eBooks discussion
Kindle vs. Reader
I like the Sony as well. More so because I can get books from a variety of sources. My public library, the publishers ebook sites, Sony, etc. I like the fact that it supports the open standards more than anything. 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.
Love my Sony. The only downside I see is the inability to download books on a whim. But I can wait to go home and make sure I really want the book. A friend of mine just got a Kindle, so I got to touch it. I think the WiFi is convenient if you wnat to look something up--but I thought the Kindle was awkward to hold, and read with. The Sony is less expensive, but the books are slightly more expensive from the Sony E-bookstore. Sony e-bookstore seems to have more books to choose from. I vote Sony.
Doreen wrote: "IMO the Kindle is all about shopping. The Sony Reader is all about reading. "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?
I have a 505 and I really do like it. My local library now supports ePub eBooks and I can borrow them easily. On the Kindle you cannot legally borrow library eBooks.
Sony for me. Maybe I'm biased because it's the only one I have used but I love the look and feel of my silver friend.
Sony definitely, but if the user is computer illiterate, i would recommend Kindle, just because it would be easier for them to get books instead of managing it through USB/Calibre. 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?!?)
Jim wrote: "Sony for me. Maybe I'm biased because it's the only one I have used but I love the look and feel of my silver friend."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 :-)
The problem is that if the Kindle was to make it outside of the USA, it would not be able to be used with most eBook shops as it does not support ePub. This is a fatal flaw with the Kindle (IMHO).Also, the Kindle is not a good choice if you belong to a public library that supports ePub for borrowing.
Kindle can also take back books you have already purchased, which they have done in the past, so that's why I don't like it or want readers with wireless options. They can see everything you are buying, reading, etc and delete it if they want to.
Wild for Wilde wrote: "Kindle can also take back books you have already purchased, which they have done in the past, so that's why I don't like it or want readers with wireless options. They can see everything you are bu..."True.
I still stick to my old PRS-505.
Arthur wrote: "Wild for Wilde wrote: "Kindle can also take back books you have already purchased, which they have done in the past, so that's why I don't like it or want readers with wireless options. They can se..."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 :-(
Sony for me too. I love having access to free ebooks from the local library. I agree with Doreen when she said, "IMO the Kindle is all about shopping. The Sony Reader is all about reading." The Sony Reader is all about reading and they let you shop or get your ebooks from where ever you want.
I have the Sony Pocket Reader and love it. I spent quite a bit of time researching the Sony Reader and the Kindle and am really happy with my purchase. I have used the library and purchased books from various sites. This is exactly what I went this route - variety of sources. I have really enjoyed it. I feel like I read even more than before - if thats even possible.
Sony had to be highly commended. They updated the old 500 so it can handle ePub. I sent in my mother-in-law's 500 and we got it back in a week and Sony paid for the shipping and did not charge for the updating. Well done Sony!
I love my Kindle. And I'm pretty sure the Kindle will support EPUB in due time; I believe the Nook et al are putting some pressure on Amazon to support the format.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 own Sony Readers,when I bought the ability to buy wirelessly wasn't high on my list,ability to use with public library (NYPL) etc,was,as buying from multiple sources. Aesthetically,I also prefer the look of the Sony readers.I have owned the 505,700 and 600. A few months ago,I was considering buying a Kindle,and when I came close to purchasing,the Nook was announced.When debating the Kindle,I was also considering for other reasons getting an iPhone/iPod Touch,I ended up doing that...and that's an interesting way to also access Kindle specific books. I know there are ways to tackle DRM issues and be able to read cross platform. I hope ultimately that there will be some sort of standards agreed upon (ePub perhaps) and it will be easier to have more choices from where to purchase eBooks in the future.
I do agree with that - I understand Amazon's idea to create their own reader with their own store of ebooks. However, there are more and more readers on the market and I would think all stores would want to be open to all ebook readers. I also use my library which is why I went with the Sony reader. I also appreciated being able to purchase books from a variety of sources. I do wish Amazon were available to me as well though.
My favorite right now is the Sony PRS 600 (a touchscreen) but I also like the Astak and Cybook Opus a lot as well.
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 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 was in the same boat, but I have since sold my Sony and purchased a Kindle. It is such a better piece of technology. Additionally, you can get books from other sites which was great to find out.
I just bought myself a Sony reader pocket edition. I love it. It allows me to download books from the public library, which will save me a fortune!
Sony's biggest asset is definitely library ebook downloads.
The library downloads for Sony, are they books that are in ePub format? I don't think our public libraries (BC in Canada) have many ebook titles.
