Update: If you want to add more reviews, use the Sony Reader Reviews (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Sony_Reader_Reviews) page in the Wiki instead.

I thought before we all start individual threads about Sony Reader reviews popping up elsewhere on the Net, why not collect them in one thread. Some for a start:


Review: Sony's Reader uses e-ink for e-books (http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17550&ch=infotech)
(MIT Technology Review)


Sony's Bookish Turn (http://www.fool.com/News/mft/2006/mft06092713.htm?ref=foolwatch)
(Motley Fool Take)


Sony Reader Now Available (http://hardware.slashdot.org/hardware/06/09/27/0235250.shtml)
(Slashdot)


Sony e-book reader to ship next week, but does anybody want it? (http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060927-7848.html)
(ars technica)


Will the Sony Reader be the Edsel of E-Ink? (http://www.teleread.org/blog/?p=5571)
(Teleread)

Great! I don't mean to sound like a recording, but don't forget that we can put this info on the wiki too as it collects here. All those willing to help get all this great info on the wiki would be greatly appreciated.

Costa Living: The Sony Reader Will Save the eBook (http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/09/28/22237.aspx)
(Gearlog / PC Mag. The same guy who did the PC Mag video (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=7469) I think).

Here are some more links to articles/reviews:


http://www.futureofthebook.org/blog/archives/2006/09/phony_reader_1.html
They don't think so well of it.


http://crunchgear.com/2006/09/27/riyl-hatin-on-sonys-reader/
Josh likes it but thinks it will fail.


http://gearlog.com/blogs/gearlog/archive/2006/09/28/22237.aspx
Gearlog says "At $350, the Reader will remain a geeky, early-adopter product for the next year or so, but that's OK. Sony is getting the ball rolling again."


http://www.sububi.org/2006/09/28/ebook-readers-for-the-gentle-reader/
Sub Ubi says buy the iLiad

Sony Reader Is a Work in Progress (http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71844-0.html?tw=wn_technology_1)
(Wired)


The Rumblings of Revolution (http://noveljourney.blogspot.com/2006/09/rumblings-of-revolution.html)
(Novel Journey)

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=8498
Nice look at Manga on the Sony Reader by Tony Sivaggio

FinanceWonk says it's not the only game in town. (Pictures are available of the e-ink ebook reader from Prime View International.)
http://financewonk.blogspot.com/2006/09/tech-files_29.html

Computerworld says "Another year, another try at e-books. It's a long-shot that Sony will succeed, although it's a slightly better shot that Amazon will."
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&taxonomyName=e-business&articleId=9003753

More Sony Reader fun...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/main.jhtml?xml=/opinion/2006/10/01/do0107.xml&sSheet=/opinion/2006/10/01/ixopinion.html
They point out that one advantage of an e-ink reader is that nobody can tell what you're reading. And if you are famous, the photographers won't embarrass you by catching you with the same book four months later, like happened with President Bush!

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/andersmeanders/entries/2006/09/30/readin_on_a_jet_plane.html

http://www.statesman.com/blogs/content/shared-gen/blogs/austin/andersmeanders/entries/2006/09/30/readin_on_a_jet_plane.html
"But I’m not quite ready to invest in one yet. For one thing, I have a more immediate need for some car repairs. Besides, there’s something that feels good about turning the pages of a real page-turner. Remind me I said that five years from now, when I wonder aloud how I ever got along without an electronic reader."

I like that!

Sony Reader is the future of books
http://unendingstories.blogspot.com/2006/10/future-of-books-as-we-know-it-sony.html

New e-book reader is worth looking at
http://www.ecoustics.com/pcw/reviews/127133

"Is the Reader worth $350? Only if you want to trim your luggage, stop collecting dead trees, or use the large-font feature for easier reading."

