The Mobipocket format (PRC, based on the OeB format) and the Mobipocket Reader could be used on any PDA, and also on any computer from April 2002.
In October 2001, the Mobipocket Reader received the eBook Technology Award from the International Book Fair in Frankfurt, Germany. Mobipocket partnered with Franklin for the Mobipocket Reader to be available on the eBookMan along with the Franklin Reader, instead of the initially planned Microsoft Reader.
The Mobipocket Web Companion was a software (for a fee) for extracting content from partner news sites. The Mobipocket Publisher was used by individuals (free version for private use, and standard version for a fee) or publishers (professional version for a fee) to create ebooks using the Mobipocket DRM technology for controlling access to copyrighted ebooks. The Mobipocket Publisher could also create ebooks in LIT format for the Microsoft Reader.
In spring 2003, the Mobipocket Reader was available in five languages (French, English, German, Spanish, Italian) and could be used on any PDA, computer and smartphone. 6,000 titles in several languages were available on the website of Mobipocket and in online partner bookstores. Mobipocket was bought by Amazon in April 2005.
# EPUB, a new standard
In April 2005, the Open eBook Forum was replaced with the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), et OeB was replaced with EPUB, an acronym for «electronic publication». EPUB allowed the reflowing of text depending on the size of the screen. Recent PDF files (PDF being another standard for ebooks) have been compatible with EPUB.
2000 > EXPERIMENTS BY BEST-SELLING AUTHORS
[Summary] In July 2000 began the electronic self-publishing of “The Plant”, an epistolary novel by Stephen King, who was the first best-selling author to launch such an experiment. The author began publishing “The Plant” in episodes on his own website. The chapters were available at regular intervals and could be downloaded in several formats (PDF, OeB, HTML, TXT). After the publication of the sixth chapter in December 2000, the author decided to stop the experiment, because more and more readers were downloading the chapters without paying for them. Stephen King went on with digital experiments though, but in partnership with his publisher. Digital experiments were also made in Europe in November 2000, by Frederick Forsyth, the British master of thrillers, whose latest short novels were published online by Online Originals, and by Arturo Pérez-Reverte, a best-selling Spanish author, whose latest novel was available online during one month before being available in print. In Brazil, Paolo Coehlo began offering free PDF versions of his novels in early 2003.
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In 2000, Stephen King was the first best-selling author to launch
digital experiments, followed by Frederick Forsyth and Arturo Pérez-
Reverte in Europe and many other then, for example Paolo Coehlo in
Brazil.