Agonizing over which to buy

profnachos · 11-09-2007, 04:20 AM

Hello, I am a newbie who is looking to buy a ebook device.

Looks like my options within my price range are Sony Reader, and ebookwise for the most part. Costco is selling Sony Reader units for $250 a piece and it comes with a card to download $50 worth of books.

I have read several reviews just to come away confused, and let me attempt to crystallize my confusion into a few questions.

From reading some reviews, I get the impression that both Sony and ebookwise lock you into their online bookstores. Not very versed in ebook formats, I couldn't fully appreciate the implication of it, if true.

Ideally, I would like a unit that accommodates non-properietary formats. Someone else I believe has said that the ebookwise has a converter which renders this issue moot. How about Sony?

igorsk · 11-09-2007, 04:39 AM

Sony Reader can read PDF, TXT, RTF and there are programs (see libpr500) to convert about any other format into native LRF (BBeB). So no, you don't have to only buy books from their store.

profnachos · 11-09-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by igorsk

Sony Reader can read PDF, TXT, RTF and there are programs (see libpr500) to convert about any other format into native LRF (BBeB). So no, you don't have to only buy books from their store.

How about ebooks for Microsoft Reader?

Looks like books you get from ebookwise can only be read using theirs, which means you spend all that money buying books from them, but should you decide to discontinue using their product, you can't read their books any more.

nathantw · 11-09-2007, 02:12 PM

I have the PRS-505 and love it. I saw the one at Costco after I purchased mine and I'm still happy I have the latest version over the PRS-500.

Truthfully, though, once I started carrying around the PRS-505 I kind of wish there was a way to put down notes and maybe write up a few things on the tablet. I started thinking that an Irex Iliad might have been a better choice for me, but then I heard it's a little larger than the Sony and if I'm going to carry something like that around I might as well get an Asus or Sony mini laptop computer. The Asus cost $399 so it's cheaper than the Irex.

After a while though, I think those mini-computers would have complicated things a little more and I basically just wanted a book to read without the weight associated with a 700 page hardback. I'm sure I would have wanted to play games and other non-reading type tasks if I had the other units and I doubt, wait, I KNOW I wouldn't use it for reading as much I am now using the Reader. So in the end I'm happy with the PRS-505.

Just to let you know, you can download books from this site and others for free and you're not locked down to the Sony website.

wallcraft · 11-09-2007, 02:19 PM

There are several ways to break the DRM (Digital Rights Management) on "secure" MS Reader .LIT files, for example ConvertLIT will do this. Once you have a .LIT without DRM it can be converted to any device, for example lit2prs will do this for the Sony. Keep the DRM-free .LIT as your "archive" version, and you are future-proof. Note that format shifting is generally considered "fair use", but breaking DRM (even for fair use purposes) is not legal in some places.

Patricia · 11-09-2007, 05:33 PM

As for the note-taking: I just put a couple of post-it notes on the inside cover of the sony,in case I want to take notes. Then I alter the file when I next go to the computer.

11-09-2007, 04:20 AM	#1
profnachos Connoisseur Posts: 52 Karma: 43 Join Date: Nov 2007 Device: Palm Treo	Agonizing over which to buy Hello, I am a newbie who is looking to buy a ebook device. Looks like my options within my price range are Sony Reader, and ebookwise for the most part. Costco is selling Sony Reader units for $250 a piece and it comes with a card to download $50 worth of books. I have read several reviews just to come away confused, and let me attempt to crystallize my confusion into a few questions. From reading some reviews, I get the impression that both Sony and ebookwise lock you into their online bookstores. Not very versed in ebook formats, I couldn't fully appreciate the implication of it, if true. Ideally, I would like a unit that accommodates non-properietary formats. Someone else I believe has said that the ebookwise has a converter which renders this issue moot. How about Sony?

11-09-2007, 02:12 PM	#4
nathantw Zealot Posts: 145 Karma: 230 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: 505	I have the PRS-505 and love it. I saw the one at Costco after I purchased mine and I'm still happy I have the latest version over the PRS-500. Truthfully, though, once I started carrying around the PRS-505 I kind of wish there was a way to put down notes and maybe write up a few things on the tablet. I started thinking that an Irex Iliad might have been a better choice for me, but then I heard it's a little larger than the Sony and if I'm going to carry something like that around I might as well get an Asus or Sony mini laptop computer. The Asus cost $399 so it's cheaper than the Irex. After a while though, I think those mini-computers would have complicated things a little more and I basically just wanted a book to read without the weight associated with a 700 page hardback. I'm sure I would have wanted to play games and other non-reading type tasks if I had the other units and I doubt, wait, I KNOW I wouldn't use it for reading as much I am now using the Reader. So in the end I'm happy with the PRS-505. Just to let you know, you can download books from this site and others for free and you're not locked down to the Sony website. Last edited by nathantw; 11-09-2007 at 02:19 PM.

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11-09-2007, 04:39 AM	#2
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	Sony Reader can read PDF, TXT, RTF and there are programs (see libpr500) to convert about any other format into native LRF (BBeB). So no, you don't have to only buy books from their store.

11-09-2007, 02:19 PM	#5
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	There are several ways to break the DRM (Digital Rights Management) on "secure" MS Reader .LIT files, for example ConvertLIT will do this. Once you have a .LIT without DRM it can be converted to any device, for example lit2prs will do this for the Sony. Keep the DRM-free .LIT as your "archive" version, and you are future-proof. Note that format shifting is generally considered "fair use", but breaking DRM (even for fair use purposes) is not legal in some places.

11-09-2007, 05:33 PM	#6
Patricia Reader Posts: 11,504 Karma: 8720163 Join Date: May 2007 Location: South Wales, UK Device: Sony PRS-500, PRS-505, Asus EEEpc 4G	As for the note-taking: I just put a couple of post-it notes on the inside cover of the sony,in case I want to take notes. Then I alter the file when I next go to the computer.

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