Amazon Embraces HTML5 for New Ebooks

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Amazon is gearing up to introduce a new, HTML5-based ebook format called Kindle Format 8, the company announced Friday.

KF8 is an improvement over the current Mobi 7 standard, with new features that allow publishers to create richer formats and add more advanced design elements. The emphasis on visuals will play well on tablets and advanced ereaders. Amazon touted KF8′s ability to produce better childrens picture books, comics and graphic novels.

The new format is currently limited to Amazon’s newest device, the Kindle Fire. The rest of Amazon’s readers and tablets will get full KF8 functionality in the coming months.

The HTML5-based ebook format is clearly moving in on Apple’s hold of the tablet market, which famously dropped support for Flash in favor of HTML5 elements. However, despite Apple’s preference for HTML5, it has yet to add HTML5 support to its iBooks publishing system, reports Apple Insider.

Amazon’s line of Kindles were the top ereaders, but quickly lost ground with the introduction of Apple’s iPad and a slew of high-tech, tablet competitors. The Kindle Fire is Amazon’s first shot at making a tablet device. It will need more than advanced graphics and HTML5 formats to dominate the top position.

Is KF8 big news or was an HTML5-based format inevitable for Amazon? Can the Kindle Fire beat the iPad? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of Flickr, Raccatography

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