05-31-2008, 10:56 PM | #1 |
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A different kind of wish list
I've seen wish lists for new features in the Reader but let's face it, if it doesn't help Sony make more money you are going to have a long wait.
Since the money is in the books, not the hardware, my question is: What could Sony do that would make you buy more books from them? I have a couple ideas. 1. I understand why I can't return a book, (it's a store not a library) but I would really like the ability to "trade up". Let's say I buy books one and two of a six book series, and then Sony offers all six as a bundle. I'd like to return the first two, and use the money to purchase the bundle. As it is right now, I am afraid to buy any book in a series. I just wait and hope for bundle pricing. 2. I would like a way to report typos, and download an updated version of any book that I have purchased. Reporting could be as simple as opening the book on your computer, highlighting the error text, and selecting "Report problem" from a context menu. I can already view my purchases and re-download them if necessary. If that page showed version information, I would know if there was an updated copy for me to download. They could even offer a "point" for every typo you report, and then let you use your points to get discounts on books. This would encourage people to report problems, and also encourage Sony to fix them quickly. It wouldn't be long before Sony could advertise that they have the most accurately printed books in the industry. Any other ideas? |
05-31-2008, 11:07 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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I like the bundle idea, I'd like to be able to buy a book from Sony without using the Sony software which I despise
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06-01-2008, 07:15 AM | #3 | |
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Concerning misprints -- my bet is that Sony gets the files from the publishers, they don't create them in-house, but that is only a guess. Even if they are created in-house, they begin as electronic files submitted from the publishers. They are the same files which are sent to the printer, and I see plenty of misprints in various publishers' paper-books. There is no recourse, nor any credit offered by the traditional publishers, so I'm not sure how or why Sony would be able to change that practice. I once bought a paper-book from a bookstore and it was missing 16 pages. Every copy on the shelf was missing the same pages. I wrote to the publisher, pointing out just where the missing pages were, and they sent me a new copy of the book. It, too, was missing the pages. I wrote back asking them to photocopy from the manuscript the missing pages so that I could read them. I got back a polite "Thank you for your interest" letter and never have been able to read those missing pages. I don't think fixing misprints is going to help Sony earn any more money, and by your way of thinking, it will also cost them money, since you want some sort of credit for reporting them. As for the "books in series" idea -- I'd love it if DVD stores would do the same thing. I buy movies when the price is good and when I feel I want to own them, only to find a "Director's Cut Deluxe Edition with everything ever created related to the movie crammed onto 5 DVDs including a thank-you note from the star's mother" edition, or they are bundled into single-box "All The Indiana Jones Movies (so far)" edition. I sure wish I could trade in my earlier editions and buy the new complete editions, but they have no desire for the earlier editions to come back. So I can buy the newer more complete editions and give the old ones to friends or stick with the original releases. You know the old saying, "Wish in one hand and spit in the other and see which fills up first.'' The things that Sony could do which would make me buy more books from them are: 1) lower ALL their prices -- there' s no reason on this earth why computer books in ebook format have to reflect their enormous paper-version prices; 2) get more publishers and authors to release their books in Sony format at reasonable prices. |
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06-01-2008, 12:32 PM | #4 | |
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Of course, #2 would be awesome as well. |
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06-01-2008, 12:44 PM | #5 | |
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You hit the nail....
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06-01-2008, 02:17 PM | #6 |
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Yes, certainly a larger selection of books, and at reasonable prices, would help. Not too likely to happen any time soon because of publisher intransigence, though. But ...
