I found a book cheaper on Sony than Kindle!

[jckatz]

While I love Sony I am always upset how much more expensive the eBook Store is compared to Amazon.com Kindle books. After all the Kindle books requires cell phone connection while Sony only requires a small amount of cheaper bandwidth.

So you can imagine my shock when a book I wanted was only $0.99 I first assumed it was going to be a book with the same title but only 50 pages. So I checked it out at Amazon.com and they wanted $5.00 for the exact same book.

http://ebookstore.sony.com/ebook/joh...00000000159706

I am assuming this is an error since it says LIST price is also $0.99 but I'll take it.

[desertgrandma]

Actually, right now its free........

http://www.amazon.com/History-Napole...4354795&sr=1-1

[AnemicOak]

It's a PD title so prices can be all over the place, from Free to what ever someone wants to try and charge. Gutenberg, Manybooks and Google books all have it for download.

[kennyc]

Free here as well: http://manybooks.net/titles/lockhartj1757917579-8.html

[thename]

Why do people insist on paying for legally free content?

Direct link to the Project Gutenberg version (with pretty pictures!)

[jckatz]

Wow, I wonder if someone at Amazon.com caught this thread and corrected the pricing. Good to know Sony is once again the most expensive way to purchase digital books.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by thename

Why do people insist on paying for legally free content?

Perhaps because they feel that a well-formatted version is worth paying for? Yes, PG is very good as a source of books, but at the very least it takes, say, half an hour's work to convert a PG book into an acceptable ePub pub. Add many, many hours more to that it you proof-read it and correct the numerous errors that are common in PG books.

Some people may prefer to pay someone else to do all that for them, don't you think?

[thename]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Perhaps because they feel that a well-formatted version is worth paying for? Yes, PG is very good as a source of books, but at the very least it takes, say, half an hour's work to convert a PG book into an acceptable ePub pub. Add many, many hours more to that it you proof-read it and correct the numerous errors that are common in PG books.

Some people may prefer to pay someone else to do all that for them, don't you think?

You're right, of course. And yes, it is a matter of priorities, I would say. I've never had much of an issue with PG's books. The occasional typo? Sure. But layout issues that made me unable to read them? I'm staring at the aforementioned book downloaded as a MOBI with images and an EPUB without. They don't look even 1/4 bad on my PRS-700. Far better than most PDFs books out there.

Now, I love my Tschichold and Bringhurst and will geek out over a beautifully designed book. But would I rather pay $10 for a possibly, maybe better laid-out edition of a public domain book that I will read on a 6" e-ink screen behind a slightly reflective touchscreen instead of a perfectly acceptable version converted from a raw text file? Nope. I'll take the free one any time.

Now, back to my FeedBooks edition of Nyarlathotep.

[Meemo]

Originally Posted by jckatz

While I love Sony I am always upset how much more expensive the eBook Store is compared to Amazon.com Kindle books. After all the Kindle books requires cell phone connection while Sony only requires a small amount of cheaper bandwidth.

Just a minor correction here - cell phone connection isn't required for downloading Kindle books - but it's a nice convenience where available.

[kelly1010]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Perhaps because they feel that a well-formatted version is worth paying for? Yes, PG is very good as a source of books, but at the very least it takes, say, half an hour's work to convert a PG book into an acceptable ePub pub. Add many, many hours more to that it you proof-read it and correct the numerous errors that are common in PG books.

Some people may prefer to pay someone else to do all that for them, don't you think?

GOOD POINT! I would gladly pay someone to do this instead of having to do it myself. It may be easy, but I'm just not into conversion, etc. I just want to load my books and read.

Originally Posted by Meemo

Just a minor correction here - cell phone connection isn't required for downloading Kindle books - but it's a nice convenience where available.

But the Kindle DOES have to be somewhere with a Wifi connection.....that might be what the OP meant.

[kelly1010]

I shop around between a few sites and try to find the cheapest prices of books I want. I do buy alot of books from Booksonboard because they usually give you rewards that can be used on your next purchase. Sony books MAY cost more than Amazon, but I get so many books from the library that it offsets that. plus the sony was alot cheaper than the kindle, I figured it would take alot of books to make up for that price difference.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by kelly1010

But the Kindle DOES have to be somewhere with a Wifi connection.....that might be what the OP meant.

No it doesn't. In fact the Kindle doesn't even have WiFi; it has a 3G cellular radio.

You can transfer books to the Kindle via the USB cable, just as you can with the Sony. That is essential, since many places are not within range of the 3G network.