Kindle vs Sony Digital Reader, which one? - Page 3

hike_gc · 01-02-2011, 07:33 PM

I own a Sony 505 but now decided I want to be able buy reference books for my ereader as well. My challenge is that I like to dog ear, high light and notate my reference books. Hence the search for another reader.

The reality is that when it comes to reference books (mostly business and computing), Amazon has the best selection (and usually the best prices). But I'm not sure I want to buy into the Kindle world.

My goal is reduce and eventually eliminate purchasing reference books in print editions.

The Sony 650 looks pretty nice, but could I load Kindle books on it, or do I have to remove the DRM first?

I'd like to stay with a 6" screen. Wi-fi and 3G are not deal breakers.

ProfCrash · 01-02-2011, 07:36 PM

You have to remove the DRM and then convert the books to EPub.

A minor point there. You are buying into Amazons e-book world if you buy the books from Amazon. If you already have a Sony that you like and are planning on buying books from Amazon why not own the Kindle. Then you have the best of both worlds.

Just a thought.

brbubba · 01-02-2011, 08:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Wow, Lt. what a lucky person you are! Looks like you will have the best of two worlds. The 350 is awesome and I like it better than the 6inchers due to its crisp font. Enjoy!!

It really has to be compared side by side with a kindle or most any ereader out there to appreciate how nice that higher PPI is. I was a kindle 3 owner for about 72 hours before the font rendering started to irk me. At first I seriously thought my vision was blurry, but on closer inspection I found out that the 167 PPI was the real culprit.

I'll have my 350 in another week or so, but after going to BB and comparing all the readers it was the only device that could satisfactorily render a font in a size that didn't approach a children's book. And don't bother with the larger 6" sibling, as it too suffers from the same low PPI that the Kindle, Nook, etc do.

Also there is something to be said for the touch screen. Navigation on the Kindle was tiresome with the tiny direction pad thing, which made the experimental browser all but useless.

hike_gc · 01-02-2011, 08:16 PM

As I read different discussions on this site, I'm pretty close to buying the Kindle. Realistically, they have the best selection of IT books. The price is right.

As long as I bookmark, highlight, and scribble notes on pages, then I'm good. Can I name my bookmarks or do they just get automatically numbered?

The Sony 650 didn't get good comments on the note feature, even with a stylus. Pocketbook looks good too, but pricey.

ProfCrash · 01-02-2011, 08:49 PM

You cannot name the book marks. If you want to get around that, enter a note as your bookmark. Then you can name it.

OtterBooks · 01-02-2011, 10:08 PM

Quote:

The reality is that when it comes to reference books (mostly business and computing), Amazon has the best selection (and usually the best prices). But I'm not sure I want to buy into the Kindle world.

Stick to your principles and stay within the small, progressive world of Sony Corporation. They may be the 5th largest media conglomerate on Earth, but it's very family-like. I hear they give free ereaders to employees of their whaling subsidiary.

Poppaea · 01-03-2011, 03:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by OtterBooks

Stick to your principles and stay within the small, progressive world of Sony Corporation. They may be the 5th largest media conglomerate on Earth, but it's very family-like. I hear they give free ereaders to employees of their whaling subsidiary.

Hello OtterBooks,

I can see you are being sarcastic, but I can not see what you wanna say as I am not familiar with any company politics. I'd appreciate it, if you would make your statement comprehensible for a dumb German, please.

Thanks a lot
Poppaea

Lt. Brannigan · 01-08-2011, 01:07 PM

Hopefully, no one minds me posting my thoughts on the two readers. My Kindle came in the mail the other day and I was able to play with it.

The Kindle
is not as nice as I had thought it would be. In my experience it's not very intuitive at all, in fact I am still in the process of figuring everything out.

It does Handle PDF's nicely. The "text to speech" feature is nice and makes for tolerable listening experience. The biggest problem I had with this was that it's difficult to navigate with that 5 way directional pad, it feels real jerky when reading a book that has content pages.

The device itself feels very fragile and gives me concern that one wrong move would break it in half.