... Here's a wild idea. If Sony, in partnership with whomever, would support monthly subscription multi-media e-zines that would "play" (text, pictures, and yes, sound) on the PRS. Zines like the now defunct _Saturday Evening Post_ and all the SF magazines that died in the 50's, 60's , 70's, and 80's. Cost per month to subscribe something like 50 cents. Yes, the market for short fiction is dead, dead, dead, and that's not just in the mainstream. Even in niche markets like SF, detectives, and pulp. Something like this might help revive it. And, provide more reading for PRS owners. And, provide a living for a few more authors. |
06-01-2008, 06:55 PM | #7 | |
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Fictionwise has Asimov, Analog, Ellery Queen and Alfred Hitchcock, at $2.99 each (less if you are a club member, whatever that is), and available in .lrf format (among others). Just FYI. ScS |
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06-01-2008, 07:06 PM | #8 |
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Sony needs to get out of the content business, and turn it over to, loathe though I am to say it, Amazon. I should be able to register my Sony Reader with Amazon, and download their "Kindle edition" books in LRF format.
Alternatively, if Sony really wishes to compete with Amazon, then they should price their books the same as or better than Amazon. Amazon, I'm told, subsidizes lower prices on some titles by their sells sales of other content (printed books). Sony, which is a huge electronics giant, could certainly subsidize lower prices on content, as well. Last edited by Taylor514ce; 06-02-2008 at 08:38 AM. |
06-01-2008, 09:24 PM | #9 | |
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I would glady spend the money for the e-book if I knew the quality was there. |
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06-02-2008, 12:54 AM | #10 |
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My 2 cents:
(1) College textbooks! Do you know how much textbooks cost these days ($50+ each) and it's a racket the way they require students to buy the 'new' edition every year, esp. since most students hardly read all the pages anyway. Just think.. if a significant percentage of students can get e-textbooks cheaper, just imagine the number of Sony Readers that can be sold to the college population? (2) Out of Print Books -- granted it may be costly to 're-type' the old books but they can be easily outsourced cheaply. This may be a good business opportunity, hey? |
06-02-2008, 11:46 AM | #11 | |
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In terms of making sales to me, they'd have to fix BOTH of the first two to even have a chance -- each of those is a complete show-stopper. The others are improvements that would help, but aren't complete show-stoppers. Last edited by Xenophon; 06-02-2008 at 11:50 AM. Reason: Note that both the first two are show-stoppers. |
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06-02-2008, 12:56 PM | #12 | |
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BOb |
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06-02-2008, 02:14 PM | #13 |
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For me:
1. More books, including books out of print. 2. Multiple formats for a book. I love what Fictionwise is doing with Multiformat. I'd buy tons more if I knew that books I bought for my Reader would work on my wife's Kindle (when I get her one) 3. I want a digital version of every p-book I buy. I want to be able to buy a book at Borders or Barnes and Noble, go home, type in a code on a special website (code comes from the book) and get an ebook copy |
06-02-2008, 06:29 PM | #14 | |
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Your first suggestion is a terrific one, especially because for the past 20 years or so books have been computer printed, so they're all in some sort of electronic format already. And it really bugs me the way that I'll get hooked on an author only to find that some of the earlier books are out of print and I just have to wait if I wish to read them in sequence. I spend a lot of money in used bookstores and at Amazon marketplace buying used copies of the books the publishers don't want to sell me, and they don't see a penny of that money. Making those books available at least electronically, even if they don't want the expense of printing and storing/shipping paper copies, would generate more income for both the publishers and their authors. The multi-format books at Fictionwise are not quite what you think -- you have to make a commitment for ONE format, and once you've downloaded that format, to the best of my knowledge you can't download the same book in a different format. And it's not like you get a zip file with all the formats in it. And the publishers will be very reluctant to allow number 3 because then you're getting two copies of the book, which can be read by two different people at the same time, for the price of one. That's the biggest fear they have -- that more copies than have been paid for will be in use at one time. What's to stop you from giving that code to all your friends who have Sony readers? You know that's unreasonable and I know that's unreasonable, because it's the same as you buying one book and reading it and then having your wife or a friend read the same book (or even 10 friends in a row) but to the publishers, it's the biggest reason that they're not all jumping on the ebook bandwagon. |
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06-02-2008, 06:58 PM | #15 | ||
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I would love this as there are many books in my p-library that I would love to have in my e-library. A lot of them just don't exist in e-book, in any format.
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Just my $0.02 |
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