E-Readers selling well (?)

Stingo · 12-22-2006, 05:10 PM

Although the honeymoon is over and some of the annoyances of the E-Reader have started to rub me raw, I still love the platform and enjoy using it to read. As a result I decided to buy one for my wife. Yesterday I called my local Miami Borders and asked if they had some in stock. When I bought mine there they had about 30 units. The guy on the phone looked and said "Sure we have a lot." Today I went in and bought the last one they had left. According to the salesperson they were really selling. What is the experience elsewhere? Are they selling well in your neck of the woods?

I naturally hope they are since that will mean more competition, new units and more content.

In case I don't post again until then, to all a very merry Christmas, whatever your religion, if any, might be.

baker101 · 12-22-2006, 06:14 PM

well i just bought one!....well, just awaiting for sony to get a shipment in because it seems that their site is displaying sold-out..

guess ill wait till the new year. NJ here in borders seem also sold out.

DougFNJ · 12-22-2006, 06:27 PM

Hi Baker, I'm from NJ too. I purchased mine on Tuesday at Sony Store in Menlo Park Mall. They had 3 display models, and he didn't tell me how many were left when I purchased, but he did say it seemed to be a very hot item since release.

rlauzon · 12-22-2006, 06:48 PM

My feeling is that, like most cool-seeming gadgets, the readers will sell for Christmas. Afterwards, ... we'll see.

I'm hoping that a good number go up on eBay so I can pick up one to play with for relatively cheap. 8-)

Katelyn · 12-22-2006, 10:53 PM

Well, I bought one 2 days ago and I'm selling it or returning it. Hate it!

I guess I'm spoiled by my plain old Bookwise 1150. Yes, spoiled!

My Sony screen seems very dull and I guess I am an idiot but I thought it had back lighting. Nope and it is hard to read without decent lighting. Sure, they hype how easy it is to read in sunlight but try it in gentle lighting. I read in the dark all the time with my 1150 and LOVE IT.

I hate the graphical interface. Once again, I'm spoiled by the touch screen of my 1150 and the little teeny joystick and even teenier paging button are plain obnoxious.

When using the USB connection, you can't see what's on your reader. The 1150 allows you to see what's in your PC library and toggle back and forth between reader and PC library. I found that I had to unplug the USB from the PRS 500 to see how the font looked and had to open several books in Word to up the font size and then copy it back to the reader. Bleh what a pain.

I could go on but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say I have found the idea of the cool Sony and e-ink just that - a cool idea but all hype and no practicality for my purposes.

You may just end up buying one from me on Ebay!

Stingo · 12-22-2006, 11:25 PM

The E-reader screen certainly looks best in bright light but even under a moderate reading lamp it looks fine. Back lighting is tiring to my eyes so I'm fine with having the e-reader do the same thing that a page of paper does--reflect light. To each his own. Enjoy your 1150.

HarryT · 12-23-2006, 05:08 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katelyn

I guess I am an idiot but I thought it had back lighting.

EPD (e-Ink) screen are opaque and hence cannot be back-lit.

A Sony Reader really is like a book, in that you need reasonable light to read it. A good reading lamp makes reading a pleasure with it.

MMascaro · 12-23-2006, 06:35 AM

The Borders in Frederick MD started with 12 readers last month and was down to 2 last week.

atreis · 12-23-2006, 08:29 AM

I suggested in my feedback to Sony that they might be able to use edgelighting by shining light into a glass panel with a slightly roughened under-side (to cause the light to escape the bottom of the glass and reflect from the display surface)... Don't know if it would actually work though.

I can guarantee they're not selling well at my local Border's (Dayton, OH - Dayton Mall). They don't stock them.

farscott · 12-23-2006, 09:13 AM

In my neck of the woods (a suburb of Atlanta), the Sony Reader seems to be selling well. On Sunday, the store had about twenty of them. On Tuesday, that number dwindled to seven. On Friday, it was three.

stxopher · 12-23-2006, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katelyn

Well, I bought one 2 days ago and I'm selling it or returning it. Hate it!

I guess I'm spoiled by my plain old Bookwise 1150. Yes, spoiled!

I understand what you're saying. I went from a 1150 as my main reader to a Sony also and had the very same complaints! If you added the way it feels and the basic ergonomics compared between the two the 1150 wins there too.

But the e-ink did have a better resolution and it was paid for so I thought it best to at least play with it a bit. Maybe read a couple books from manybooks and Baen so I could say I tried and then see about selling it.

Now? I'm glad I kept it. Adding a light myself to the side of it helped a lot for dim reading and the ability to change font sizes...hey, I'm not old (really!) it's just the air around here must have something in it that makes letters seem smaller than normal.

