Unofficial FAQ: Sony's CONNECT e-book store

[Alexander Turcic]

We call this FAQ regarding Sony's upcoming CONNECT e-book store strictly unofficial because the answers are still subject to change. The following information was digged out through some incredibly smart guessing by yours truly. Thanks to TaKir who gave me the initial hint!

• Q: How do I make my books available for your eBooks service?
  A: As Sony continues to build out its eBook Reader device and content service for the upcoming launch, we continue to look for great content to add to the store. The eBook store will offer a wide variety of genres and content selection from romance to business to science-fiction to Manga and we are always looking for more great content. If you are interested in selling your eBooks, please contact us at publisher_sign-up@sonyconnect.com and include the following information: Publisher Name, Contact Name and Information, Number of titles in digital format, Type of digital format (i.e. OeB; .PDF; .LIT), A URL link to your catalog or a list of titles you wish to include. Someone from our team will get back to you shortly to discuss how we can move forward to getting your titles ready for sale in the store.
  
  
• Q: Will you offer explicit content in your store for sale?
  A: We will present a wide variety of genres and content selection from romance to business to technology to manga. Some of the eBooks we will make available will have explicit language and content, just as any bookstore does. As a retailer we will not make any judgment on the nature of the content, and simply focus on offering the widest selection and best user experience for our customers.
  
  
• Q: Will the eBook store deliver content to other Sony devices, for example the PSP and Sony Ericsson phone?
  A: We are always evaluating other Sony devices that may be well-suited to portable reading of text content. At this time, we are focusing on the launch of the Sony Reader.
  
  
• Q: Do you use Digital Rights Management (DRM) and, if so, what kind is it?
  A: We use the Marlin DRM, which is a standards-based rights management technology developed by a broad and inclusive group of leading CE manufacturers (such as Phillips, Samsung, Matsushita, and Sony) and major content companies (such as 20th Century Fox) called the Coral Consortium.
  
  
• Q: What are your Digital Rights Management (DRM) Business Rules?
  A: We will offer titles on a pay-to-own basis - similar to the way a user expects to purchase and own other digital media today. The user will have the option to purchase this content and read it on up to 6 different activated devices (PCs or Readers).
  
  
• Q: What is BBeB format?
  A: BBeB (Broad Band eBook) format is Sony's eBook format which realizes smooth production, distribution, and playback of electronic publishing content with its intermediate format defined in XML (eXtensive Marked-up Language).
  
  
• Q: What format does the Sony Reader handle?
  A: Books: BBeB / PDF / Text / (Microsoft Word - PC Application does the conversion for the hardware from Word to Text), Pictures: JPEG, Audio: MP3
  
  
• Q: Can I get news or blogs?
  A: The store will integrate the ability to select any news or blog feed in the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format and quickly and easily convert them into Sony's BBeB format for quick and easy transfer.
  
  
• Q: How many titles does the eBook store feature and what kind of content is it?
  A: The store features over 10,000 titles from major and independent publishers. Our goal is to eventually offer every eBook available and will include a great breadth and depth of fiction and non-fiction books similar to what one would find in a great bookstore. We will include a great selection of Manga and comics as well.
  
  
• Q: Can I purchase Audio Books from the eBooks store?
  A: During our initial launch this feature will not be available. Please check back regularly as we are always expanding our service.
  
  
• Q: Can you purchase music content from CONNECT Store with CONNECT Reader (desktop application to browse and manage purchased e-books)
  A: No, CONNECT Player (Sony's media manager for music) is needed to purchase music.
  
  
• Q: When I log-in to the eBooks service with my CONNECT Music credentials, will I see my billing and credit card information?
  A: No, your credit card information will have to be re-entered, but your login and password will be the same as the Connect Music Store.
  
  
• Q: Can I log-in to the eBooks service with my CONNECT Music user name and password?
  A: Yes, your user name and password are the same for both services.
  
  
• Q: Which OS is supported?
  A: Windows XP Professional / Home
  
  
• Q: How do I authorize my Sony Reader device to begin reading my eBooks?
  A: 1. Register your personal account with the CONNECT Store. (your PC will automatically be registered as an authorized reading device). 2. Connect your Sony Reader to your computer using the supplied USB cable, then turn on the Reader. 3. Click "CONNECT Store" if you are not already in the CONNECT Store. The Home Page appears within the PC Software window. 4. Your Sony Reader device will automatically be registered as an authorized reading device.
  
  
• Q: How do I register for the CONNECT eBooks service?
  A: 1. Click "CONNECT Store" in the software left-hand navigation view. The Home Page appears within the PC Software window. 2. Click "Register" on the top navigation menu. You will got through an easy four step process before you can log-in and begin to search, browse and download from the store.

Related: E-books from Sony Connect vs. Amazon

[rmeister0]

Some questions that remain then:

How does one "unregister" a device if they are limited to six devices? Perhaps more specifically, how does one replace one device with another (such as a warranty replacement)?

Will the store sell unprotected content if the publisher wishes?

Are there plans to support operating systems other than Windows XP?

[Gameboy70]

• Q: What format does the Sony Reader handle?
  A: Books: BBeB / PDF / Text / (Microsoft Word - PC Application does the conversion for the hardware from Word to Text), Pictures: JPEG, Audio: MP3
  
  
• Q: Can I get news or blogs?
  A: The store will integrate the ability to select any news or blog feed in the Really Simple Syndication (RSS) format and quickly and easily convert them into Sony's BBeB format for quick and easy transfer.

I was hoping that a couple of initial reports from CES (C|Net, Popular Mechanics), that included HTML in the list of supported formats would eventually corroborated. Too bad.

What that about "the store" being the source for RSS feeds? Does this imply you have to use the Connect store rather than getting the feeds directly from their respective sites? Even if free, I could do without that kind of centralized distribution. Hopefully I'm just being paranoid.

[jerrywojo]

Originally Posted by Alexander

[*]Q: What format does the Sony Reader handle?
A: Books: BBeB / PDF / Text / (Microsoft Word - PC Application does the conversion for the hardware from Word to Text), Pictures: JPEG, Audio: MP3

No HTML.

Could be the dagger for me on this device. Although I could do mutiple conversions...html to MS word to text....but then again.

I'm still holding out. There's always the strong possiblity that whoever wrote the faq won't divulge the devices full potential and work arounds.