Aimed to make interactive and visually rich ebooks a reality for the Kindle Fire

Oct 21, 2011 16:31 GMT  ·  By

Amazon has made an interesting announcement in the form of its next generation ebook format, which it dubs Kindle Format 8 (KF8). The new format is designed to replace the aging Mobi 7, but it's also step in a new direction since KF8 relies on HTML5 and CSS3.

"We’re pleased to announce a wide range of new features and enhancements – including HTML5 support – coming in Kindle Format 8 (KF8)," Amazon announced. "KF8 is the next generation file format for Kindle books – replacing Mobi 7."

"As showcased on Kindle Fire, KF8 enables publishers to create great-looking books in categories that require rich formatting and design such as children’s picture books, comics & graphic novels, technical & engineering books and cookbooks," it explained.

This new format is aimed squarely at the upcoming Kindle Fire, the full-color tablet Amazon is shipping next month. But it seems that current e-ink based Kindles, which would be all of them except the Fire, will get support for the new format further down the like.

KF8 builds on the existing format, so most publishers should not be affected by the change. However, for those looking to build interactive or visually rich ebooks the new format proves a welcomed opportunity.

There is a trend, albeit a slow one, towards building interesting book hybrids that add interactivity and other interesting features that aren't possible with plain old regular paper.

Things will change and, especially with new tools that become available, more books like this should launch.

Amazon's choice, of relying on HTML5 and CSS3 for the new functionality may seem like an odd one, but it is a smart one. The company had to move beyond what the older format enabled and the options were to go with the existing and competing EPUB - out of the question - or to build everything from scratch - unnecessary since the web already provides most of what Amazon would have needed.

"Kindle Format 8 replaces the Mobi format and adds over 150 new formatting capabilities, including fixed layouts, nested tables, callouts, sidebars and Scalable Vector Graphics, opening up more opportunities to create Kindle books that readers will love," Amazon explained.