Sony or Kindle so confused

vlapinta · 01-04-2009, 02:19 PM

I want to purchase an e-reader. I have been reading reviews for months between the Sony and the Kindle. I would rather be reading books at this time instead, lol! I need help deciding which to buy...
I was going to wait till the next Kindle version came out, but it dosen't look like this is happening any time soon. I read mostly best selling novels. I have checked prices between the two book stores and it seems Sony books are slightly more expensive than prices in teh Amazon book store, but I can get the Sony 505 for @ $100 dollars less than a Kindle. I could use the money I save to buy books. I like the design of the Sony much better than the white odd shaped design of the Kindle. I do love the wispernet the Kindle offers, and the idea that you can read a chapter before you buy the book, which is a big plus. Any suggestions to help me make my decision would really be really appreciated!

ShortNCuddlyAm · 01-04-2009, 02:33 PM

You should be able to have look and feel of a Sony in a store (not sure which ones in the US do them, sorry), and I've read here that Amazon do a 30 day return on the Kindle (you need to pay return postage) so you could have a lok at both and see which one feels and looks best for you.

You can buy ebooks outside of the official stores - places like booksonboard.com and fictionwise.com are popular.

It might be worth working out how many books for the Kindle you can buy before the $100 price difference is irrelevant - if it's more than you'd be likely to buy over a reasonable (you need to work out what's reasonable for you!) period, then personally I'd be tempted to go for the Sony and spend the difference straight away on books

lilac_jive · 01-04-2009, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

You should be able to have look and feel of a Sony in a store (not sure which ones in the US do them, sorry), and I've read here that Amazon do a 30 day return on the Kindle (you need to pay return postage) so you could have a lok at both and see which one feels and looks best for you.

You can buy ebooks outside of the official stores - places like booksonboard.com and fictionwise.com are popular.

It might be worth working out how many books for the Kindle you can buy before the $100 price difference is irrelevant - if it's more than you'd be likely to buy over a reasonable (you need to work out what's reasonable for you!) period, then personally I'd be tempted to go for the Sony and spend the difference straight away on books

I'm with the above post. Not to mention right now the Kindle is sold out, but if you've been waiting a while I guess that doesn't matter

If you are just reading books (aka not newspapers) then I'd recommend the Sony. There is a price difference on bestsellers, you're right, but the price difference between the two devices makes up for that. To me, the main selling points on the Kindle are the wireless and the ability to read newspapers and some magazines. If you think that those features are worth the extra cash, then go with the Kindle.

desertgrandma · 01-04-2009, 02:55 PM

Don't forget the built in dictionary.

Make sure you are in Whispernet range before you but if that is important to you.

The main Kindle page on Amazon has the link....Just scroll down a little.

volwrath · 01-04-2009, 05:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

Don't forget the built in dictionary.

Make sure you are in Whispernet range before you but if that is important to you.

The main Kindle page on Amazon has the link....Just scroll down a little.

I would probably buy a kindle instead of the Sony, due to the Kindle having a better supply of books at cheaper prices. In fact I would probably go ahead and do that now, if I didnt have alot of Sony books i have already bought. Having said all that I love my PRS505 and my PRS500 I had before that

Elsi · 01-04-2009, 06:24 PM

I own both a Kindle and the Sony PRS-505. I bought the Kindle -- at the original price, too -- based on the availability of books at a lower price than most other electronic book stores. I bought my PRS-505 primarily for viewing the books that I am making with the tools and have been using it to read books from Baen and Fictionwise which come in both Kindle and Sony formats. If I had to choose one of the other, the Kindle would win, hands down. It's not as sexy, but you can get skins for it if that matters to you.

Lilly · 01-04-2009, 07:43 PM

I also have both, but I'm opposite of Elsi and had the Sony PRS505 since December 2007. This initial decision was the same as yours, my 2 top picks were Sony or Amazon, and I decided to buy the Sony. This past October, 10 months after owning the Sony PRS505, I bought the Kindle. And if I had to choose again, I would have made the same decision. The PRS505 is a great buy and the Kindle is a great buy. I think the one you buy 1st is usually your first love. I definitely would still not choose the Kindle over the Sony but I also really love the Kindle. I think I maybe confusing you more. Do what I did when I 1st made the initial decision, I went with the one I liked best after weighing the pros and cons.

