eBooks discussion
Kindle vs. Reader

Yes I think that it would be cool to wirelessly buy a book, (I am in Canada so I couldn't use a Kindle anyway, but it's not that big of a deal to plan and have a good number of titles on the device.


WOW!
Could not say it better!
Hardwired qwerty keyboard on ebook reader??? I wonder if a block who came up with the idea ever read a single book in his life? Curling comfortably on a sofa or arm-chair with a cup of tea or a glass of wine?



For me, I'm on my PC quite a bit, so I will almost always plug my Sony Reader in to the PC once a day to get RSS stuff for that day. (BTW, to get RSS on Kindle costs 1.99 per RSS... MONEY for a FREE blog?!?)

I really do agree: mine really looks stylish in that cover, like a real book. Unfortunately neither of them hasn't arrived to Serbian market so I can't make a proper comparison. As I could see on the web one has even to buy a cover for Kindle but books are cheaper for Kindle, although Sony has now support of Googlebooks ... the war is on and I hope customers won't suffer but only enjoy in it :-)

Also, the Kindle is not a good choice if you belong to a public library that supports ePub for borrowing.


True.
I still stick to my old PRS-505.

I totally agree. Works perfectly for me too. Although I must admit I would like some wireless on my reader because sometimes I like reading some news and for that I need to connect to my laptop and I am on my sofa under the blanket :-(




On top of that the Kindle would gain a huge competitive advantage by adding EPUB — it'd be the only reader on the market able to read both Mobipocket and EPUB.
I might be wrong, tho. :) Just guessing (and hoping) here, hehe.




I'd love it even more if it had wireless but I'd probably spend too much money on books if it did, so every cloud has a silver lining.
I wouldn't buy a Kindle until (a) you can buy the books from other sites than theirs; and (b) once you've bought it, they can't take it away again.
Rachel




I really can't say that I prefer one over the other. Like I said they both have their upsides and downsides. I like both, but would like to find a reader the combines the look and quality of the Sony including supporting epub & pdf and ability to borrow from the library, with the wireless download and better prices of the Kindle store. To me that would be the perfect reader. (oh & $100-150 price tag)!!!


But the Nook does not allow you to borrow books from the library just like Amazon. B&N wants you to buy ebooks from them. Is the Nook made of metal or is it plastic as well? It did look nice though in pictures I saw.

The new Sony PRS-900 fits you wireless/library need but is larger then the pocket reader.
I have a Sony PRS-505 and Amazon got their first ebook sale from me. I was reading an ebook of questionable origin and I noticed it was suffering from partial encryption which I understand is typical of decryption using Mobidedrm .5 or below.
I thought that this would be the time to try Kindle4PC and Unswindle.pyw. I downloaded the sample chapter, used Unswindle on it and the resultant chapter was error free.
The price was $6.39 so I bought it. I ran Unswidle on it. I changed font size, formatting and file type in Calibre. Now that it was just like I wanted it I transferred it to my PRS-505.
Without the available tools I never would have purchased this book from Amazon.
So I now have access to Amazon for 95% of their books. Only the regular azw files can be used at present. Their tpz books don't convert yet.
Good Reading!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to push the Nook. I don't even have an ereader yet. Now isn't a bad time to be on the sidelines watching how this plays out. For instance, Samsung announced a new reader today.

That's good to know about the Nook. that will put them a step ahead of Amazon I think by letting people borrow from their libraries. It looks like a nice little reader. I haven't seen one in person yet, but from the pictures I've seen. I really like the color bar on the bottom that has the book covers. Keep us posted when you by a reader and let us know what you think. I think you will become as addicted as the rest of us. I've read a ton more than I ever have in the past.



