Still looking at eBook readers, I am waiting for the rumoured UK launch of the Sony PRS 505 in April. Its either going to be the Sony or a Cybook Gen 3. What I wanted to know was, out of those of you that own both those devices which reader would you keep if you had to get rid of one ?

I do like the Sony reader 505. Libprs500 and Book Designer both work quite nicely to convert content.

As a former Sony owner, and a current CyBook owner I am very happy with my choice. Not only is there a greater range of content legally available for the CyBook, but it also has significantly more features than the Sony - dictionary support, the ability to load your own fonts onto it, the ability to view any book using any font at any size, etc.

What we really need is a device that takes the best of the 505 and Gen3 and adds in what is missing from both and gives us one really superduper device.

If drm'd mobipocket content and dictionary support are important to you the Cybook. If form factor (looks, button placement) and breadth / ease of conversion tools are more important to you, then the Sony.

If drm'd mobipocket content and dictionary support are important to you the Cybook. If form factor (looks, button placement) and breadth / ease of conversion tools are more important to you, then the Sony.

There are some excellent conversion tools available for the CyBook. Can you elaborate about in what way you feel that the Sony ones are better? What formats can be converted to the Sony that can't be converted to the Gen3?

Well, we now have the first version of Mobi2lrf.

Well, we now have the first version of Mobi2lrf.

That's true, but it's not really a benefit of the Sony over the CyBook, is it? After all, the CyBook can use the Mobi file directly!

Also, are there that many DRM-free Mobi files around that aren't available for the Sony?

Dictionary support would have swung it for me, if not for reading day after day on Cybook subforum about faulty cybooks and bad customer service. I'm waiting for Bookeen to iron out their problems then I will buy one. Though the way it seems to be going it will probably be Cybook Gen4.

Dictionary support would have swung it for me, if not for reading day after day on Cybook subforum about faulty cybooks and bad customer service. I'm waiting for Bookeen to iron out their problems then I will buy one. Though the way it seems to be going it will probably be Cybook Gen4.

Don't forget, though, that it's always the minority with problems who (naturally) are vocal. Bookeen are shipping 2000-3000 Gen3's a month. How many faulty machines have we heard about here? A handful? It's unfortunate for the people who have them; that's obviously true, but I don't think that one can generalise and say that the Gen3 has any reliability issues beyond the norm.

Poor customer service appears to be the norm for small companies, regretably, and even the big boys such as Sony seem to fall down in that department on fairly frequent occasions. Yes, it certainly needs to be improved!


I'd recommend the Gen3 to you without hesitation, Dave.

I've only read of a few truly faulty Gen3s. Most of the questions I see have to do with buggy software and there are ways to work around that stuff.

I am very satisfied with my Gen3 and have no regrets.

Thanks, HarryT, ProfJulie.
Just one last question. I remember reading that the support for links in html files is only for links in the same page, and that links to other pages don't work. Is that correct?
What I mean is, I have a few books I converted to html. Now I usualy put each chapter in a seperate html file and creat a Table of Content in another file. Will I be able to read such a book in the Cybook?

Hi

No: as html files, each file is as “a document” for the Cybook, so just internal “jumps” (inside the file ones).

What you can do is generate a Mobipocket file with Mobipocket Creator from all your html files, and then create a TOC with all the navigation you need.
Once more, one file with internal “jumps”.

Best regards,

Yes, with Mobi Creator this is very easy to do.

I've only used the Sony 505 so I can't really comment on the Gen3. One thing I will say is that the 505 feels really solid, it has that 'well-engineered' quality you'd expect from expensive Sony products. I feel this is important in a portable device that will, in most cases, receive a lot of use.

One of the things that put me off buying a Gen3 (other than the higher price) is the plastic body, I'm not sure how well this will stand up to years of wear and tear.

One of the things that put me off buying a Gen3 (other than the higher price) is the plastic body, I'm not sure how well this will stand up to years of wear and tear.

Modern high-density plastics, such as that used for the case of the Gen3, certainly don't equate to cheapness or poor quality. They provide just as good a protection as a metal case, and have better impact absorption properties (they disperse energy rather than "dent", like metal does). That's why most modern cars have plastic bumpers, rather than metal!

Whether the use of plastic equates to cheapness and lower quality is debatable, in consumer electronics plastic casings tend to be used at the cheaper end of the scale, with metal casings being more prevalent in high end/premium products. I don't know if there is a significant difference in manufacturing costs between the two materials but there's definitely a difference in public perception.

Also impact damage isn't really what I'm talking about when I refer to wear and tear - the screen is far more fragile than the casing on either reader and any impact capable of significantly damaging either case would likely destroy the display - I'm talking about scratches, scuffs and the abrasion that occurs naturally in use. Plastics surfaces tend to have poor resistance to scratching and, being softer than most metals, are more easily worn down. For instance I have a black Dell plastic keyboard that has a sort of matt effect surface, after a few months of my fingers tapping the keys the matt texture has worn off and the plastic has become smooth and shiny.

There is also the "squeak factor", I've never come across a moulded plastic shell that didn't make distressing squeaking or cracking noises when pressure was put on the casing. I guess it's a personal preference; to me metal cases signify permanence, robustness and quality, whereas plastic ones signify cheapness, fragility and disposability.

At the end of the day it's only one factor in the buying decision though, the device's capabilities are more important than the package it comes in. The 505 had the capabilities that I needed at a price I felt was reasonable, had the Gen3 been cheaper or if it been able to satisfy a requirement that the 505 couldn't then I would have bought a Gen3, plastic case or no.

Ah well, we must agree to differ. Given that my Gen3 spends its life safely inside its leather case, that protects it from abrasion. As long as we're both happy with what we have, that's the most important thing.