I still use the 1150 but not often and when I do use it after an extended absence it takes some getting used to screen-wise (though the navigation is STILL excellent and rekindles my ire at Sony for that stupid 10 item page...thingy). Now the 1150 mainly hold tech books that need to get searched and noted on and texts that get used in hostile areas (gotta love that case).

If you've given it a weeks worth of reading (and by "reading" I mean actually reading something you like and with some length to get a feel) and still can't stand it, by all means sell it! There is no sense in keeping something that just doesn't work for you. Plus this is one of the few purchases that you can probably get all your money back from on the resell market due to the demand. That's a good thing. If you don't like it you can get your money back. (Man, wish I could have done that for a couple of books I got.)

Because the bottom line seems to be no matter how bad the professional reviews are or how bad we dislike certain points of the reader or how hard it is to find them even in stores that carry them, they are still selling well. Probably because it does what it is supposed to do very well: present text for reading.

Hopefully the PRS-1000 will be called the "Sony e-tool" and include the extras so many want.

(How well is the e-reader selling in the Heartland? Three places carry them in town. None of the clerks knew what they were a couple months ago. Now they do. Sold out twice in one location, 4 times in the other two. Not bad for something that most people have never heard of and has no display or promotions.)

Stingo · 12-23-2006, 01:58 PM

stxopher heartland where?

stxopher · 12-23-2006, 07:04 PM

Whoops! Sorry. My bad. Wichita, Kansas, USA. Believe me, you can't get much more average and non-tech than around here. I regularly deal with manufacturing companies that feel proud that they can give you a "Computer File" (yes, they capitalize it) on a floppy! Some of these aviation machine shops (the ones that make air plane and military parts and products) still can't understand email.

For a reader to be doing that well around here says quite a bit.

Of course, I know where 4 of them are too so.....

Hmmm, make that 5. Just remembered that one was bought this morning and is being given for a Christmas present by someone to her father. (Fellow is having the same hard time with shrinking letters that I am and has cut back reading anything but hardbacks.)

Come to think of it, we're just starting a massive retirement wave among engineers and other related fields as well as a major monetary bonus in one of the large aircraft plants (Boeing-Spirit). Maybe a lot of us in the area just happen to have the same situation (bad vision and a love of reading) and are using the same solution (e-ink and bumped up text). Shoot, this area might not be indicative of selling trends after all.

And here I was hoping that it was like this everywhere.

HarryT · 12-24-2006, 03:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by stxopher

And here I was hoping that it was like this everywhere.

Remember that at present the Reader is only easily available to about 5% of the world's population (ie the USA). The other 95% of us have to be really keen on them in order to jump through the hoops required to buy one

.

yvanleterrible · 12-24-2006, 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Katelyn

I guess I'm spoiled by my plain old Bookwise 1150. Yes, spoiled!

My Sony screen seems very dull and I guess I am an idiot but I thought it had back lighting. Nope and it is hard to read without decent lighting. Sure, they hype how easy it is to read in sunlight but try it in gentle lighting. I read in the dark all the time with my 1150 and LOVE IT.

I hate the graphical interface. Once again, I'm spoiled by the touch screen of my 1150 and the little teeny joystick and even teenier paging button are plain obnoxious.

When using the USB connection, you can't see what's on your reader. The 1150 allows you to see what's in your PC library and toggle back and forth between reader and PC library. I found that I had to unplug the USB from the PRS 500 to see how the font looked and had to open several books in Word to up the font size and then copy it back to the reader. Bleh what a pain.

I could go on but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say I have found the idea of the cool Sony and e-ink just that - a cool idea but all hype and no practicality for my purposes.

Nice to hear from the other side of the medal.

I might be mistaken but I gather this is the first attempt by Sony to commercialize an ebook reader? It might not have a completely ergonomic interface yet but it is sure to be perfected down the road.

Comments like yours are welcome. They are the ones of experience and will be used to perfect further doings from any eink device manufacturers.

12-22-2006, 05:10 PM	#1
Stingo Fanatic Posts: 559 Karma: 1334691 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Miami Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505	E-Readers selling well (?) Although the honeymoon is over and some of the annoyances of the E-Reader have started to rub me raw, I still love the platform and enjoy using it to read. As a result I decided to buy one for my wife. Yesterday I called my local Miami Borders and asked if they had some in stock. When I bought mine there they had about 30 units. The guy on the phone looked and said "Sure we have a lot." Today I went in and bought the last one they had left. According to the salesperson they were really selling. What is the experience elsewhere? Are they selling well in your neck of the woods? I naturally hope they are since that will mean more competition, new units and more content. In case I don't post again until then, to all a very merry Christmas, whatever your religion, if any, might be.

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12-22-2006, 06:14 PM	#2
baker101 Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2006	well i just bought one!....well, just awaiting for sony to get a shipment in because it seems that their site is displaying sold-out.. guess ill wait till the new year. NJ here in borders seem also sold out.

