Newbie here - sony prs600 or kindle? :-)

[blackcat]

I am undecided what to puchase - and have been dithering for a couple of weeks now so I thought I would ask the experts

What do I need an ereader for ?

1) I am studying at the OU and would like to be able to read there books on the device (pdf's), not really bothered about making notes on the reader as will make notes in a seperate real paper notebook

2) I am based in the UK so am concerned about the access to ebooks

3) Having investigated the ebooks available for each format I believe the ebooks for the kindle are cheaper than the books for the sony - I am mainly interested in Sci-Fi/Fantasy/Thrillers, having compared a few prices, amazon definately seems cheaper, also there seems to be a wider selection available from amazon - can people clarify this pls?

4) Following on from the above - just what is the difference between the formats e.g. what can a kindle read, and what can a PRS-600 read - (I believe the PRS-600 can read sony bbrb and epub books?)

4) I popped into John Lewis the other day and checked out a PRS-600 and loved it, so the problem with the kindle is there is nowhere to 'play with it' before purchase (I think this is one of my main worries, just in case it turns up and it is not up to my expectations)

5) I am a bit of an accessory freak and love the variety of accessories that are available for the kindle (like oberon books and the decalgirl skins), even though most of these things are only available from the States

for all your assistance in advance

[dreams]

Hello and welcome to Mobileread, blackcat.

I'm sorry you haven't had a response yet. I not very knowledgeable about pdf ability of the various devices.

I do know that if you are in the UK another aspect about ebook purchases is geographic restriction. You may be able to see ebooks for sale on a site, but when you get to the purchase point it will display that it is not available to your area/country, if it has geographic restriction. This is not the fault of the store fronts, but due to publishing companies not always having the right to sale ebooks in other countries.

MR (Mobileread) has many very knowledgeable members and hopefully some will chime in soon.

Have fun exploring the forums.

[bevdeforges]

Hi and welcome!

As an American living in France, I was primarily concerned with the geographical restrictions and the overall availability of e-books. Basically, I was looking to an e-Reader as a replacement for my twice yearly treks to the US, where I'd buy up reading material to schlepp back home with me until my next trip. But I'm also used to making periodic runs to the UK (real or virtual), where I also hit the book shops.

Though I'm a long-time Amazon customer (.com, .fr and .co.uk), I went with the Sony PRS600 - in large part because it doesn't have the wireless function. (I hardly need further temptation to make impulse book purchases!) The other deciding factor was the ready availability of epub reading material from sources other than the Sony store.

I have my Reader registered as "US based" so use the US Sony store (using gift cards purchased by a friend back there), and have had no difficulty buying books from Kobo and Waterstone's in the UK (where I assume they check my IP address to determine my whereabouts).

There are quite a few science fiction/fantasy fans here on MR and I know they often refer to a couple online bookshops that specialize in the genre. They should be able to tell you more about the available formats.

I don't use my Reader much for pdfs, so can't advise you there. I do know that the Reader manual is in pdf format and works just fine on the Reader, however I suspect it's tailor made to be read on the device. General purpose pdfs can be a bit more problematic, especially if they have diagrams and other graphic elements in addition to text. Text based pdfs can be converted to epub (or other formats) using Calibre.

There is a Calibre section here in MR and you can download the software to try out before you decide on your reader - which is how I did it. Calibre includes a built in e-reader so you can try out conversion of your current pdfs to see if they'll convert to your liking.

[blackcat]

Thanks Guys for your replies - I have had another quick hunt around for books for the PRS-600 and still cannot find sufficient places to buy them from (at a decent price anyway) - I will post another topic on the 'where to get sci-fi books' :-)

[mike_bike_kite]

You don't say where you are in the UK but if you can make it to South London then I'm happy to show you my Kindle. PDF's are a pain on any 6" ereader but larger ereaders are a pain to carry around. The Sony has a cleaner interface and is smaller while the Kindle has a direct connection to the internet, text to speech and of course you can buy ebooks directly from the device. The Sony is supposed to have a slightly less clear screen but I really couldn't see the difference. Both have quite nice covers available to them.

If you're not in a rush then there's a bunch of new devices coming out in August ie Kindle 3.

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by blackcat

Thanks Guys for your replies - I have had another quick hunt around for books for the PRS-600 and still cannot find sufficient places to buy them from (at a decent price anyway) - I will post another topic on the 'where to get sci-fi books' :-)

Sci-fi books — there's no place better than Baen:

http://www.webscription.net/

They are heavy on military sci-fi but have a lot of other stuff too. Everything they sell is DRM-free, available in multiple formats and reasonably priced. You can get a bundled of books every month — 4 new books and 2-4 older books for $15. You really can't beat that.

-Marcy

[blackcat]

Thanks #5, I am in Basingstoke... might need to coax my better half to take a trip into London ;\

#6 Thanks - I will have a look at Baen