The Sony Reader (PRS350)
I have fallen in love with, it is a highly intuitive interface and is instantly usable without any consulting of instruction manuals, it is a headache free device. And the touch screen is a real plus, and with only 5 buttons you won't have to worry about accidentally hitting the wrong button.

The negatives are few and in no way should discourage anyone from considering this device. Many of my notes are illegible which is due to both my ridiculously poor hand writing and the inaccuracy of the touchscreen and stylus.
It also makes for an interesting time trying to highlight certain things.

The final con is that you can't easily buy books from Amazon.

Latinandgreek · 01-08-2011, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lt. Brannigan

Hopefully, no one minds me posting my thoughts on the two readers. My Kindle came in the mail the other day and I was able to play with it.

The Kindle
is not as nice as I had thought it would be. In my experience it's not very intuitive at all, in fact I am still in the process of figuring everything out.

It does Handle PDF's nicely. The "text to speech" feature is nice and makes for tolerable listening experience. The biggest problem I had with this was that it's difficult to navigate with that 5 way directional pad, it feels real jerky when reading a book that has content pages.

The device itself feels very fragile and gives me concern that one wrong move would break it in half.

The Sony Reader (PRS350)
I have fallen in love with, it is a highly intuitive interface and is instantly usable without any consulting of instruction manuals, it is a headache free device. And the touch screen is a real plus, and with only 5 buttons you won't have to worry about accidentally hitting the wrong button.

The negatives are few and in no way should discourage anyone from considering this device. Many of my notes are illegible which is due to both my ridiculously poor hand writing and the inaccuracy of the touchscreen and stylus.
It also makes for an interesting time trying to highlight certain things.

The final con is that you can't easily buy books from Amazon.

I'm glad that you are enjoying your new reader, happy reading!

Wordeater · 01-09-2011, 06:20 PM

I got one in my hands. I just couldn't get over how cheap they are. The page buttons felt sloppy and I hated the keyboard.
Once I realized how I go about book buying I severed the tie I felt to Amazon.
I'm getting a Sony 650, but as the previous poster mentioned, the 200 dpi screen on the 350 is noticeable compared to the 650 for the font I will use. It had me leaning toward it over the 650 for a long time.

WE

brbubba · 01-09-2011, 11:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wordeater

I got one in my hands. I just couldn't get over how cheap they are. The page buttons felt sloppy and I hated the keyboard.
Once I realized how I go about book buying I severed the tie I felt to Amazon.
I'm getting a Sony 650, but as the previous poster mentioned, the 200 dpi screen on the 350 is noticeable compared to the 650 for the font I will use. It had me leaning toward it over the 650 for a long time.

WE

I've heard some brief chatter that the font can be changed to reduce the jaggy effect, but nothing definitive. My 350 is on the way so I'll play around with the fonts and see if some produce better results than others, although at BB I couldn't see a single jaggy with their default font, which couldn't be said for the Nook, Kindle or 650.

Poppaea · 01-10-2011, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by brbubba

I've heard some brief chatter that the font can be changed to reduce the jaggy effect, but nothing definitive. My 350 is on the way so I'll play around with the fonts and see if some produce better results than others, although at BB I couldn't see a single jaggy with their default font, which couldn't be said for the Nook, Kindle or 650.

The font can be changed but there is nothing wrong with their default font.

Miss Understood · 01-10-2011, 06:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by screwballl

Also remember battery life, the Kindle can go 2-4 weeks between charges, Sony is typically every few days. My Kindle was charged Dec 20 and still shows nearly full battery with 2-3 hours of reading each night.

I really have to correct this statement. The Sony PRS350 does not need charging every few days. I got mine for Christmas, heavy reading (I've read about 20 books since I received it) and today is the first time I've had to charge it since the initial charge. My old Sony PRS505 lasted about 2 1/2 weeks on a charge.

I think you may be confusing the Nook, which required charging more often, with the Sony readers.

brbubba · 01-10-2011, 09:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Poppaea

The font can be changed but there is nothing wrong with their default font.

The font looked fine to me, but there was at least one user in another thread claiming that he could eliminate jaggies and aliasing on his kindle by changing the font. I was skeptical to say the least.

eSheri · 01-10-2011, 10:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 3bayjunkie

From my research the Kindle wins hands down. I wouldn't even consider another reader. With the nook in a close second and sony in third place. If you want a quality reader with easy navigation and easy book downloads get the Kindle.

