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Old 11-25-2007, 05:45 PM   #1
RSaunders
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Posts: 162
Karma: 2054
Join Date: Jan 2007
Device: Sony PRS-500
Kindle Owners - Did you own a Sony Reader?

When I look at the Kindle, I'm taken by the choices made by Amazon. I've had a Sony Reader for a year, and none of the choices strike me as important. The PR, even Newsweek, and the business advantages all go to Kindle. Nobody who has used Sony CONNECT hasn't wished it was integrated with Amazon.com. My question is about the technical features, and I guess you really need to know the Sony Reader to answer them.

1) Do you like daily charging better than computer docking? The Kindle has a radio that allows it to be updated by Amazon, but it gives you daily charging instead of the monthly charging of the Sony Reader. I charge my Sony by plugging it into my computer's USB port. So, if it has to be plugged in every day, why spend $$ on a radio?

2) How often do you buy books? I buy 3-4 books at a time, a behavior I have had in pbook stores, on Amazon, and now with my Reader. It takes me hours to read a book, that's why they are a good entertainment value. I'm about 100 books behind, so I don't mind 2 day pbook delay from Amazon.com. Do you buy books every day?

3) Is the EVDO Internet the killer app? My kid has an iPhone, so he has Internet at the same speed. He has full web features, and color, and it was really cool for a couple of weeks. Now, he never uses it. Sure, wikipedia is a cool thing to have. But I have a laptop with WiFi right on my desk, when I'm reading I can go for ages without using it.

4) Are you going to buy a lot of Amazon books, now that you know that there are lots of places to get DRM-free books? I buy books from Sony, well, almost never, because I can get books in other formats with much more diversity. I'll spend 5 minutes on my computer to convert a book to Sony format, sometimes to save $5, other times to get a book Sony isn't listing. I read hundreds of pages every week (mostly SF) and I never seem to need Sony titles.

I really want Kindle to succeed. I'd like to see Amazon take over and sell books to all the eBook readers. Surely, beating Sony's store could be done with one hand behind their back. I just can't seem to breakout of the notion that Amazon sees this as a hardware play, being in the gadget business. If they were trying to be in the book business, priceless.
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