I'm new to this group. I've owned my Kindle 1 since Mar. 2008 and i just recently purchased a Sony Pocket Reader in Dec. 2009. There are things I like about both and things I think could be improved on both. On the Kindle, I like the wireless download capability and I prefer the button placement on the kindle (have both buttons on both sides) that may be because I'm so used to the Kindle and the Sony is new. I think the Sony page turn is slower than the Kindle. But I absolutely love the size of the Pocket Reader and it does look better than the Kindle. Made out of metal as opposed to plastic. But borrowing from the library is big. It supports both e-pub & pdf. So I love that. But Amazon tends to have better prices on their ebooks and I think they are really going to bat for ebook readers about those prices whereas I don't think Sony is. If publishers had their way they would charge us $30.00 for an ebook which it is not worth it. That's why I got the Sony Reader to supplement my Kindle. So now if the Publishers feel they want to hold off on the ebook release, I'll wait until my library gets the ebook and just borrow it from there. Also, I prefer the page numbers as opposed to the little dots on the Kindle. Whether they match up with the book or not I just prefer to follow my progress that way.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)!!!
Connie, I'm not 100% sure because I haven't used one, but I think you just described B&N's Nook. It is wireless (3G and Wi-Fi) and supports ePub.
Dryfly wrote: "Connie, I'm not 100% sure because I haven't used one, but I think you just described B&N's Nook. It is wireless (3G and Wi-Fi) and supports ePub."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.
Congrats on your new reader!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!
I read that the Nook is adopting (licensing) Adobe's DRM scheme for ePub. This means that it should be able to read library books if not now, then very soon. It looks to me that B&N is releasing a firmware update and this will make the Nook compatible for DRM ePub books, which I think is what libraries use.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.
Dryfly wrote: "I read that the Nook is adopting (licensing) Adobe's DRM scheme for ePub. This means that it should be able to read library books if not now, then very soon. It looks to me that B&N is releasing ..."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.
I contacted Overdrive prior to buying my Sony and all they would say then, early December, was that the Nook was not compatible with Overdrive "at this time." I decided not to wait any longer and just bought the $200.00 Sony. For me the wireless capabilities aren't that important since I get most of my books from the library and they have to be side-loaded.
I'm definitely less enthused about wifi capabilities as opposed to 3G. The idea of being away from home traveling and being able to directly download a new book if you need a new one, is very appealing. How useful that would be, I don't know.
I don't see a great need for 3G. My Sony PRS-505 only has 208meg free memory on board. 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 think you're mostly right Walt, the 3G is something that might be handy only once or twice a year.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.
Walt wrote: "Congrats on your new reader!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!
Frankly speaking it would be difficult to help you quickly. Visit Mobileread Forum. It is the right place where you will find answers to most of your voiced and unvoiced questions :)
Julie wrote: "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!"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
Can you get e-books from a library that you don't live next too. like for instance can i use new york's library even if I live in illinios.
You have to have a membership to the library system you want to borrow from. That's how it works here in Detroit. There are about 20 cities here in Michigan and they created a co-op so I can borrow regular books from any of those libraries and have the book shipped to my library or I can borrow ebooks from them as well.
Julie wrote: "Can you get e-books from a library that you don't live next too. like for instance can i use new york's library even if I live in illinios."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.
I ended up getting a Sony eReader. It's usefulness was highlighted yesterday when I rode my bike to a bike shop for a repair. I carried the eReader in my back pocket and was able to read my book while on the 35min bus ride back home. I don't know why I would want to have a reader with a qwerty keyboard on it like the Kindle...
i love that my purse doesnt weight 5 extra pounds
"I don't know why I would want to have a reader with a qwerty keyboard on it like the Kindle.."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.
Connie wrote: "Dryfly wrote: "Connie, I'm not 100% sure because I haven't used one, but I think you just described B&N's Nook. It is wireless (3G and Wi-Fi) and supports ePub."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.
Patty wrote: "Connie wrote: "Dryfly wrote: "Connie, I'm not 100% sure because I haven't used one, but I think you just described B&N's Nook. It is wireless (3G and Wi-Fi) and supports ePub."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 have a Sony Reader PRS-505 and I just love it. Easy to use and along with the Calibre Software installed in your PC, its a dream. Almost any format of e-book can be used in it. I have added a 2 GB memory stick to hold enough book. The battery life is excellent and because its a Sony, it will last for ever...
That's nice to hear an endorsement that a Sony product will last a long time. I've had my 505 coming up on 2 years, and sometimes I worry that the page advancing buttons will wear out. Everything is still performing fine though.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 would consider using PRS+ on your 505. 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 have a version of PRS+ on my 505 and will update it once they get the 1.1 version out of beta. Not sure I want a dictionary to b honest. But I can always ask how not to install it or remove the files.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.
I waited for this moment for too long. I had my Sony 505 for 2,5 years and now it goes to my niece while I ordered Kindle Wi-Fi only. I must say now I understand where that large price difference comes out. I never had any other Sony reader in my hands since in my country it is impossible to find any reader, but even my 2,5 years old Sony 505 looks better than this brand new Kindle. Kindle looks so cheap, and that on-off button looks like coming out any second. It's PDF native reader is ok to see how the page that usually is A4 looks on little 6 inch screen (!), otherwise has to be converted to mobi. Wi-Fi works ok, no problem in recognising my network. Contrast is better and it is quicker than Sony (a bit) but still have "ghosts" of dictionary search until the next turn. I did buy Kindle for dictionary options and new Sony is more expensive, but if there is no need for dictionary or Wi-Fi as I know old Sony 505 still can be found for 99 euros :-)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.