I recently received this request for help with reading an Adobe eBook format on the iPad:
I have tried to download purchased epub files to my ipad by following
the instructions for itunes. I’ve added the book to my library and
then synced the books. The book shows up on my ipad but when I select
that book to open it I get an error message that reads: “Cannot open
(name of book). It is formatted incorrectly, or is not a format that
iBooks can open” I don’t understand why this is not working. These are
purchased books that I downloaded from the internet into Adobe Digital
Editions. Then I added the epub file to my library in itunes. Getting
very frustrated. Please help!
I did a bit of research and wrote back with the reply you see below. The app I suggest may be a solution to the problem of reading these copy protected eBooks on the iPad. I also include a few articles that will help you to learn more about using the BlueFire Reader app, Adobe DRM and how to deal with it.
Unfortunately, those eBooks you purchased (Adobe Digital Editions) come with DRM – Digital Rights Management. This is a copy protection format the book vendor uses. These cannot be opened in iBooks on the iPad. However, you can try an iPad app called Bluefire Reader to open and manage these Adobe DRM eBooks.
More on using this app here:
http://www.bluefirereader.com/using-library-books.html
More on dealing with eBooks with Digital Rights Management (DRM) here:
http://ebookfriendly.com/2012/03/06/what-is-adobe-drm-and-how-to-deal-with-it/