sony vs kobo

[terraskye]

Hi again,

I think I've fallen down the rabbit hole. lol

Anyways I have my kobo and I'll be ordering my K3 sometime next month however the Sony 300's have caught my eye and now I'm wondering if I should return my kobo for that instead.

I've heard that you can still use the kobo bookstore to use on the sony via Calibre (?) and I can also use it for ebooks at the library. I also find the button feature on the kobo a bit hard to use with longer nails

Are there any advantages of one over the other? Does the Sony have a Dictionary function as that would be nifty...I have until October 10th to return the Kobo if I'm not absolutely delighted so please help a gal and ereader noob out please


Fiona

[tubemonkey]

The Sony has a 5" Pearl display and a touchscreen; it's also smaller and lighter, has better build quality, and is $50 more expensive. It also does notes and highlighting. It has two English dictionaries and 10 translation dictionaries. Battery life is comparable at about two weeks.

Missing features include: no memory expansion (only 1.4GB available), no 3G, no WiFi, no bluetooth, no audiobooks, no MP3s, no speaker, and no black as a color option.

[clintbradford]

No expandable memory on some of the Sony '300 models. If you do not like the Kobo's button, you probably will not like the PRS-300's nav button either.

But you will love the new Kindle model.

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by clintbradford

No expandable memory on some of the Sony '300 models. If you do not like the Kobo's button, you probably will not like the PRS-300's nav button either.

But you will love the new Kindle model.

Is the functionality on the 350 pretty much the same as the 300?

TIA

ETA: looking at the Sony site it looks like the 350 may be a better bet navigation wise for me than the 300 .. think I'll go and look at one in store this evening

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by tubemonkey

The Sony has a 5" Pearl display and a touchscreen; it's also smaller and lighter, has better build quality, and is $50 more expensive. It also does notes and highlighting. It has two English dictionaries and 10 translation dictionaries. Battery life is comparable at about two weeks.

Missing features include: no memory expansion (only 1.4GB available), no 3G, no WiFi, no bluetooth, no audiobooks, no MP3s, no speaker, and no black as a color option.

Wow so the incl software really eats into the HD space. That does kinda suck though I do like the dictionary ..I don't use bluetooth so no worrys there and for some reason I have a hard time concentrating on audiobooks so I don't listen to them now. Since I'm already getting a k3 next month though that should cover my wifi option.


Thanks
Fiona

[viviena]

There seems to be quite a few people who own or have used both the new Sony Readers and the Kobos. I have the 350, but kept the Kobo too.

Originally Posted by terraskye

I've heard that you can still use the kobo bookstore to use on the sony via Calibre (?) and I can also use it for ebooks at the library. I also find the button feature on the kobo a bit hard to use with longer nails.

If the book you've bought from Kobo is EPUB, then the Sony won't have any problems with it. You can either use the navigational buttons or use a touchscreen gesture -- very responsive, and hardly leaves any fingerprints, contrary to what one might expect.

Definitely go and look at the Sony models in person though... not so much for the Sony functionality, but rather for the form factor of a 5". See if you could adjust to it or would prefer a 6" inch.

Are there any advantages of one over the other? Does the Sony have a Dictionary function as that would be nifty...

Sony has the new Pearl screen, dictionaries (English and translation types), note-taking abilities, much faster page-turning. It feels sturdier than the Kobo's plastic as well. Wakes up instantly from sleep mode to the page of the book you were at (I've never had to use shutdown mode). The auto-shutdown on the Sony is a lot lot longer than the Kobo's 30 min. If you ever read fiction that comes in PDF,* the Sony's PDF controls are better than the Kobo's and it supports PDF reflow. (Of course, for technical or reference PDFs, 5" and 6" ereaders are still a bad idea.) Any other advantages I can think of depend on the person -- for myself, I like its smaller size and lightness, just because I like to use it outdoors, on public transport, etc. Lack of wifi isn't a negative for me (I feel like I'm constantly tethered to the computer as it is), but it's understandably important to many.

* (Like seemingly half my local library's offerings, grr.)

Possible downsides as compared to Kobo? Not that the Kobo desktop software is brilliant, but I hear the Sony Reader software is rather bad. As a happy user of Calibre, I've never had to form my own opinion on this, but it may factor in your decision. Lack of expansion card slot. Admittedly a very petty quibble, but also the Sony Readers don't display book covers in sleep mode, rather images of your own choosing -- a function I've grown to like, but I'd always been fond of the book covers that a powered down Kobo (with the original firmware) showed.

I can't really think of anything else to say, except that for what it's worth, I vastly prefer the 350 to the Kobo nowadays and use the former exclusively -- the latter is currently lent to a relative. That said, I haven't regretted either purchase.

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by viviena

There seems to be quite a few people who own or have used both the new Sony Readers and the Kobos. I have the 350, but kept the Kobo too.



If the book you've bought from Kobo is EPUB, then the Sony won't have any problems with it. You can either use the navigational buttons or use a touchscreen gesture -- very responsive, and hardly leaves any fingerprints, contrary to what one might expect.

Definitely go and look at the Sony models in person though... not so much for the Sony functionality, but rather for the form factor of a 5". See if you could adjust to it or would prefer a 6" inch.


