• Electronic books are designed for mobile devices and personal computers.pda and yellow book image by T.Tulic from Fotolia.com
  
  There are many electronic book formats available on the market today, and each has its strengths and limitations. Many formats only work with certain types of electronic readers, so the type of electronic format you need depends on whether you are using your computer, Smartphone or a dedicated reader such as the Kindle, Sony Reader or Nook. Not all formats display the same way across all devices, so options like touch screen page turning, bookmarking and tables of contents may not work on every reader type.
  
  

ePub

• A cross-platform (Windows, Macintosh and Linux compatible) format based on XHTML programming, the ePub electronic book format can be created by and read on a variety of proprietary and non-proprietary software, making it a widely used format for creating accessible electronic books. It uses the same basic programming as web pages, with special functions dependent on the skills of the programmer and the abilities of the reading device.
  
  

Kindle

• Amazon's Kindle is a popular electronic book reading device that has its own type of electronic book file denoted by the file extension .azm. AZM files have restrictions on the way they can be used based on digital rights management (DRM) procedures. These files are intended to be read only on the Kindle. The Kindle is designed to read these files and may also be able to read other file types but it may corrupt their formatting.
  
  

Adobe eBook

• Sony's reader and the Barnes and Noble reader known as the Nook both read Adobe ebook and PDF files. Adobe ebooks can also be read on Windows-based computers and Macintosh computers running OS X or newer systems. It offers bookmarking features but is considered less user-friendly than many other formats.
  
  

MobiPocket

• MobiPocket is an electronic book format designed for Windows-based PCs, laptops and mobile devices. In addition to reading books on your device, it offers simple bookmarking and instant table of contents features.
  
  

Palm

• The Palm electronic book format is similar to the MobiPocket format in features but can be used on mobile devices running Windows Mobile or iPhone and iPod Touch software as well as computers running Windows and Mac OS X.
  
  

Microsoft Reader

• Designed specifically for Windows-based operating systems, whether on computers or mobile devices, the Microsoft Reader format focuses on presenting clear, easy-to-read text optimized for the computer or device's screen. Other features include the software remembering where you left off when the book last closed and bookmarking options.
  
  

iBook

• Created for Apple's iPad, iBook format offers specialized touch-screen page flipping technology, aggregated bookmarking features, full color capabilities, last viewed page memory and a graphic user library interface. It is available only for specific Apple devices.