any "portable" device. Since I'm mostly interested in technical books, I've pretty much given up on requesting non-paper books.

>17 aspirit:

Thanks for the clarification. I just remember it being straightforward to create .ePubs with the cover included, but .mobi being rather hit and miss. Though it doesn't bother me if the ebook doesn't include the cover. Anyway, I'll stop straying off-topic.

.epub please! PDF is also ok.

Since I detest anything Amazon, I don't have a Kindle and avoid the .mobi format in general, apart from the converting hassle (as reading_fox said)

I have a supremely outdated ereader so I like PDFs because it can read those, and I can be flexible with the file. I don't know about newer file types but if I can read it on my iPhone, it'll do.

I think for most readers it would be based on what device they read on.

I have a Galaxy tablet, so I use Librera, which handles all formats, including some I don't really see except outside the US.

PDFs do tend to be the most flexible, as WeeTurtle said, since most every device has some form of PDF reader on it. My favorite format is .epub, but that's just my personal take.

I'm late to the game, but I like epub. It works well on my android tablet. There are many free readers with features to choose from. I happen to like Cool Reader. I like it better than pdf because the epub readers allow you modify font, font size, background and even have the reader read to you (with some odd occasional pronunciation quirks).

Just my 2 eur-cents. ;) I like epubs the most. Work directly on my Kobo e-reader, where pdf's often result in unreadable screens.