Alisa · 01-05-2009, 12:26 AM

When I first saw the Sony, I was in love. It's a gorgeous device. When I started to look into the feature set, I was a bit shocked. I couldn't believe it didn't have dictionary lookup or the ability to search your books. There were other e-ink readers on the horizon so I decided to wait. I did almost buy a Cybook because it at least had dictionary lookup but the Kindle was coming out around the same time and it had dictionary and search and radically lower prices on books. (It's not nearly as big now since lots of sellers have cut their prices to stay competitive.) I wasn't a fan of the looks and my reaction to the wireless was a resounding "meh".

Now that I have the Kindle I realize that the combination of the free samples and Whispernet is freakin brilliant. I save money not just on the price of the books but on not buying books I don't end up finishing. I've read a lot of samples and NOT bought the book. I don't buy books ahead of time thinking I'll be interested in them later. I buy a book right when I want to read it. The only time I've bought ahead is when I was going to be out of the country and wasn't sure about my internet access. Other than that, I buy the book when I finish the sample. It's the book I want to read right now.

Boston · 01-05-2009, 12:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alisa

Now that I have the Kindle I realize that the combination of the free samples and Whispernet is freakin brilliant. I save money not just on the price of the books but on not buying books I don't end up finishing. I've read a lot of samples and NOT bought the book. I don't buy books ahead of time thinking I'll be interested in them later. I buy a book right when I want to read it. The only time I've bought ahead is when I was going to be out of the country and wasn't sure about my internet access. Other than that, I buy the book when I finish the sample. It's the book I want to read right now.

Same for me except that I occasionally will grab a book that I may want to read in the future because its free or the price has dropped very low. But overall, I have saved a lot of money because I don't impulse buy (like I used to at the stores) and use the sample feature.

The pricing and content is what made me pick the Kindle over the Sony. But now that I bought my non-tech mother a Kindle a Kindle, I love that I can share books with her Whispernet.

Andybaby · 01-05-2009, 03:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShortNCuddlyAm

(you need to pay return postage)

Return Postage is 3.99 and UPS will come pick it up if you want (i just threw it in a UPS mail box as they are all over the place cause i live in NYC.

Personally I would Buy and try the Kindle. I did, and i loved it, but i like my PRS 700 more, but thats mainly form factor, the Kindle is just a little bit too large to fit in my pocket. If the Kindle fit in my Pocket i think i probably would have kept it. otherwise i loved it to death and carried it around with me everywhere (which annoyed me cause i had to actually hold it)

Liviu_5 · 01-05-2009, 09:24 AM

The things to remember if you plan to buy e-books from Amazon or Sony are as follow:

Kindle books are for the life of the device. Device dies, books die - of course you can buy another Kindle assuming it will exist and use the same DRM, none which should be automatic assumptions considering both the general history of ebooks and Amazon own history with ebooks..

Sony books - almost as above, except that you can read them on your pc/laptop even if the device dies. If you get Adobe Epub or PDF's they may be readable on more devices, but I am not sure how well the 505 handles them. The 700 does that very well, but it's also pricier and the trade-off between much faster navigation, sidelights and touch screen versus the crisper 505 screen is not for everyone.

If you convert your own books so they do not die with the device, the price/availability difference between Amazon and Sony store is irrelevant.

wallcraft · 01-05-2009, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

Kindle books are for the life of the device.

Most Kindle books are in the AZW format, and their DRM can be stripped using mobidedrm to produce a DRM-free MOBI. Even if you don't want to strip the DRM today, this provides extra flexibility in the future - but make sure you backup your Kindle ebooks to your PC.

pilotbob · 01-05-2009, 11:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wallcraft

Most Kindle books are in the AZW format, and their DRM can be stripped using mobidedrm to produce a DRM-free MOBI. Even if you don't want to strip the DRM today, this provides extra flexibility in the future - but make sure you backup your Kindle ebooks to your PC.

