Support for HTML5 and CSS3 head the list of features announced by Amazon for the new Kindle Format 8 intended for creating graphics-rich content on the recently launched Kindle Fire.

Kindle Format 8 (KF8) is Amazon's new format for eBooks on the Kindle Fire, designed to provide the layout elements needed for picture books, comics, cookery books and technical books.

KF8 replaces Mobi 7 and adds over 150 new formatting capabilities, including fixed layouts, text on background images, embedded fonts, nested tables, callouts, sidebars and Scalable Vector Graphics. Consult the list of supported HTML tags and CSS elements for the details of the major enhancements.

While Kindle Fire will be the first device to support KF8, Amazon plans to make it available on the latest generation Kindle e-ink devices and free Kindle reading apps in the coming months.

According to the Kindle Format 8 FAQs, all books currently in the Kindle Store will be available on Kindle Fire. However, the next question:

Q: Will my existing Mobi files still work on Kindle e-ink devices and apps?
A: Yes. All currently supported content will continue to work.

 suggests that all future content for Kindle Fire should be in KF8.

We will have to wait for the new Kindle Publishing Guidelines to confirm this and for information on how to update existing titles to KF8.  to take advantage of new capabilities in KF8.

Also "coming soon", in an update to Kindle Publishing Tools, is KindleGen 2 a tool that will convert content so that it works on all Kindle devices and apps. This means that publishers won't need to prepare two versions of future titles but will be able to work solely with the new format.

Related news:

New Amazon Kindles - the developer's take

Kindle's World not on Fire

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