Two months ago, I was wondering which eBook format Windows 8 will support. Perhaps it’s still too early to tell. After all, the Windows 8 team only recently got around to releasing Windows Media Center in its pre-beta builds. Windows Media Center is, arguably, more central to the Windows 8 media consumption story, given its focus on movies, music and TV. That doesn’t stop me from being curious.
After looking at how Windows Phone 7 handles eBooks, I’m wondering if that provides a clue toward what Windows 8 will do. The short answer appears to be that Microsoft may be content to let third parties handle this issue. A quick perusal of the Windows Phone store reveals support for both the EPUB and Amazon Kindle formats.
Again, the eBook format shoe may drop later in the Windows 8 build cycle. The unknown is whether Microsoft will replicate the Kindle Store or iBookstore experience on the Windows 8 Store. If they do, they’ll have to make a decision. If Windows Phone 7 is any indication, they won’t. This is one case where taking no decision feels like a good thing.
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