Kindle Store "on-page writing" for Scribe

[mikeschr]

There's a selection of books in the Kindle Store, mostly puzzles, that now say they offer "on-page writing".
I downloaded samples of "Posh Crosswords 100 Puzzles" and "Pocket Posh Easy Sudoku 3" and the writing toolbar doesn't appear on either one, nor does the option to show the toolbar.
Has anyone else tried downloading any of these books? Do they show the writing toolbar for you?

I have the latest Scribe firmware 5.16.2

[jhowell]

I took a look at Pocket Posh Sudoku 18. $7.99! Does anyone else think these books are overpriced?

The listing for that book shows, "Available only on Kindle Scribe (1st Generation)." I don't have a Scribe but I was still able to add the free sample of that book to my library. Trying to download it to my Kindle Oasis or the Kindle apps for iOS or Android results in a popup error:

Unavailable for Download
The item is not compatible with this device.

So apparently even the free sample can only be delivered to a Scribe.

It is odd that Amazon allows Write-on eBooks to be delivered to a Scribe but not regular print replica books. I wonder whether there is something different about the internal format these new Write-on books.

If someone does purchase one of these I would be interested in seeing the contents of the associated .sdr file from a Scribe to look for any metadata of interest.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jhowell

I took a look at Pocket Posh Sudoku 18. $7.99! Does anyone else think these books are overpriced?

The listing for that book shows, "Available only on Kindle Scribe (1st Generation)." I don't have a Scribe but I was still able to add the free sample of that book to my library. Trying to download it to my Kindle Oasis or the Kindle apps for iOS or Android results in a popup error:

Unavailable for Download
The item is not compatible with this device.

So apparently even the free sample can only be delivered to a Scribe.

It is odd that Amazon allows Write-on eBooks to be delivered to a Scribe but not regular print replica books. I wonder whether there is something different about the internal format these new Write-on books.

If someone does purchase one of these I would be interested in seeing the contents of the associated .sdr file from a Scribe to look for any metadata of interest.

I purchased this book to see if I could remove DRM: yes you can. I'll get you an .sdr.

It's overpriced, especially since you can get infinite supply at https://krazydad.com/sudoku/

And you pay for a bunch of Easy puzzles that are a waste of time.

I speculate that it is a business/marketing decision on Amazon's part to withhold other Print Replica content: they're saving it for a Back To School Scribe promotion, perhaps in July (it would help if they finished the Markup PDF feature by then).

Ironically Pen toolbar does not appear for the Sample. I don't know if this was publisher's decision or some technical issue.

I tried compressing the entire sdr folder but too big to upload. Attaching the metadata.kfx, maybe that is enough?

[jhowell]

Originally Posted by tomsem

I tried compressing the entire sdr folder but too big to upload. Attaching the metadata.kfx, maybe that is enough?

Thanks! Luckily Amazon does not encrypt the metadata.kfx file so quite a bit can be learned from it.

From the metadata it appears to be a regular print replica book based on a PDF provided by the publisher. The original PDF has been split into seven parts so that the book can be opened while the download is still in progress, a feature of KFX. The KFX files holding those PDFs will also be in the .sdr folder, which explains why it is so large.

Everything in the metadata is consistent with a KFX print replica book. There is no technical reason why that book should not download and display in the Kindle for iOS or Android apps. Of course the user experience would suck without the ability to write on the book so it is understandable why Amazon limits downloading it to Scribe devices.

Originally Posted by tomsem

I speculate that it is a business/marketing decision on Amazon's part to withhold other Print Replica content: they're saving it for a Back To School Scribe promotion, perhaps in July (it would help if they finished the Markup PDF feature by then).

That is a reasonable assumption. This is normal print replica book and it works. There appears to be no technical reason why other books in print replica format should be excluded from delivery to Scribes.

[tomsem]

Originally Posted by jhowell

That is a reasonable assumption. This is normal print replica book and it works. There appears to be no technical reason why other books in print replica format should be excluded from delivery to Scribes.

It may also be the case that they also plan to do some performance tuning before 'going wide'. First impressions and all that.