Exactly the case. And, there is currently no lrx-decoder that I know of. So, you can't buy ebooks from Sony and hope to archive them or format shift. So you are safer with Kindles books, the majority of which can be liberated.

BOb

Alisa · 01-05-2009, 01:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liviu_5

Sony books - almost as above, except that you can read them on your pc/laptop even if the device dies.

I'm curious about something here. If you want to read your books on a new PC, do you have to somehow reauthorize the book? I'm just curious what happens if Sony stops supporting their ebook store and no one has found a way to strip the DRM. Just like our reading devices, computers don't last forever. I don't have a Sony so I'm pretty unfamiliar with their software.

That said, I'm glad I have the ability to preserve my Amazon books as .mobi files but I did make my buying decision before you could remove the DRM. I don't re-read books generally so it wasn't a big deal to me. I'm against these kinds of DRM as a fairness issue, though. My husband does reread so the fact that we could save his books without DRM was a big incentive for him to get one months later.

HarryT · 01-05-2009, 01:17 PM

To the original poster:

Why are you only considering the Kindle and the Sony?

I'd strongly recommend that you also look at MobiPocket devices such as the CyBook or BeBook. Mobi gives you the widest range of stores to buy from, and gives you the flexibility to change your device without having to mess around with removing DRM, etc. The CyBook in particular has numerous advantages over both the Kindle and the Sony, such as the ability to load your own fonts onto the machine, dictionary lookup (yes, the Kindle has a dictionary, but the CyBook gives you the choice of hundreds of different dictionaries to choose from), and you're not tied to one supplier for eBooks.

Well worth considering!

01-04-2009, 02:19 PM	#1
vlapinta Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: none	Sony or Kindle so confused I want to purchase an e-reader. I have been reading reviews for months between the Sony and the Kindle. I would rather be reading books at this time instead, lol! I need help deciding which to buy... I was going to wait till the next Kindle version came out, but it dosen't look like this is happening any time soon. I read mostly best selling novels. I have checked prices between the two book stores and it seems Sony books are slightly more expensive than prices in teh Amazon book store, but I can get the Sony 505 for @ $100 dollars less than a Kindle. I could use the money I save to buy books. I like the design of the Sony much better than the white odd shaped design of the Kindle. I do love the wispernet the Kindle offers, and the idea that you can read a chapter before you buy the book, which is a big plus. Any suggestions to help me make my decision would really be really appreciated!

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01-04-2009, 02:33 PM	#2
ShortNCuddlyAm WWHALD Posts: 7,879 Karma: 337114 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Mitcham, Surrey, UK Device: iPad. Selling my silver 505 here	You should be able to have look and feel of a Sony in a store (not sure which ones in the US do them, sorry), and I've read here that Amazon do a 30 day return on the Kindle (you need to pay return postage) so you could have a lok at both and see which one feels and looks best for you. You can buy ebooks outside of the official stores - places like booksonboard.com and fictionwise.com are popular. It might be worth working out how many books for the Kindle you can buy before the $100 price difference is irrelevant - if it's more than you'd be likely to buy over a reasonable (you need to work out what's reasonable for you!) period, then personally I'd be tempted to go for the Sony and spend the difference straight away on books

01-04-2009, 02:55 PM	#4
desertgrandma Enjoying the show.... Posts: 14,270 Karma: 10462841 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Arizona Device: A K1, Kindle Paperwhite, an Ipod, IPad2, Iphone, an Ipad Mini & macAir	Don't forget the built in dictionary. Make sure you are in Whispernet range before you but if that is important to you. The main Kindle page on Amazon has the link....Just scroll down a little.

