My mom recently discovered my Sony Reader, and when I explained it to her, she got all excited (light-weight, holds lots of books, can zoom).

So I thought to myself, what an excellent idea, I am going to buy my mom a Sony Reader (for Christmas).

But now I am worried. My mom knows how to write e-mails, but that's about it. I already give her 1st level support on her Mac, and it's really just covering the basics. So, do you think it's wise to buy her a Reader, knowing that it's going to be anything but easy for her to use (and implying extra hours for me to support her)?

I voted no because my mom doesn't have or use a computer and I would not wish such a devilish thing on my worst enemy let alone my mother. But if you spend a lot of time helping her, I hope you get your mother one. She probably will love it. Mine would, too, I think.

I've been pondering the same question. I don't think the usability is there yet for my mother. For my sister or brother yes, but my mother is still struggling with reserving library books online. I think the technology needs to mature a bit yet and become more user friendly.

It would also bother my mother if it became obsolete in 3 years (even if it was still working fine).

I voted yes.
Though she may not be good on computers i'm sure she will be able to deal with a sony reader. A few simple instuctions and anybody is ready to go. If i was you i would purchase a card reader as well that way all she really has to do is insert her memory card and drag bits onto it.

once you do anything a few times its simple.

you will probley get a few phones calls at first haha is that why you pondering buying one for her because you know you will get hassled for them first few weeks till she gets it right.

She will love it which means she will take extra time to make sure she can get it too work.

I voted yes.
Though she may not be good on computers i'm sure she will be able to deal with a sony reader. A few simple instuctions and anybody is ready to go. If i was you i would purchase a card reader as well that way all she really has to do is insert her memory card and drag bits onto it.

once you do anything a few times its simple.

you will probley get a few phones calls at first haha is that why you pondering buying one for her because you know you will get hassled for them first few weeks till she gets it right.

She will love it which means she will take extra time to make sure she can get it too work.

if your serious here's what you do.

1. buy the reader. and show her where the USB cable goes.

2. show her how to use MSN remote assistance (or if you have the skill setup a vnc server on her computer).

3. tell her to contact you any time she need new books, atleast untill she learns it herself.


I know my mother would love the reader and would buy it for her in a heart beat if i could afford it. sadly i cannot. the reason i have one is cuz i got it for 58 bucks using a credit deal.

modsoul, this sounds like a good idea. I can set up VNC on her Mac, and also enable port forwarding on her router. Hmmm. I can smell work...

My mom is partially-sighted, so her reading options have been drastically reduced, hence the Reader purchase. To help her use all of her remote controls, I've taken pictures of each remote, put simple instructions by each of the buttons she needs to use, and printed the picture out in a large format so she can read it. (She's not very electronic-literate, but she manages well with this)
I intend to do the same thing with her Reader, so hopefully she'll be able to manage it. (And I don't live far away, so I'll be on hand if she has any problems). It will be worth any hassle, as she loves to read.

My mom is partially-sighted, so her reading options have been drastically reduced, hence the Reader purchase. To help her use all of her remote controls, I've taken pictures of each remote, put simple instructions by each of the buttons she needs to use, and printed the picture out in a large format so she can read it. (She's not very electronic-literate, but she manages well with this)
I intend to do the same thing with her Reader, so hopefully she'll be able to manage it. (And I don't live far away, so I'll be on hand if she has any problems). It will be worth any hassle, as she loves to read.

I think it is a great idea and it is wonderful that you thought of it and are prepared to put in the effort required to make it work. It can only greatly add to your mothers quality of life. Well done to you

My mom lives in another country, so it'd be more difficult to assist her. But using a remote connection (like VNC) could probably work.

If she does not have a PC skip this Reader. The software that is included DOES NOT work on Apple platforms. It is strickly PC based.

I am wrestling with the same dilemma, Alexander. Although my mother is maybe a bit more technically inclined than yours - I let her use my Reader to read a book a while ago, and she loved it.

However, the main problem I have is - I'm not sure she understands the lock-in to the Sony store. I tell her about converting Gutenberg files, and Baen books, and things (she loves the Baen catalog), but I don't think she'd want to go through the hassle herself. And I'm also not sure what will happen if she buys a bunch of Sony books and then the Kindle takes over, or something. I don't buy the DRMed books for that reason, and I don't want to force her into that position!

