What's The Best New eBook Reader In The UK?

[The-eBook-Reader]

Now that residents in the UK have access to the Kindle 2, what do you think is the best deal for a new ebook reader there?

After fees and shipping the Kindle International costs a total of £215 - £223.

The PRS-600 sells for £229 and the PRS-300 sells for £159, both before checkout.

BeBook costs £199 for the 6 inch and £179 for the 5, both priced before checkout.

The Cybook Opus is £215 from Bookeen's website, although I've heard it's supposed to sell for £199 somewhere else (I forgot where).

So what do you think the best option is? Kindle has free wireless, but it's only for Amazon.com's ebooks--for now--and you can only buy ebooks from them.

The rest work with Adobe Digital Editions and offer pretty much the same DRM-ed reading material, but with much less titles to choose from than Amazon.com.

Which one would you buy?

[The-eBook-Reader]

Still no votes for Kindle, yet? Surprising . . .

[HarryT]

Nobody has the international Kindle yet, so one cannot judge it. I shall do so, against my Sony and Opus, when mine arrives. Until then, I lack sufficient data to do so.

[Tuna]

You've missed out Cooler, and Borders ereader.

And an option for 'none of the above, I have a reader already'

And another one for 'I'm waiting for some future product before I buy'

[jbjb]

It would be interesting to see what the result would be if the Sony 505 was included in the mix. Seems to me that there are many reasons why this would still be the best reader for some.

/JB

[neilmarr]

Yup, I'd recomment the 505 for the UK, too, had it been nominated. Mine came from WH Smiths in London; no hitches here in France, a superb machine, and the price was not at all bad (though I've since added refinements like a mains charger (essential, I think) and a swish soft leather cover (not essential, but it makes the reading experience even more enjoyable). The Kindle, I feel, is too restricting in many ways as far as content goes. Amazon has Kindlers by the short and curlies. Cheers. Neil

[JoeD]

Although I own a BeBook, I think out of the currently available readers I'd recommend a Sony to any friends/family thinking about buying one. I just don't like the idea of vendor lock-in which you get with the Kindle especially now Sony has added EPub support. It seems the Sony readers are now about as open as any general reader would need.

As for me, I prefer the BeBook with OpenInkpot.

I bet the kindle sells really well though, Amazon have such a customer base that just a few ads on their site will draw people in.

[JSWolf]

I think once people see how the selection of eBooks (for the Kindle) outside the USA is lacking compared to Amazon in the US, they will either cancel their orders or be rather disappointed.

[The-eBook-Reader]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I think once people see how the selection of eBooks (for the Kindle) outside the USA is lacking compared to Amazon in the US, they will either cancel their orders or be rather disappointed.

I don't know. The UK has access to 280,000 ebooks from Amazon.com, with 70,000 under $5.99. That's still far better than anyone else in the UK. And it probably won't be long, less than 6 months I'd imagine, until Amazon sets up Amazon UK for ebooks. They say they're already working on it. They just wanted to rush the release of the Kindle International to beat iRex and Barnes and Noble's new ereaders to the punch.

I think the bigger concerns will be over DRM restrictions and limited format support. Most people in the UK are used to using Adobe Digital Editions for purchasing encrypted ebooks, and those already purchased ebooks won't work on a Kindle.

[The-eBook-Reader]

Originally Posted by jbjb

It would be interesting to see what the result would be if the Sony 505 was included in the mix. Seems to me that there are many reasons why this would still be the best reader for some.

/JB

I agree that the 505 is probably a better deal and ereader compared to most, but it's already starting to disappear. A number of UK websites that used to carry it no longer have it available anymore. You can still find it. But for how long . . .

[JayCeeEll]

I am waiting for the UK version of the Kindle before making a final decision. I have very limited funds and the machine will have to last me at least 3 years.

There is a quiet voice in my head that is hoping the international version of the Kindle is a big success, but that Amazon get a lot of complaints about regional restrictions, which they then dump on the publishers.

Maybe Amazon will also get some grief about epub as well.

[DawnFalcon]

Originally Posted by The-eBook-Reader

Now that residents in the UK have access to the Kindle 2, what do you think is the best deal for a new ebook reader there?

Given Sony's upcomming wireless-connection reader? Ask me again after that hits. Right now, I'd want a PRS-505: They do precisely what I want and they're going cheap.

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

The tail-end of an interview I gave to The Tainted Archive, a UK-based blogger, lists the most popular e-book readers in the UK (don't know if the list is backed up by figures, or just impressions).

[alecE]

If I was buying a new reader I'd want to buy a 505! but failing that, then the 600 looks good. No way am I going to buy a reader that locks me into a non-epub format and feeds my paranoia about having content deleted in the still watches of the night :-(

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by JayCeeEll

There is a quiet voice in my head that is hoping the international version of the Kindle is a big success, but that Amazon get a lot of complaints about regional restrictions, which they then dump on the publishers.

Maybe Amazon will also get some grief about epub as well.

I think at the very least, the increasing success of ebooks is going to influence how future contracts are negotiated. There may not be much to be done about many back catalog books but hopefully going forward publishers will realize that the issue of international digital rights should be settled up front. There's a real incentive for that now.

I agree on ePub as well. With B&N opening a big ePub store selling books that can be read on pretty much every other device except the Kindle, I would hope that Amazon would see the value in opening up to multiple devices. I'm finding it a bit amusing seeing companies like Sony and B&N using the same tactic Amazon used on Apple. Bezos has said that they would consider other devices but that it was important that they got to control the level of service. Their model of delivery is tied into the convenience of Whispernet and I think the only way they can offer free wireless is if they know you're going to be buying from them. I suppose they could do that if they placed limits on the wireless, busted it down to just store and Wikipedia, maybe charged bandwidth fees for anything else, but that would be sad. After all, Sony's just offering store access. This would be so much easier if we didn't have such a fractured telecom system with providers that seem committed to the model of high flat monthly fees.