JUNE 2022 PCWorld 27on the latest models. Meanwhile competitors
like Onyx (fave.co/3ywlKeS), Xiaomi (fave.
co/3yBxInr), and Pocketbook (fave.
co/3svZq12) have been offering tons of new
tech and form factors. These more versatile
devices generally run Android, meaning they
can access Kindle libraries via Amazon’s app
on top of easily loading up DRM-free files.
That’s saying nothing of innovations like color
e-ink and stylus support.
In the small but dedicated niche of ebook
power users, Amazon is often the very last
choice. Hopefully this change signals that
Amazon is ready to stop relying on its market
position and actually compete on features.
Our roundup of the best Kindles (fave.
co/3cc10wH) can help you find the perfect
model for your needs.few short seconds, either via the desktop or
uploaded on the web. The change was
spotted by Good E-Reader (fave.
co/39lug5Z). It was previously possible to
convert ePub files to another format, like
Mobi, then manually transfer them to Kindle
via USB or the Documents Service, without
too much difficulty. But the new change
means that you can do all of that without any
third-party software.
Kindle refusing to allow easy use of the
most common open digital book standard
was a glaring downside to Amazon’s mostly
closed system. An analogy might be the
Sony-branded MP3 players from the early
2000s which didn’t actually play MP3s (fave.
co/3MjxIwo), instead insisting users convert
all their music to the proprietary ATRAC
format. Amazon
announced support for
ePub files in the Send To
Kindle and Kindle
Documents Service earlier
this year (fave.co/39lug5Z).
This is entirely
speculative on my part, but
it seems to me the
widening market of ebook
readers is making Amazon
sweat a little. Kindle models
have iterated in teeny-tiny
increments for years, only
gaining USB-C charging
support (fave.co/3tYgr5x)
Amazon’s competitors, like Onyx (pictured here), have been offering
loads of new tech and form factors.