Please create an iPhone version of MobiPocket reader. Thanks.

Thanks for showing your interest in an iphone reader.

Hopefully this message will reach somebody in the MobiPocket company.

My name is Zachary Bedell, and I'm the author of the iPhone application BookShelf.

BookShelf currently has support for non-DRM Mobi files, and I'd VERY much like to add support for the DRM version. I'm prepared to comply completely with the current Mobi DRM system -- an unchangeable unique PID for each device and only files encrypted to that PID can be opened by a given device.

I have code that will provide Mobi-compatible DRM support, but I'm not prepared to release it given the current state of US law regarding DRM.

Would some one from MobiPocket be able to contact me about securing permission to implement your DRM scheme? I would be prepared to release a Mobi-DRM compatible version withing a few weeks time, assuming I won't be sued for it.

Please contact me via email at /support _at_ iphonebookshelf _dot_ com/. I'd also be happy to talk via telephone if it's possible that something could be worked out. Please email for the number (or send me a number and best times to reach MobiPocket) if that's possible.

Best regards,
Zac Bedell

Hello Zac

I will contact you by mail.

I don't want to be a nag, but have you tried to email me yet? I haven't got anything, but my spam filters are sometimes a bit over greedy.

Thanks,
Zac

The great thing about Mobipocket is that it always worked on my Treo. Simple to buy books, seamless sync, great desktop interface.
I wasted $10 bucks on the Iphone Bookshelf and have never been able to get it to work.

Zac offered help and seems like a decent guy, but the whole procedure was way too complicated and I do not have wifi in my home so the workaround procedure is useless for me anyway.

I can't get a refund...I just chalk it up "buyer beware".

Please develop a Mobipocket app for the Iphone. Somebody needs to do this the right way.

Let's do an iPhone MobiPocket Reader.

Un marché de 8'000'000 d'appareils
http://www.macgeneration.com/news/voir/131590/
devrait être un véritable appel au développement. Cela fait depuis 2006 que l'on lit des notes sur ce forum à propos de l'iPhone.

Dommage de devoir utiliser Stanza et non MobiPocket. (même si les "Fleurs du Mal" de Baudelaire, que j'avais acheté sur Mobipocket s'y trouve gratuitement).

Alors allez-y ... Yannick

Zac did a great job with Bookshelf for the iPhone. I totally disagree with recuts. Bookshelf has implemented some great features to have in an ereader. There is a lot of potential here. I use Mobipocket and think you are great too. The two of you should seriously consider a collaboration. maybe license out Mobipocket DRM technology to Zac. As a user, I suppose the details don't matter as long as it works. BTW: I also have purchased Stanza and have eReader. Mobipocket, would be great if DRM worked on all the platforms. I'm ready to buy MobiPocket formated books to read on my Bookshellf when it becomes available.

Read all the reviews. There are tons of people who are disapointed and feel completely ripped off after buying bookshelf. Mobipocket is a professional app...bookshelf is not.
If Mobipocket can't make it happen, they should partner with a real development company that can create a quality product.

jpbenoist wrote:

Zac did a great job with Bookshelf for the iPhone. I totally disagree with recuts. Bookshelf has implemented some great features to have in an ereader. There is a lot of potential here. I use Mobipocket and think you are great too. The two of you should seriously consider a collaboration. maybe license out Mobipocket DRM technology to Zac. As a user, I suppose the details don't matter as long as it works. BTW: I also have purchased Stanza and have eReader. Mobipocket, would be great if DRM worked on all the platforms. I'm ready to buy MobiPocket formated books to read on my Bookshellf when it becomes available.

Heh, being curious (but not owning an iPhone), I actually did google the reviews. They seem to boil down to "buggy beta software, but better than all the alternatives". This amuses me greatly. Out of curiosity, what software are you recommending?

In the itunes app store, make sure that you click the "most recent" tab to sort the reviews. That eliminates the developer manipulation of putting the good reviews of bookshelf at the top. Had I done that, I would have known not to flush my ten bucks down the toilet.


EReader for the Iphone is way better and free!!!
(disclaimer: I can only say that it is "way better" because I never got the bookshelf product to work)

I know this isn't an appropriate forum for bashing or supporting BookShelf. That said, I'm the author of BookShelf, and I'm going to post one message here in response and leave it at that.

First, for the record, there is no way that developers can respond to nor influence the display order of AppStore reviews. Apple sorts them by their own default criteria, and that's all there is to that. To the best of my knowledge, reviews that are marked "helpful" by other users tend to sort to the top. Again for the record, I have never voted for or against a review and never will.

Second, to the best of my memory, no one posting here against BookShelf has been bothered to email me (the author) to report any problems. If you have issues, I'd be delighted to fix them. Just drop me an email and let me know what's wrong. As mentioned above, I can't respond to AppStore reviews in any way, so bug reports or similar complaints there aren't going to get a response. You can email support at iphonebookshelf dot com any time. I read all messages personally, and I will reply to anyone who contacts me. And if you report a problem that's possibly within my power to fix, I'll fix it.

My apologies to the Mobi folks for the way this thread has devolved into a BookShelf discussion. I will have a forum up on the BookShelf site this weekend (it's currently Friday, 12-Sep-08), and I'd encourage anyone contemplating a response here to please hold off and leave this forum for Mobi users as I'm sure it was intended. You can air your opinions freely on my forums.

Thanks for to the Mobi admins for indulging me on this response.

Sincerely,
Zac Bedell

Edit to add: The forum is up now. Please flame me to your heart's content there.

Shame on Mobipocket for not pulling out all the stops and coming out with a Mobireader for iPhone. E-reader did this in a timely fashion. Why not you guys?

pendor wrote:

Hopefully this message will reach somebody in the MobiPocket company. My name is Zachary Bedell, and I'm the author of the iPhone application BookShelf. BookShelf currently has support for non-DRM Mobi files, and I'd VERY much like to add support for the DRM version. I'm prepared to comply completely with the current Mobi DRM system -- an unchangeable unique PID for each device and only files encrypted to that PID can be opened by a given device. I have code that will provide Mobi-compatible DRM support, but I'm not prepared to release it given the current state of US law regarding DRM. Would some one from MobiPocket be able to contact me about securing permission to implement your DRM scheme? I would be prepared to release a Mobi-DRM compatible version withing a few weeks time, assuming I won't be sued for it. Please contact me via email at /support _at_ iphonebookshelf _dot_ com/. I'd also be happy to talk via telephone if it's possible that something could be worked out. Please email for the number (or send me a number and best times to reach MobiPocket) if that's possible. Best regards, Zac Bedell

I have mixed feelings. You know, as with everything, Mobi is slow out of the gate and its software is ponderous. Still, I do have some interest in moving to the iPhone and have too many Mobi secure books to abandon the format entirely. (I won't ever buy another again.....) But I do wonder about continuing to perpetuate Mobi's obnoxious DRM policies. Far better to use this as a springboard to go in a different direction entirely.

pendor wrote:

BookShelf currently has support for non-DRM Mobi files

I don't have iPhone, but just out of curiosity (and maybe I will buy iPod Touch some day). Does BookShelf support all same features that real MobiReader does? Features that I mean are:
1. Frames
2. Searchable indexes
3. Hyperlinks between eBooks
4. JavaScripts