Bottom line is I am using less then half of the 208 meg of on board memory and have 272 books available on my reader. 3G might be nice for those who aren't tech savvy and will get all their books from the connected online store. But I don't see ever being in a spot where I suddenly need to acquire a book via 3G for reading.
When I finish the book I'm reading I'll have 273 hand picked books to choose from for my next read.
The only other advantage of 3G is auto delivery of news. I can do this using Calibre and have the news downloaded and automatically sent straight to the reader via USB.
I am looking forward to a full color non back lit e-reader. Hopefully the explosion of e-readers in the next two years will create the e-reader I will purchase next.

I'm quite keen on the 505 but it's nowhere to be found now. I played with a 300 and 600 in a store and thought that the smaller 5" screen on the 300 translated into a bit too many page flips. On the other hand, the price of the 600 is pretty steep.
This is just like an article that I read earlier which looked at the economics of ebook readers. It's conclusion was that one or two dominant readers was ideal for the market, whereas 4 competitive readers would cause consumer dissatisfaction because the consumer would be wishing they had features from a different device.

The new Sony PRS-900 fits you wireless/library need but is larger then the pocket reader.
I have a Sony PRS-505 and Amazon got their first ebook sale from me. I was..."
I just bought my sony- so school me on any tips you have if you don't mind! i am all ears--- where is the best place to get boos- the cheaper the better I am broke! Especially after my husband bought this for me!

Visit Mobileread Forum. It is the right place where you will find answers to most of your voiced and unvoiced questions :)

Head on over to MobileRead.com they have excellent forums with tons of folks who would be glad to school you. Also they have an extensive collection of free ebooks available in various formats including epub, lrf and prc. Prc isn't good for your reader but there is a forum for Calibre, a Free ebook management software that allows you to convert between various (DRM free) formats.
The nice thing about this group of free books is that they have been formatted and proof read by folks on the board.
Over at www.truly-free.org is a nice sampling of books, most of which are of questionable legality.
Come on over and visit MobileRead



New York used to issue library cards to non-residents for $100/year but I don't believe that is offered any more.
Since you are in IL, if you live close to Chicago see if you library has a reciprocal agreement with the Chicago Public Library. If so, you can can a Chicago card for free. You have to show your existing library card and they will call to make sure you are in good standing and will be issued the Chicago one on the spot.


The keyboard is only helpful if you are searching through the Kindle store or you are looking up something on Wikipedia. I've also used it when I want to look up a word in the dictionary, it's been useful then as well.

But the Nook does not allow you..."
Rachel wrote: "I've had a Sony PRS-505 for a year now, and I love it.
I'd love it even more if it had wireless but I'd probably spend too much money on books if it did, so every cloud has a silver lining.
I wou..."
I had a Sony PRS-600, and I recently bought a Nook. The Nook I think is the best of both worlds. I can load all my previous e-pub and pdf books as well as borrow books from the library. I've had the Nook for three weeks now, and I had no problems with the Nook. I am however only familar with the latest firmware version 1.3.

But the Nook doe..."
So they do allow you to borrow from the library. Have you tried it yet? I know on the Sony, for some reason, you can't have both a pdf book & an epub book checked out at the same time from the library. Is the Nook easy with library borrowing?

I chose the Sony device over Kindle because I did not want wireless shopping. Too easy to impulse buy and blow the budget. I have a weakness for nonfiction and author interviews on the radio or TV can really trigger a purchase with me. However, I don't watch TV anymore. Marketers must hate me.

I am using ver 1.02 and have added the center joypad button as a page advance button.
They are finishing up the beta testing of 1.1 and it includes a dictionary located in internal memory, option to set default zoom size so it starts with large or medium font setting vice small. When they complete the beta I'll update my device again.
http://code.google.com/p/prs-plus/
http://www.mobileread.com/forums/show...

I just bought a 600 for $100 from Borders. Not 100% sure I'll actually get it as it was a mistake on Borders site. But it does look promising.

Oh yes almost forgot another important reason that I bought Kindle:I couldn't use original Sony eBook store from Serbia and got bored of buying and converting books from Amazon or WHSmit's.
Just my highly opinionated view.