Variety says it's too expensive...
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117951011?categoryid=18&cs=1&nid=2567

Why the Sony Reader will fail
http://www.sfwriter.com/2006/10/why-sony-reader-is-doomed.html

Here's one in Spanish. I don't know what it says. :)
http://cristianocn.blogspot.com/2006/10/sony-reader-prs-500.html

Another article. This one critical of how Sony has fallen into a sidelines player...
http://www.canada.com/nationalpost/financialpost/story.html?id=9cbe44ec-35e7-4770-8770-c46e222854ed&k=53600
They say Sony has invested big in the eReader, but didn't do so well with the Librie.

USA Today joins the parade...
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/columnist/edwardbaig/2006-10-04-sony-reader_x.htm

And the Washington Post...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/10/05/AR2006100500863.html
They like it and how it's easy on the eyes, but the store doesn't thrill them.

Here's one in Spanish. I don't know what it says. :)
http://cristianocn.blogspot.com/2006/10/sony-reader-prs-500.html

That's Portuguese. Anyway, it doesn't say anything interesting, he mainly complains about the price.

Here's one from the About.com "guide"...
http://portables.about.com/od/otherdevices/a/sonyreaderfl.htm

One from IT Week... Sony Reader gives e-books a boost (http://www.itweek.co.uk/vnunet/news/2165931/sony-launches-reader-device)
"Has paperback publishing found its very own iPod?"
"It normally takes months to evaluate the success of new products in the US and Japan before we can decide whether to roll them out in Europe," a spokesman told vnunet.com. "We have no plans for a European launch of the Reader at all."

Business Week... Gutenberg 1, Sony 0 (http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/06_42/b4005034.htm)
"Its reader is hurt by clunky software and a clueless bookstore."
This guy has no problem spotting weaknesses! But it's the store he really doesn't like.

IWR Blog says, in Will Sony Reader launch spark ebook tipping point? (http://blog.iwr.co.uk/2006/10/sony_reader_lau.html) , that...

"But it's digital rights management issues that still remain unresolved, and until they do, the ebook industry is unlikely to take off. Consumers will want to be able to move ebooks around, swapping a book from one device to another – which could open up the way for Napster style peer-to-peer 'piracy' to emerge.

There may be some scope for developing DRMs that take into account library loans or time-limited "browsing" of a title, but in general the publishing industry and digital book consumers are at loggerheads. And that isn't going to change soon."

John Sanders at TheKansasCityChannel (http://www.thekansascitychannel.com/technology/10021571/detail.html) says...

"I have to admit I'm a little skeptical about reading books on anything but good, old-fashioned paper, but the reviews of this new product are enough to make me think twice."

The paper version of The Times has a story called "Reading a book: aids and alternatives in gizmo form" on the Sony Reader today.


The good: 7,500 page turns on a single charge; screen isn't glaring, stores about 80 books.
The bad: It's a lot of money to pay for a good read.
Verdict: Sony's eBook is about to be launched in the US and a backlog of orders has built up already.
Score: 4/5

Sony Reader - Will this revolutionary new e-book reader become the iPod for bookworms?

Last January, Sony declared it would be the company to finally launch a successful e-book reader, dubbed — how about this for originality? — the Reader. Combined with a well-stocked e-book store, the device would have the potential to be a literary iPod. The product was delayed for months, but now that it has arrived, I'm excited by its performance and its potential. I love a good hardbound book, but if we're ever going to move on from pulped-tree matter, Sony is looking in the right direction.

http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1545102,00.html

Sony still insists on proprietary, dangling the vision of opening up later. They have thrown out this lure in many technologies along the way, but are slow to move away from proprietary standards.

Sony aspires to replicate Apple's iTunes success with e-books with their Connect Store. That design limits the market and further limits opportunities for (1) new publishers, (2) new authors and (3) new resellers to champion books.

The Treo and Windows Mobile devices can carry as many or more books without the limits of Sony, for less money and in a smaller package. Sony's reader costs less than $40 to manufacture at mature volumes so why is it being so greedy on margin and greedy with proprietary standards. Take out Sony's software and hardware for managing its proprietary store and the cost could go sub $25. Market needs a good, paperback sized sub-$50 device that people can put in Christmas stockings along with an SD card loaded with new books.