Plus you get the perks of free 3G coverage in more countries than any other reader. Free internet access and you can play music on it if you like to listen to music while you read.

hope that helps.

Hello all.
Free 3G, is this just to amazon's store or to the entire word wide web?
Thank you.

01-02-2011, 07:33 PM	#31
hike_gc Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 556 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Erie, Colorado Device: Kindle Voyage, Nook	Sony vs Kindle vs Bookeen I own a Sony 505 but now decided I want to be able buy reference books for my ereader as well. My challenge is that I like to dog ear, high light and notate my reference books. Hence the search for another reader. The reality is that when it comes to reference books (mostly business and computing), Amazon has the best selection (and usually the best prices). But I'm not sure I want to buy into the Kindle world. My goal is reduce and eventually eliminate purchasing reference books in print editions. The Sony 650 looks pretty nice, but could I load Kindle books on it, or do I have to remove the DRM first? I'd like to stay with a 6" screen. Wi-fi and 3G are not deal breakers.

01-02-2011, 08:16 PM	#34
hike_gc Zealot Posts: 142 Karma: 556 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Erie, Colorado Device: Kindle Voyage, Nook	Yes... As I read different discussions on this site, I'm pretty close to buying the Kindle. Realistically, they have the best selection of IT books. The price is right. As long as I bookmark, highlight, and scribble notes on pages, then I'm good. Can I name my bookmarks or do they just get automatically numbered? The Sony 650 didn't get good comments on the note feature, even with a stylus. Pocketbook looks good too, but pricey.

01-08-2011, 01:07 PM	#38
Lt. Brannigan Enthusiast Posts: 34 Karma: 4502 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Pocatello, Idaho Device: Sony PRS350, Kindle Wi-Fi.	Hopefully, no one minds me posting my thoughts on the two readers. My Kindle came in the mail the other day and I was able to play with it. The Kindle is not as nice as I had thought it would be. In my experience it's not very intuitive at all, in fact I am still in the process of figuring everything out. It does Handle PDF's nicely. The "text to speech" feature is nice and makes for tolerable listening experience. The biggest problem I had with this was that it's difficult to navigate with that 5 way directional pad, it feels real jerky when reading a book that has content pages. The device itself feels very fragile and gives me concern that one wrong move would break it in half. The Sony Reader (PRS350) I have fallen in love with, it is a highly intuitive interface and is instantly usable without any consulting of instruction manuals, it is a headache free device. And the touch screen is a real plus, and with only 5 buttons you won't have to worry about accidentally hitting the wrong button. The negatives are few and in no way should discourage anyone from considering this device. Many of my notes are illegible which is due to both my ridiculously poor hand writing and the inaccuracy of the touchscreen and stylus. It also makes for an interesting time trying to highlight certain things. The final con is that you can't easily buy books from Amazon. Last edited by Lt. Brannigan; 01-08-2011 at 01:10 PM.

01-09-2011, 06:20 PM	#40
Wordeater Connoisseur Posts: 83 Karma: 48958 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Vancouver, Canada Device: Sony PRS-650	Yeah, I wanted a Kindle too until.... I got one in my hands. I just couldn't get over how cheap they are. The page buttons felt sloppy and I hated the keyboard. Once I realized how I go about book buying I severed the tie I felt to Amazon. I'm getting a Sony 650, but as the previous poster mentioned, the 200 dpi screen on the 350 is noticeable compared to the 650 for the font I will use. It had me leaning toward it over the 650 for a long time. WE

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01-02-2011, 07:36 PM	#32
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	You have to remove the DRM and then convert the books to EPub. A minor point there. You are buying into Amazons e-book world if you buy the books from Amazon. If you already have a Sony that you like and are planning on buying books from Amazon why not own the Kindle. Then you have the best of both worlds. Just a thought.

01-02-2011, 08:49 PM	#35
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	You cannot name the book marks. If you want to get around that, enter a note as your bookmark. Then you can name it.

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