Sony has the new Pearl screen, dictionaries (English and translation types), note-taking abilities, much faster page-turning. It feels sturdier than the Kobo's plastic as well. Wakes up instantly from sleep mode to the page of the book you were at (I've never had to use shutdown mode) -- not a feature unique to Sony, but something the Kobo doesn't do currently. Any other advantages I can think of depend on the person -- for myself, I like its smaller size and lightness, just because I like to use it outdoors, on public transport, etc. Lack of wifi isn't a negative for me (I feel like I'm constantly tethered to the computer as it is), but it's understandably important to many.

Possible downsides as compared to Kobo? Not that the Kobo desktop software is brilliant, but I hear the Sony Reader software is rather bad. As a happy user of Calibre, I've never had to form my own opinion on this, but it may factor in your decision. Lack of expansion card slot. Admittedly a very petty quibble, but also the Sony Readers don't display book covers in sleep mode, rather images of your own choosing -- a function I've grown to like, but I'd always been fond of the book covers that a powered down Kobo (with the original firmware) showed.

I can't really think of anything else to say, except that for what it's worth, I vastly prefer the 350 to the Kobo nowadays and use the former exclusively -- the latter is currently lent to a relative. That said, I haven't regretted either purchase.

Thank you for your answers.. I am going to Future Shop tonight to compare the 350 to the new 650 models as I'm wondering if I'll prefer the larger screen.

I do like what I've read so far on the Sony and that I can still buy books through the kobo desktop program with it plus the dictionary,ability to use with library etc.

I've heard some not so good things about the Sony ebook store but no worrys if I have access to Kobo,Powells and possibly Borders(?) unless they are geo-restricted. That and Calibre which I discovered via this forum a few days ago.

Thanks again
Fiona

[tubemonkey]

Originally Posted by terraskye

Thanks
Fiona

The Pocket is a compelling ereader. I borrowed a 300 once and really liked it. Unfortunately for me, it was missing too many features. So getting one would be a waste of my money; unless it was in the $50-$75 range.

[terraskye]

My local Future Shop didn't have a PRS350 or 650 in stock but did have the 300 & 600 and I played around with both. If the 650 is way better than the 600 then that is what I'll be buying after returning my Kobo. I LOVED the layout and the touchscreen and being a lefty loved the page turning buttons on the left had side. Squee!!! Now to find one in stock in Edmonton!!


Thanks everyone for your reviews/opinions/advice

Fiona

[boswd]

just when you thought things were getting easier Kobo has now updated and improved on their last Model. Kobo 2 is due out next month.

higher contrast ratio
faster page turning
different colors
wi fi

and of course it still retains e-pub format.

This is a very very interesting model indeed.

[viviena]

Originally Posted by boswd

just when you thought things were getting easier Kobo has now updated and improved on their last Model. Kobo 2 is due out next month.

I was wondering if I'd have to eat my words in this thread. They've completely redone the website to reflect the new model: http://koboereader.com/

Terra, whether you choose to still go with the Sony or get the Kobo Wifi instead, consider returning the Kobo you currently have. From the looks of the website, the old Kobos are as good as discontinued from sale (though I'm reasonably certain they'll still be supported in terms of firmware).

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by boswd

just when you thought things were getting easier Kobo has now updated and improved on their last Model. Kobo 2 is due out next month.

higher contrast ratio
faster page turning
different colors
wi fi

and of course it still retains e-pub format.

This is a very very interesting model indeed.

::wince:: I saw that this morning. My thoughts are now to return Kobo1 and pre-order Kobo 2 and then see though I wish the button was placed better on the Kobo2 as I'm also a leftie haha..guess there isn't One E-reader to Rule them all though. Knowing me though I'll probably end up with the new Kobo, the Kindle 3 AND the PRS-650 lol

[dordale]

Originally Posted by terraskye

My local Future Shop didn't have a PRS350 or 650 in stock but did have the 300 & 600 and I played around with both. If the 650 is way better than the 600 then that is what I'll be buying after returning my Kobo. I LOVED the layout and the touchscreen and being a lefty loved the page turning buttons on the left had side. Squee!!! Now to find one in stock in Edmonton!!


Thanks everyone for your reviews/opinions/advice

Fiona

Fiona--Good luck with your quest to find the perfect reader!

Just wanted to report on the 650--I just got mine a couple days ago and I'm loving it! I'm also a leftie and find the page turn buttons to be very convenient. I also like using the touchscreen and the way Sony has created the user interface is very intuitive. My husband has a Sony 900--and I have to say even though the 900 has a bigger screen he wants my 650. The 650 has a much clearer screen than the 900, and he says the touch screen is much better than what is built into the 900s. Apparently the 650's touch screen is more sensitive to touch--requiring a much lighter touch to activate than the 900s. Also the zoom options on the new Sonys have been expanded, making reading PDFs better than on prior models.

dordale

[tubemonkey]

Kobo needs to re-work their comparison chart. According to them, the Nook can no longer do library books and the Sony Pocket has a card reader. Of course, neither of these are true.

[terraskye]

Originally Posted by viviena

I was wondering if I'd have to eat my words in this thread. They've completely redone the website to reflect the new model: http://koboereader.com/

Terra, whether you choose to still go with the Sony or get the Kobo Wifi instead, consider returning the Kobo you currently have. From the looks of the website, the old Kobos are as good as discontinued from sale (though I'm reasonably certain they'll still be supported in terms of firmware).

I just factory reset and boxed up Kobo1 and I'll return it by Friday and then pre-order the new one. I think I'll order the Sony in November after hubby gets his iphone and the K3 around Christmas as I plan to also order one for my son for his present (another avid reader)