Bob,

are you going to post the very same thing in each and every thread? Just wondering :)

The Treo and Windows Mobile devices can carry as many or more books without the limits of Sony, for less money and in a smaller package. Sony's reader costs less than $40 to manufacture at mature volumes so why is it being so greedy on margin and greedy with proprietary standards. Take out Sony's software and hardware for managing its proprietary store and the cost could go sub $25. Market needs a good, paperback sized sub-$50 device that people can put in Christmas stockings along with an SD card loaded with new books.

Err... I don't think you're correct in that assertion. I'm fairly sure for a number of reasons that Sony could not manufacture this device for anywhere near that cheaply.

And your comparison to other handheld devices misses the point of eink - a technology that has a number of benefits over other devices.

The size of the Reader *is* disappointing to me... I wish it were bigger! I've tried reading books on PDA screens, but the screen size is far too small for me. I'd really like a device the size of the Iliad...

I won't dispute that a $50 device would do wonders for the ebook market, but I think it's impossible to price an eink device that low. It would even be hard for a more PDA-like device!

Bob,

are you going to post the very same thing in each and every thread? Just wondering :)

Well, I don't plan to post the same response (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=41831#post41831) to him in every thread. :smile:

No intention to have multiple posts. My first time out here so I have a small learning curve. Re: costs -- I've worked as a partner with Sony on hardware development in a past life and have recently costed a similar device. Unless you're holding the actual bill of material, you can't be completely certain of the cost -- and even then negotiation can move parts cost -- but my cost estimates are within the ballpark.

No worries, bobl. :smile:

Full response over here (http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?p=41876#post41876) -- it seems to fit better there. :shrug:

Sony Reader - Let’s get this out of the way first: you do not want to buy it. As impressive as the e-ink screen is (and it is damned impressive!), it has a fatal flaw: refresh. To move from one page to the next, the entire screen turns black and white — an ugly and distracting black and white that seriously deteriorates the reading experience. This is too bad. I kept wondering for hours afterwards if there wasn’t some sort of clever cross-fade animation Sony could devise to make it better. The Oh. My. God. Moment came in picking it up. This is a masterpiece of design and engineering. It is what a totable computer should be. This is what the Nokia 770 and all UMPCs should be like. Just this exact size and thickness. This is science-fiction come to life. It is worth your time to get to any store that has it just to hold it.

http://mikecane.wordpress.com/

I have to say, that as excited as I am to get my reader on Tuesday (when it gets delivered, yay!), this whole "flashing to black" thing really does make me a little wary. I mean it does sound awful!

Is there really no other way for it to work?

I have to say, that as excited as I am to get my reader on Tuesday (when it gets delivered, yay!), this whole "flashing to black" thing really does make me a little wary. I mean it does sound awful!

Is there really no other way for it to work?I asked about that, actually. The basic answer is that it could flash to white, but then it would take twice as long. It has to do with something technical about e-ink's structure/function that they didn't really go into.

That being said. I got used to it very quickly, don't even notice it anymore, actually. That seems to be the general consensus too. :beam:

That being said. I got used to it very quickly, don't even notice it anymore, actually. That seems to be the general consensus too. :beam:

I'd like to add my voice to this. It really is a non issue, IMHO.

I'd say the refresh is the least of my concerns. You do get used to it overtime.

Yeah, it really is not that bad at all, the "media" make a much bigger issue out of it than it is.

Thanks for the replies.

My biggest concern now is whether I'll get it Tuesday morning or Tuesday evening. :) :)

My biggest concern now is whether I'll get it Tuesday morning or Tuesday evening. :) :)Now that's what I call a proper point for concern!

Has the iPod for Books Arrived?
http://www.slate.com/id/2151525

"But as things stand now, I'll stick to the paperback on my bedside."

Update: If you want to add more reviews, use the Sony Reader Reviews (http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Sony_Reader_Reviews) page in the Wiki instead.