Sony Reader vs Kindle

[ProfCrash]

I never use the browser. I do download all of my books using the 3G feature. Sometimes it is instant gratification, sitting in an airport and finishing a book with a sequel or seeing a book in a book store that I want to read. Many times it is more convenient to buy a book online at work and turn on the 3G to download it when I get home then to use a USB cord. When I was traveling overseas it was great to be able to download books using the 3G.

If a touchscreen is a must for you then buy the Sony. If you want a reliable machine that works great with access to the best e-book store then get a Kindle.

Either way, you will be happy.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

If a touchscreen is a must for you then buy the Sony. If you want a reliable machine that works great with access to the best e-book store then get a Kindle.

I think this needs a little clarification. The Sonys are reliable machines and are more sturdily built than the Kindle. One difference is the metal casing of the Sonys versus the plastic casing of the Kindles.

As to the best ebookstore, that depends greatly on what you read. There is no doubt that in raw numbers Amazon has more ebooks for sale than does the Sony store. But your Sony device can -- without stripping DRM and without format conversion -- also read books bought at, for example, Kobo and Books On Board as well as the Sony ebookstore. More importantly, what does it matter if Amazon has more romance titles or vampire titles than any other ebookstore if you never read romance or vampire books?

What I always suggest to people who ask about the ebookstores is that they do the following:

1. make a list of the last 10 books they read
2. make a list of the 10 books that they want to read next
3. go to each ebookstore and find out whether those 20 books are available at the ebookstore
4. if ebookstore 1 has 20 out of 20 and ebookstore 2 has 12 out of 20, then you will want to do your shopping at ebookstore 1 and should buy a reader compatible with that ebookstore; but if both score similarly, whether it be 20/20 or 12/20, then make you decision based on the device itself because the ebookstore doesn't really matter

Under no circumstance should you wholly let the experience of others sway your decision. Each of us has different likes and dislikes when it comes to books and readers, and our choices reflect those differences.

[ProfCrash]

I don't buy the metal casing is that much more sturdy. I have known many folks whose Kindles have bounced and been fine. I think the metal looks nice and gives the feeling of it being more sturdy but Kindles have held up just fine.

I agree about checking the bookstore for what you are reading.

[starrlamia]

Originally Posted by ProfCrash

If a touchscreen is a must for you then buy the Sony. If you want a reliable machine that works great with access to the best e-book store then get a Kindle.

Either way, you will be happy.

they are both incredibly reliable machines with access to large libraries.
I think a better comparison is:
if you want a great touchscreen go with Sony, if you want wifi or reliable 3g go with kindle.

I used inkmesh.com to compare what books are available in what format for what price, easier I think then searching multiple bookstores.

[FF2]

Originally Posted by maurices5000

Will using the stylus scratch up the screen? I'm wondering I think my old PDA eventually developed some light scratches where i used to try to write on the screen over time.

Any screen can be scratched. Although a touch-screen might be more prone to it. I do recall an awful experience with a Palmpilot. Dragged the stylus across the screen accompanied by an awful screeching sound. Obviously a tiny piece of grit was trapped under the point and I wound up with a 1 inch scratch. But I put a screen protector on my kindle3 because people tend to want to touch-screen it if you show it to them.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by FF2

Any screen can be scratched. Although a touch-screen might be more prone to it. I do recall an awful experience with a Palmpilot. Dragged the stylus across the screen accompanied by an awful screeching sound. Obviously a tiny piece of grit was trapped under the point and I wound up with a 1 inch scratch. But I put a screen protector on my kindle3 because people tend to want to touch-screen it if you show it to them.

The stylus is integrated into the reader and won't get dirty as it is pretty snug. The touchscreen is absolutly sturdy and responds to a whisper of your fingers. I had a "normal" device Italica which is like Cybook Gen3 or Pocketbook 301 and there is absolutly no difference in sturdiness. But the touchscreen handling changes everything and means it is a different world.

Even if you travel a lot, I don't see the advantages of having 3G, as only a small fraction of us is staying in Timbuktu longer as it takes to read the 1200 books that your reader is able to carry. It is just the feeling of wanting to be up-to-date with your gadgets, I guess.

[Lt. Brannigan]

I myself use a Sony PRS350 and am absolutely thrilled with it. The advantages for me was that it was extremely easy to use with no consulting the user's guide other than to check what formats it was compatible with. And when compared to the Kindle it does indeed come across as sturdy little device. Also I love the fact that with the PRS350 I can slip almost my entire library into my coat pocket.

I myself find the Kindle a bit less user friendly, and it comes across as down right fragile. But the keyboard is nice and a decided advantage over the Sony.

[maurices5000]

How much importance should i assign to which bookstore I will be using. I just checked a few books on GoogleBooks and Kindle. Kindle had all of them that were in digital format. Google had only a fraction. I didn not check a long list.

Thanks!

