This Sony Lover now has a Kindle

[Lilly]

I have a PRS505 and love it. I took advantage of the Oprah coupon, plus I had 2 $25 dollars gift certificates from Amazon; so I was able to take $100 off for a final price; ended up paying $259.

I just received my Kindle today, and I have a few questions:
1) Why the cover don't fit? It's not secure and the Kindle keeps slipping off when I'm holding it.
2) I'm so use to the Sony PRS505, I can't seem to find a comfortable hold for the Kindle. Am I suppose to read with the cover off?
2) I keep accidently pressing the page turn button, does it get better?
3) I just attached the USB cable to get a few book samples but they did not show up until I turned the wireless thing on; am I doing something wrong?
4) I have not yet purchased a book but do I need to turn on the wireless after I purchase a book for it to show up?
5) Is the book loaded on the harddrive? I guess what I'm asking is it possible to convert amazon's books and read them on my Sony now that I can buy books from them?

My 505 is still my 1st love but I'm hoping to also fall in love with the Kindle! By the way, it's not as ugly as the picture. December of last year, I researched all the readers for 2 weeks with the help of this board and chose the Sony PRS505; I passed on the Kindle because I felt it was visual un-appealing!: I don't regret my choice because I love my Sony but the Kindle is not that bad! I'm so addicted to my reader that I wanted a 2nd one but not 2 Sonys; I wanted a different software format so I chose the Kindle because of content & a great price!

[Donnageddon]

Hi Lilly!

I own both a Kindle and a Sony PRS, so maybe I can help.

1) When I am transporting the kindle, i wrap the elastic band around the Kindle and it stays pretty secure for me.

2) I remove the Kindle from the cover when I am reading from it. It can be read with the cover on, but as you've discovered it is a little awkward.

2) your second 2) Yes it got better for me after I got used to it. But the page turn buttons are a design flaw in my experience.

3) I couled be wrong, but I always download chapters wirelessly (ie. you do need to have the woreless on) That said, you can load books that are already on your hard drive with the usb. Just drag and drop.

4) If you are shopping with Amazon, then yes, I recommend you turn your wireless on. It should show up within a minute or two.

5) Books you buy from Amazon are ONLY useable on the Kindle. You can make Kindle compatible books from other sources using the Book Designer and other conversion and DeDRM'ing tools (Convert Lit is a favorite of mine for DeDRM'ing lit books from Fictionwise), and then load them with the usb cable. But not the reverse.

All in all, I love my Kindle! And I love my PRS 505! I switch back and forth with them for various reasons, and mood. I am using my PRS 505 mostly now, because I bought the light wedge and I really like that add-on.

I would buy the PRS 700 with the built in LCD front lighting, but with the economy right now, I can't justify the superfluous discretionary purchase.

As far as the technical details, I am sure others can correct me.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

5) Books you buy from Amazon are ONLY useable on the Kindle. You can make Kindle compatible books from other sources using the Book Designer and other conversion and DeDRM'ing tools (Convert Lit is a favorite of mine for DeDRM'ing lit books from Fictionwise), and then load them with the usb cable. But not the reverse.

If the eBook is in AZW format, you can remove the DRM using MobiDeDRM.py after you've found out the PID for your Kindle. Then you can easily use Mobi2lrf to convert to LRF to read on the Sony. It's all very easy once everything is setup.

To find your Kindle's PID, use KindlePID.py from <<direct download link removed>>

Then you can have your AZW eBook on your Sony if you want.

From what I've read, the samples from Amazon can only be gotten via the wifi of the Kindle.

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If the eBook is in AZW format, you can remove the DRM using MobiDeDRM.py after you've found out the PID for your Kindle. Then you can easily use Mobi2lrf to convert to LRF to read on the Sony. It's all very easy once everything is setup.

To find your Kindle's PID, use KindlePID.py from <<direct download link removed>>

Then you can have your AZW eBook on your Sony if you want.

From what I've read, the samples from Amazon can only be gotten via the wifi of the Kindle.

Thanks, I already know and have used MobideDRM. I've bought a couple of books in the past that only came in mobi format and I've used MobideDRM and then Calibre to make LRF books. But mostly I use ConvertLit & Calibre because I buy a lot of Lit files.
Thanks for the imformation on finding my Kindle PID, that was going to be my next question!

