

Since then, both EPUB and MOBI have applied the same text-wrapping features, making them the best eBook formats of choice at present. (Wise move! Nevertheless, kudos to Amazon and Mobipocket for still being kind enough to share the code.) The tools came with user guides but without complete documentation of the specifications for both PRC and MOBI. Mobipocket SA created and shared free tools so that eBook publishers can utilize PRC files as binary wrappers for textual content based on OEB-standard HTML files. PRC was then relaunched as MOBI, and subsequently, as AZW from 2011 onwards. When Amazon acquired Mobipocket SA in 2005, it ended support for all PRC files, causing them to become virtually unreadable on every other reading software – except Amazon’s own Kindle. PRC files were initially used in Mobipocket Reader applications for Palm Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), Windows Mobile, Kindle, and Blackberry gadgets. This revolutionary eBook file featured reflowable text that adjusts to different screen sizes. It was not too long when Mobipocket SA released the PRC format in 2000, changing the world of digital publishing forever. This HTML-based format is EPUB’s earliest precursor and was developed by the Open eBook Forum, later known as the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF).

The EPUB format came into the picture on September 11, 1999, when David Ornstein brought out an eBook with a new specification, OEB (Open EBook).