The VNC assistance is a great idea, though. I should just do that in general, for helping out my family with their many technical problems :-)

If you don't mind purchasing the books for her from Sony Connect or in MS Reader format and converting for your Mom, then go for the 505. As she has a MAC, you can install libprs500 and use that to transfer the books on and off and create collections. It's not too hard to do. If my Mom had a 505, I'd be able to support her remotely. I'm already setup to access her computer when it's on. But one major difference is my Mother is on Windows.

I'd like to chime in to say that I bought a Sony Reader for my parents and they're pretty happy with it. Also since libprs500 has a command line interface, remote assistance is very easy once you setup an ssh server, no need for full VNC.

I have radmin setup on my Mom's computer and it works very well for what we need. Also because it supports file transfer, I'd be able to transfer books back and forth as needed.

I wouldn't. I actually bought my mom a Rocketbook (back when those were the thing), and it didn't get used very much--it was just too fussy.

But I AM going to get her a Kindle. The Kindle seems taylor-made for this kind of user!

Hey Alexander...

I don't really know what to suggest...if your mother lives in the US then get her a reader...if she lives somehwere in the EU, get her a Cybook. The Reader ist probably the best ebook device out there, but if you can't use it's primary method of buying books, then it's only worth half the money in my opinion...

My mom lives in Europe, but we live in different countries. The Cybook is hard to justify since it'd be so much more expensive for me ($-CHF vs. Euro-CHF).

I think I am most worried about two aspects:

1. She is using a Mac. Standard desktop software (from Sony) won't work. So will she be able to upload her own books? (e.g. by uploading directly via USB)

2. Will she remember to regularly charge her reader? She might leave it in a drawer for a couple of weeks, and I can see how the battery will deplete in no time.

I wouldn't. I actually bought my mom a Rocketbook (back when those were the thing), and it didn't get used very much--it was just too fussy.

But I AM going to get her a Kindle. The Kindle seems tailor-made for this kind of user!
Is your Mom in the USA? If she is not, then the Kindle is a bad idea.

My mom lives in Europe, but we live in different countries. The Cybook is hard to justify since it'd be so much more expensive for me ($-CHF vs. Euro-CHF).

I think I am most worried about two aspects:

1. She is using a Mac. Standard desktop software (from Sony) won't work. So will she be able to upload her own books? (e.g. by uploading directly via USB)

2. Will she remember to regularly charge her reader? She might leave it in a drawer for a couple of weeks, and I can see how the battery will deplete in no time.
She can use libprs500 to upload to the 505 on a MAC. And she can also use collections as well.
If she does plan to leave it in a drawer, teach her how to turn it off.

My mom lives in Europe, but we live in different countries. The Cybook is hard to justify since it'd be so much more expensive for me ($-CHF vs. Euro-CHF).

I think I am most worried about two aspects:

1. She is using a Mac. Standard desktop software (from Sony) won't work. So will she be able to upload her own books? (e.g. by uploading directly via USB)

2. Will she remember to regularly charge her reader? She might leave it in a drawer for a couple of weeks, and I can see how the battery will deplete in no time.

I know the CyBook is more expensive, but for both those reasons it would, I think, be a better choice than the Sony. There are no issues buying Mobi books from a Mac, and if you switch the CyBook off at the end of a reading session (or just leave it to auto power-off) the battery won't discharge if you leave it in a drawer.

My mom absolutely dreads ebooks. At 75 she's a very learned computer user because she's a writer. After publishing 4 books and with 3 in the works, she's kind of distrustful of the whole reader thing even with DRM protections. But my dad likes the reader though.

I've bought my wife a reader and, although she hasn't used it yet, she has seen what I've been messing with on mine. And she is rather apprehensive of the kerfuffle and rigmaroll that she'll have to put up with to get non-LRF DRM'd books onto the thing.

I am still explaining my mom how to use iMail and Safari. I don't even know how to start explaining the Mobipocket store and software to her ;(

But remote assistance through VNC might be a good solution. I am seriously considering it now thanks to you guys.