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Lilly

1) Why the cover don't fit? It's not secure and the Kindle keeps slipping off when I'm holding it.

There is a tab that is supposed to hold the cover in place. It varies from Kindle to Kindle, but often it does not work. Sometimes fiddling with it helps. I gave up and bought an M-edge cover. I fold back the cover (original or M-edge) and hold the cover when reading.

[daffy4u]

If you use a little piece of velcro on the outside (right) edge of the Kindle and cover, it will hold it snuggly.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Lilly

Thanks, I already know and have used MobideDRM. I've bought a couple of books in the past that only came in mobi format and I've used MobideDRM and then Calibre to make LRF books. But mostly I use ConvertLit & Calibre because I buy a lot of Lit files.
Thanks for the imformation on finding my Kindle PID, that was going to be my next question!

You can get lit2mobi it is part of the mobiperl package. This way, you can keep buying LIT books... if you want. But, I have found that usually the Kindle store is cheaper. Just don't by topaz ebooks from them. You can't remove the DRM and they are much slower when reading them on the Kindle.

Oh, and I only use the Kindle cover when traveling with the thing. I always take it out of the cover to read. However, I have heard people like the MEdge cover and can fold it back and read comfortably.

BOb

[Lilly]

I had a chance to use my Kindle for my morning commute (I have a 30 minute train ride each way for work); I love the font way more than the Sony's. The Kindle is a 2 hand reader and I have to get use to that (basically you have to hold it with 1 hand and turn the pages with the other; the Sony is a 1 hand reader, your thumb is on the page turn button on the bottom, so you only need to use the 1 hand. I plan to find my PID tomorrow and buy some books to convert. I will be reading the Kindle forums for tips and advices.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by Lilly

The Kindle is a 2 hand reader and I have to get use to that (basically you have to hold it with 1 hand and turn the pages with the other;

Ok, perhaps you have really small hands. But, I can use my Kindle one handed with either left hand or right hand. With the left hand grip I use the next page button with my thumb. On the right hand grip I turn the next page button with my index finger. However, I usually hold it with left hand and turn page with right hand (very similar to a pbook).

BOb

[daffy4u]

I can use my Kindle and turn pages with one hand (either one). In time, you may be able to as well.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I can use my Kindle and turn pages with one hand (either one). In time, you may be able to as well.

Hey, your not a duck any more but a doggie?

BOb

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Hey, your not a duck any more but a doggie?

BOb

It's my Halloween costume.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Hey, your not a duck any more but a doggie?

BOb

look closer : it says she's a gremlin right on the photo.

[Alisa]

I use my Kindle one-handed all the time. I find it very ergonomic. My husband has one and he doesn't find the buttons to be quite as ergonomic but he's gotten used to them. I think it's just one of those things where you can't please all people. He's used to holding his books further up the side than I am. I usually hold near the bottom so the solid space between the screen and the keyboard is the natural spot for me. A little flick of the thumb and the page is changed.

As for the samples, they are only delivered wirelessly. With books, you can do either wireless or transfer to the Documents folder via USB.

Just to elaborate a little bit on what Jon and Bob said about format: .azw is able to be stripped with mobidedrm and topaz (.tpz or .azw1) isn't. The file extension isn't readily apparent just from looking at the site. If you get a sample, you can check the file extension before buying. Here's a rundown of another way to tell from texasnightowl:

Identifying Topaz/AZW1 files prior to purchase

If I missed discussion on this here, sorry, but I saw this on the Amazon discussion forums and it may be accurate. I've looked at some of the titles mentioned in the AZW1 thread anyway and it seems to hold up.

When looking at the "Product Details" of a book, if it lists "Print Length" but not "File Size", then it may be Topaz/AZW1, whereas if it gives both "Print Length" AND "File Size" then it is probably regular AZW.

Example:

Product Details from Deanna Raybourn's "Silent in the Grave" (AZW)
# Format: Kindle Edition
# File Size: 408 KB
# Print Length: 544 pages
# Publisher: Mira (December 1, 2007)
# Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Product Details from Leslie Langtry's " 'Scuse me while I kill this guy" (TOPAZ/AZW1)
# Format: Kindle Edition
# Print Length: 325 pages
# Publisher: Leisure (July 31, 2007)
# Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

[JSWolf]

If you do purchase an eBook from Amazon and it turns out to be Topaz, can you return it?