01-04-2009, 06:24 PM	#6
Elsi Wizard Posts: 2,366 Karma: 12000 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Texas, USA Device: Kindle; Sony PRS 505; Blackberry 8700C	I own both a Kindle and the Sony PRS-505. I bought the Kindle -- at the original price, too -- based on the availability of books at a lower price than most other electronic book stores. I bought my PRS-505 primarily for viewing the books that I am making with the tools and have been using it to read books from Baen and Fictionwise which come in both Kindle and Sony formats. If I had to choose one of the other, the Kindle would win, hands down. It's not as sexy, but you can get skins for it if that matters to you.

01-04-2009, 07:43 PM	#7
Lilly Guru Posts: 688 Karma: 2090 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Sony PRS-505, PRS-900 & PRS-950, Amazon Kindle2	I also have both, but I'm opposite of Elsi and had the Sony PRS505 since December 2007. This initial decision was the same as yours, my 2 top picks were Sony or Amazon, and I decided to buy the Sony. This past October, 10 months after owning the Sony PRS505, I bought the Kindle. And if I had to choose again, I would have made the same decision. The PRS505 is a great buy and the Kindle is a great buy. I think the one you buy 1st is usually your first love. I definitely would still not choose the Kindle over the Sony but I also really love the Kindle. I think I maybe confusing you more. Do what I did when I 1st made the initial decision, I went with the one I liked best after weighing the pros and cons.

01-05-2009, 12:26 AM	#8
Alisa Gadget Geek Posts: 2,324 Karma: 22221 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Paperwhite, Kindle 3 (retired), Skindle 1.2 (retired)	When I first saw the Sony, I was in love. It's a gorgeous device. When I started to look into the feature set, I was a bit shocked. I couldn't believe it didn't have dictionary lookup or the ability to search your books. There were other e-ink readers on the horizon so I decided to wait. I did almost buy a Cybook because it at least had dictionary lookup but the Kindle was coming out around the same time and it had dictionary and search and radically lower prices on books. (It's not nearly as big now since lots of sellers have cut their prices to stay competitive.) I wasn't a fan of the looks and my reaction to the wireless was a resounding "meh". Now that I have the Kindle I realize that the combination of the free samples and Whispernet is freakin brilliant. I save money not just on the price of the books but on not buying books I don't end up finishing. I've read a lot of samples and NOT bought the book. I don't buy books ahead of time thinking I'll be interested in them later. I buy a book right when I want to read it. The only time I've bought ahead is when I was going to be out of the country and wasn't sure about my internet access. Other than that, I buy the book when I finish the sample. It's the book I want to read right now.

01-05-2009, 09:24 AM	#11
Liviu_5 Books and more books Posts: 917 Karma: 69499 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: White Plains, NY, USA Device: Nook Color, Itouch, Nokia770, Sony 650, Sony 700(dead), Ebk(given)	The things to remember if you plan to buy e-books from Amazon or Sony are as follow: Kindle books are for the life of the device. Device dies, books die - of course you can buy another Kindle assuming it will exist and use the same DRM, none which should be automatic assumptions considering both the general history of ebooks and Amazon own history with ebooks.. Sony books - almost as above, except that you can read them on your pc/laptop even if the device dies. If you get Adobe Epub or PDF's they may be readable on more devices, but I am not sure how well the 505 handles them. The 700 does that very well, but it's also pricier and the trade-off between much faster navigation, sidelights and touch screen versus the crisper 505 screen is not for everyone. If you convert your own books so they do not die with the device, the price/availability difference between Amazon and Sony store is irrelevant.

01-05-2009, 01:17 PM	#15
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	To the original poster: Why are you only considering the Kindle and the Sony? I'd strongly recommend that you also look at MobiPocket devices such as the CyBook or BeBook. Mobi gives you the widest range of stores to buy from, and gives you the flexibility to change your device without having to mess around with removing DRM, etc. The CyBook in particular has numerous advantages over both the Kindle and the Sony, such as the ability to load your own fonts onto the machine, dictionary lookup (yes, the Kindle has a dictionary, but the CyBook gives you the choice of hundreds of different dictionaries to choose from), and you're not tied to one supplier for eBooks. Well worth considering!