Looking at the prices of eink devices at wholesalers, this looks broadly accurate. They do seem to be selling at around wholesale cost - customers also get Amazon's fabulous support, free software updates, and high quality manufacturing.

Yet there is a curious anomaly. Why aren't Amazon selling ePub books?

Terminology

A quick diversion into the terminology used in this article.

• eReader - the physical hardware. Kindle, Kobo, nook, etc.
• eBook - the electronic file containing the words & pictures. ePub, Mobi, PDF, etc.

Background

There are, broadly speaking, two main formats for ebook - ePub and MobiPocket. Think of them like the difference between 8-Tracks and cassette tapes - they both hold music, but play on different system.

ePub works on just about every eReader on the planet - with the notable exception of the Kindle.

MobiPocket (or Mobi, for short) only works on the Kindle⁰.

Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive comparison of which device can handle which format.

So, we have a problem. The books you buy from Amazon can't be read on your Sony, Kobo, Nook, or Generic eReader. Well, they can, but you have to remove the DRM, covert the book to the ePub, and hope that everything works ok.

What a pain in the arse.

What Would Happen If...

Now, I'm not suggesting that the Kindle should be able to read ePub books. Obviously, it's technically capable of doing so - but it would mean that Amazon customers could compare prices with other retailers and start to leave the Amazon ecosystem.

What I'm suggesting is that Amazon should say "Buy this ebook for your Kobo" and deliver an ePub to those poor, unfortunate souls who haven't been blessed with a Kindle.

There are lots of statistics regarding eReader share. Some suggest that Amazon have a ~47% share of the eReader market in the US whereas the Kobo eReader has a 46% share in Canada, and 50% share in France.

Let's say that the Kindle has a worldwide share of 50%. Amazon has two options:

1. It can aggressively pursue that market share by producing more innovative, cheaper hardware, and hope to convert users to the Amazon flock
2. It can accept that some people don't want its hardware and start selling books directly to those users

Amazon claims that it makes more money from eBook sales than hardware. So why doesn't it expand its market to the 50% of eReaders which are currently not served by its store?

At the moment, customers with Kobo, nook, and other eReaders can compare prices across a number of eBook stores. What would happen if they could add Amazon to the list of shops they could compare with?

They've just announced a new app store - Ovi Store.  This is to replace the broken mess that is Mosh, N-Gage, Download and the current Ovi.  Why do I get the feeling that there are several fiefdoms within Nokia all working against one and other rather than working together?

So, let's take a look at the new service.

Nokia Ovi Store - Wow!

Wow... just wow. A blank page. Not even a "coming soon" message.  Lest you think I'm using some kind of shonky phone, I'm on a Nokia N95 8GB, firmware 20.0.016, in rather good HSDPA coverage.

You're supposed to be able to get to Ovi via the "Download!" application. I don't think I've used "Download!" since I first got the phone. On the surface it's a nice little App Store. If Nokia given it some love and attention, it would have got the recognition it deserved as the first integrated app store. As it is, it was left to die.

...please wait...

After 5 minutes of waiting for the "Download!" store to finish "Processing" I got bored. After 15 minutes nothing more had happened so I tried to cancel. Turns out you can't, so I rebooted the phone.

Never mind! I'll try going through the regular Ovi site.

Can you spot the store link?

No link to their brand new store. Hmmm.... odd.... Maybe I have to sign in to see it. Yes, that sounds plausible.

This isn't looking good...

Ok, a dodgy certificate isn't the worst error in the world. It's one of those things that says "We haven't tested our site and we really don't care if scary error messages put off our customers."

In any case, the sign in service doesn't work.

Ovi Error

Ah... Well, let's try again...

It just gets better and better

Right. So the site has no links and it doesn't work. Perhaps I imagined the Ovi Store launch? Let's check the Internet Oracle that is Google...

There's something there...

Google has found it! It must be there. Ok, so there's still a dodgy certificate - but I can't wait to start spending money with Nokia! Here we go!

Oh. Just another blank page.

So, there you have it, folks. The word "FAIL!" is overused, I feel. How about we agree to replace it with "NOKIA!"?

I love online check-in because it means that I don't have to faff around at the airport, I can choose my own seat, it reduces queueing and, because I usually only travel with hand luggage, keeps everything running quickly.

What I don't like is having to print off a boarding pass. I'm either nowhere near a printer or I find myself losing the pass in amongst all the other bits of paper I carry. Then, when I get to the airport, the pass is scanned and thrown away! What a waste!

Lufthansa now offer a really good solution to the problem. As part of online check in, you can given them your phone number. They then send you a text like this...

Clicking on the link takes you to a 2D barcode and your flight information. Like this.

I've just used the pass to get through security without any problems (I'm blogging from the airport) and I'll update if they let me on the flight :-)

This is such a smart solution. Imagine all the millions of tickets that get lost every day. I'm much less likely to lose track of my phone - and if I do, I can always get a paper ticket reissued. True, my battery could run out - but it's no more of a risk than spilling a drink over my paper pass.

Hopefully other airlines will start taking this up.

Oh, don't forget to visit Lufthansa's mobile site; they have loads of information and a selection of free ringtones and wallpapers.

You can try Lufthansa's Mobile Boarding Pass with their demo page.