12-22-2006, 06:27 PM	#3
DougFNJ Avid Reader Posts: 273 Karma: 1332 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: New Jersey Device: Kindle Paperwhite Signature, 2TB iPad Pro 11”	Hi Baker, I'm from NJ too. I purchased mine on Tuesday at Sony Store in Menlo Park Mall. They had 3 display models, and he didn't tell me how many were left when I purchased, but he did say it seemed to be a very hot item since release.

12-22-2006, 06:48 PM	#4
rlauzon Wizard Posts: 1,018 Karma: 67827 Join Date: Jan 2005 Device: PocketBook Era	My feeling is that, like most cool-seeming gadgets, the readers will sell for Christmas. Afterwards, ... we'll see. I'm hoping that a good number go up on eBay so I can pick up one to play with for relatively cheap. 8-)

12-22-2006, 10:53 PM	#5
Katelyn Addict Posts: 225 Karma: 342 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Indiana Device: Pocketbook 360, Iphone 3g, Sony 505, REB1200, GEB1150	Well, I bought one 2 days ago and I'm selling it or returning it. Hate it! I guess I'm spoiled by my plain old Bookwise 1150. Yes, spoiled! My Sony screen seems very dull and I guess I am an idiot but I thought it had back lighting. Nope and it is hard to read without decent lighting. Sure, they hype how easy it is to read in sunlight but try it in gentle lighting. I read in the dark all the time with my 1150 and LOVE IT. I hate the graphical interface. Once again, I'm spoiled by the touch screen of my 1150 and the little teeny joystick and even teenier paging button are plain obnoxious. When using the USB connection, you can't see what's on your reader. The 1150 allows you to see what's in your PC library and toggle back and forth between reader and PC library. I found that I had to unplug the USB from the PRS 500 to see how the font looked and had to open several books in Word to up the font size and then copy it back to the reader. Bleh what a pain. I could go on but I'll spare you. Suffice it to say I have found the idea of the cool Sony and e-ink just that - a cool idea but all hype and no practicality for my purposes. You may just end up buying one from me on Ebay!

12-22-2006, 11:25 PM	#6
Stingo Fanatic Posts: 559 Karma: 1334691 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Miami Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505	The E-reader screen certainly looks best in bright light but even under a moderate reading lamp it looks fine. Back lighting is tiring to my eyes so I'm fine with having the e-reader do the same thing that a page of paper does--reflect light. To each his own. Enjoy your 1150.

12-23-2006, 06:35 AM	#8
MMascaro Zealot Posts: 111 Karma: 1009 Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Maryland USA Device: HP mini 1035/Sony Reader/IPad	The Borders in Frederick MD started with 12 readers last month and was down to 2 last week.

12-23-2006, 08:29 AM	#9
atreis Member Posts: 17 Karma: 10 Join Date: Nov 2006 Device: PRS-500	I suggested in my feedback to Sony that they might be able to use edgelighting by shining light into a glass panel with a slightly roughened under-side (to cause the light to escape the bottom of the glass and reflect from the display surface)... Don't know if it would actually work though. I can guarantee they're not selling well at my local Border's (Dayton, OH - Dayton Mall). They don't stock them.

12-23-2006, 09:13 AM	#10
farscott Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Kennesaw, GA, USA Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	In my neck of the woods (a suburb of Atlanta), the Sony Reader seems to be selling well. On Sunday, the store had about twenty of them. On Tuesday, that number dwindled to seven. On Friday, it was three.

12-23-2006, 01:58 PM	#12
Stingo Fanatic Posts: 559 Karma: 1334691 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Miami Device: KH2O, KPW2, KDXG, KPW1, K3, S505	stxopher heartland where?

12-23-2006, 07:04 PM	#13
stxopher Nameless Being	Whoops! Sorry. My bad. Wichita, Kansas, USA. Believe me, you can't get much more average and non-tech than around here. I regularly deal with manufacturing companies that feel proud that they can give you a "Computer File" (yes, they capitalize it) on a floppy! Some of these aviation machine shops (the ones that make air plane and military parts and products) still can't understand email. For a reader to be doing that well around here says quite a bit. Of course, I know where 4 of them are too so..... Hmmm, make that 5. Just remembered that one was bought this morning and is being given for a Christmas present by someone to her father. (Fellow is having the same hard time with shrinking letters that I am and has cut back reading anything but hardbacks.) Come to think of it, we're just starting a massive retirement wave among engineers and other related fields as well as a major monetary bonus in one of the large aircraft plants (Boeing-Spirit). Maybe a lot of us in the area just happen to have the same situation (bad vision and a love of reading) and are using the same solution (e-ink and bumped up text). Shoot, this area might not be indicative of selling trends after all. And here I was hoping that it was like this everywhere.

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