[HarryT]

Owning both a Kindle and ePub devices, one thing that is undoubtedly true is that, if you plan to buy commercial eBooks, it's much, MUCH easier to do it on the Kindle (especially the 3G Kindle) than it is on an ePub device. On the Kindle you can browse the bookstore on the device itself, click the "Buy" button, and a minute later you're reading it. On an ePub device, you have to load the book via a PC and it's a lot less convenient.

As far as the actual readers go, both Sony Readers and Kindles are excellent; I'm sure you'd be delighted with either.

[SeaBookGuy]

Originally Posted by bevdeforges

OTOH I know folks who really want the instant gratification of 3G access to the Kindle store, and for them the Kindle is a far better choice. If you're in the US, Amazon probably has the best selection in books (and possibly at the best prices), but living outside the US even Amazon restricts availability by your residence location.

If you want to see a Sony up close and personal, check Best Buy if you've got one in the area. I source my Sony gift cards through them, so I assume they have the readers, too.

I used to be one of the "Kindle = instant gratification" crowd as well. But, not everyone has either a convenient, well-stocked public library, or decent local bookstores, available. Moreover, I think we might take sideloading for granted as "easy", when it can be intimidating for others, who'd benefit from Whisper-purchasing instead.

[Andrew H.]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Owning both a Kindle and ePub devices, one thing that is undoubtedly true is that, if you plan to buy commercial eBooks, it's much, MUCH easier to do it on the Kindle (especially the 3G Kindle) than it is on an ePub device. On the Kindle you can browse the bookstore on the device itself, click the "Buy" button, and a minute later you're reading it. On an ePub device, you have to load the book via a PC and it's a lot less convenient.

As far as the actual readers go, both Sony Readers and Kindles are excellent; I'm sure you'd be delighted with either.

This is an important point, and one that can be overlooked in straight device vs. device comparisons. E-readers don't exist in a vacuum. They are useless unless there is a way to get content on the device, so it's important to consider the device's infrastructure as well as the device when deciding what to purchase.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

They are useless unless there is a way to get content on the device, so it's important to consider the device's infrastructure as well as the device when deciding what to purchase.

This is true, but there is no particular reason to buy into all the vendor's attempts at ebook store lock-in. It is easiest to get Kindle store content onto a Kindle, but it isn't hard to get it onto a Sony. Use Calibre to manage your Sony content (its the best approach anyway). Buy for K4PC, install a DRM-stripping 3rd party Calibre plugin, and then import the K4PC ebooks and export to ePub for the Sony. The only downside is to watch out for TOPAZ ebooks in the Kindle store (they don't list their filesize), since they are harder to convert.

[ProfCrash]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

This is true, but there is no particular reason to buy into all the vendor's attempts at ebook store lock-in. It is easiest to get Kindle store content onto a Kindle, but it isn't hard to get it onto a Sony. Use Calibre to manage your Sony content (its the best approach anyway). Buy for K4PC, install a DRM-stripping 3rd party Calibre plugin, and then import the K4PC ebooks and export to ePub for the Sony. The only downside is to watch out for TOPAZ ebooks in the Kindle store (they don't list their filesize), since they are harder to convert.

Honestly, saying that you are buying a Sony or Nook or Kobo or whatever reader so you don't get locked into Amazon and then buying books from Amazon sounds a bit, well, silly. You are admitting that you know buying a device does not lock you into a store so how exactly is buying a Kindle locking you into anything?

All of the major ebook readers that are associated with a bookstore are trying to lock you in. Yes, the Nook can read Sony and Kobo books. BN knows that Nook owners are most likely going to buy from BN. Why? Because it is easy and because BN knows that Sony's store is, well, bad, and the Kobo store probably is not as good as the BN store. BN only concern was Amazon and that is probably why they choose EPub and why they choose not to sell a rooted Nook Color. they knew that people would down load Kindle for Android and buy books from Amazon, which is exactly what is happening when people root their Nook Colors.

So what does it say when some of the folks talking about avoiding being locked into Amazon by buying a device that is not a Kindle and then buying EBooks from Amazon and doing the extra work to strip DRM and convert the format?

[starrlamia]

every reader that is associated with a store wants you to buy from their store. I think if all you want to do is buy books, especially best sellers and well known authors then it doesnt really matter which reader you buy, because chances are very high that every store will have them. Personally Im a cheap ass and comparison shop using inkmesh and have gotten books from a variety of sources and I also like borrowing library books which IMO is the biggest downfall to the kindle and the biggest reason I didnt buy it.

There is no right and wrong really, and sometimes I find people on this forum a bit overzealous toward their prefered reader and a bit condescending toward the ones they dont like/own/use etc. Each reader has its pros and cons, its a matter of seeing them in person and deciding which features will tickle your fancy.

[speedlever]

There's also plan B and plan C, depending on how deep your pockets are.

Plan B: buy a Kindle and buy a Sony.

Plan C: buy an iPad (if you are comfy with reading on an LCD) and get iPad apps for Kindle, Nook, Kobo, Google Books, Bluefire Reader, iBooks, etc.