Sony505 Vs. Cybook gen3?

Icarusbop · 11-02-2007, 07:49 AM

I live in th UK have been a keen follower of the cybook gen3 for months now and have been awaiting it's release fervently - however, now that it's released I have found out rather unexpectedly that I prefer the look of the new Sony 505, so which one to buy?

Gen3:
Expensive to buy - a few people are upset about the pricing scheme, however, I have a friend in the US who could forward it on but it looks like if I buy in the US then forward it on the price is similar at the end of the day by the time duties and the extra shipping from US to my home are paid.
Great support for various formats - this was big plus for me, most of my books are in Mobi format -which I constructed from HTML files myself.
It comes with no cover by defaut, making it even more expensive if I want to protect it from damage.
Bookeen seem to be very positive about further developing the firmware for the future.
In pictures available case looks cheap (compared to the 505, in my opinion) and Branding is too Stark for my taste

Sony prs505:
The big down for me on this one was the book format, but I have discovered a fantastic tool written by a member of this forum which takes most popular formats (including LIT's & HTML (but not I think multipage HTML)) and can convert them straight to LRF books, it can even do batch conversions so doing your entire library should be quite simple- since I kept the original source files for my books I can relatively easily get all my current books onto the Sony. The tool is here Here for those interested. I have converted a couple of books using this tool and they display perfectly (including inline graphics and formatting) on the PC LRF reader that comes with the tool - so book format is no longer an issue if I am willing to invest a little more time for my library.
Cheaper than the Gen 3, but will have to come via my Friend again, in total it will be approx £50 (uk pounds) cheaper than the Gen 3 by the time it gets here and also comes with a cover (not leather I grant, but a cover nontheless)
Unsure about ongoing future development for the firmware.
Good design, smart looking case, discreet branding.

So - which one to buy, what does everyone think?

Nate the great · 11-02-2007, 08:09 AM

The creator of the tools you found hangs out here. (We love his work.

)

The Cybook has a couple things going for it. But since you are comfortable with conversion, I am recommending the PRS505.

tompe · 11-02-2007, 08:31 AM

I bought the Cybook and I had the same problem as you. The deciding factors for me was support for more formats, a good attitude from Bookeen about supporting many formats, dictionary lookup support, less weight and thinner form.

At first I though the images of the leather case gave a bad impression. Then I read it had magnets inside to keep it closed. And I realized that it did not look like an expensive electronic object inside the case and that is an advantage.

horseyride · 11-02-2007, 10:17 AM

Actually I think the specs say the Cybook is thicker and a bit longer then the Sony reader, though it does weighs less

Cybook: 118x188x8.5mm, 174g
Reader: 122x175x8.0mm, 255g

tompe · 11-02-2007, 10:38 AM

Ah, I see my mistake. I compared it with PRS-500.

Barcey · 11-02-2007, 10:58 AM

Well I'm biased because I just bought a Cybook but I can give you my thought process.

I know a lot of people are upset about the pricing (and I personally don't agree with it) but Sony will not accept my money on their website at all because I live in Canada. I could get one through a US distributor but Sony wouldn't officially support me. Everything would have to go back through the distributor.

Sony's online terms and conditions of their Online Book site say you have to be a US citizen to use it. Again I know there are work around solutions which many people on this site are using but you have to decide if you are willing to live with these.

Bookeen is a smaller company without Sony's financial backing so there are risks associated with this but they are in the business of electronic books so they need to make it successful or go out of business. Sony can just opt out of the market and continue on. (Note: I've bought two Sony PDA's and then they decided to no longer sell PDA's in Canada so I'm biased).

For the time being Sony made a business decision to only sell their product in the USA and I made a consumer decision to purchase elsewhere.

Having said all that they'll probably announce support for Canada later today. :-)

HappyMartin · 11-03-2007, 04:12 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Barcey

For the time being Sony made a business decision to only sell their product in the USA and I made a consumer decision to purchase elsewhere.

A basic rule of life is "Don't try to eat where they don't want to feed you" I agree with you. I wont consider Sony under current conditions.

JoeC · 11-08-2007, 11:50 PM

I received my Cybook this morning and have been comparing it to my Sony 505. Both are beautiful in their own way. I really like the feel of the 505, the weight, brushed metal, and case. The Cybook's support of Mobipocket and the ability to do a dictionary lookup forced my hand.

The button to turn the pages on the Cybook is hard to get used to. I think the unit is slightly defective - it takes more force than it should. (BTW, I e-mailed customer support and they were extremely responsive. I may return the unit).

The leather case for the Cybook bugs me. The magnets don't stick so it kind of flops open. I can't imagine not using a case of some kind.

When I first turned the unit on I thought the Cybook display was better than the 505. I may be imagining things but In natural light the Cybook looks better. At best they are very similar. When I figure out how to load more fonts the edge will go to the Cybook.

The fact that the Cybook is easily recognized by my PC and it's a piece of cake to transfer books is a great plus.

I plan to deck out the family with Cybooks so I can forget about the hassles of converting LIT files, etc. and standardizing on the Mobipocket platform (via Fictionwise of course ). Viva La France!

julia · 11-09-2007, 12:38 PM

i have both. bought the sony reader 505 in the us while i was travelling there and decided that carrying all the physcical books with me was too much. and sending them back home was getting too expensive since the us postal stopped the special book rate to send stuff back home.
i agree with joec concerning the looks of both. i decided to buy the cybook because the ability to buy new novels in the mobipocket format without the hassle of formatting and other technical things that i need to know about.
i'm addicted to reading books and less a computerperson.
and then i discovered that leaping gnome on this forum is willing to buy credits for non us residents so they can buy 'new' novels from the sony store. altho' that's an opportunity to get new books i'd rather have the feeling of being independent.

differences in some features: control, filtering, greyscale, booting is quicker with the sony, when you stop reading and start again the sony opens up the page that you just left, like the fontschoices in the cybook, the lightness of it. mobipocket format is a big

matter of taste i guess and if you want newly published books.

DaleDe · 11-09-2007, 12:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by julia

differences in some features: control, filtering, greyscale, booting is quicker with the sony, when you stop reading and start again the sony opens up the page that you just left, like the fontschoices in the cybook, the lightness of it. mobipocket format is a big

matter of taste i guess and if you want newly published books.

what are your comments about grayscale?

Dale

julia · 11-09-2007, 12:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DaleDe

what are your comments about grayscale?

Dale

black and white photos look better on the sony. more differentiation, more depth/contrast to see. altho' as a photographer i have other equipment to carry around my photos. but if you are into graphics i think the sony is the device to use.

reading books i hardly see any difference except on the sony the black is blacker. so there is a little more contrast.

JSWolf · 11-09-2007, 12:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeC

When I first turned the unit on I thought the Cybook display was better than the 505. I may be imagining things but In natural light the Cybook looks better. At best they are very similar. When I figure out how to load more fonts the edge will go to the Cybook.

If you do the LIT conversion, you end up with a book that DOES NOT HAVE DRM. Plus lit2lrf is fast and easy to use. I can convert a LIT in less then 5 min after downloading it.

Quote:

The fact that the Cybook is easily recognized by my PC and it's a piece of cake to transfer books is a great plus.

What is so hard with the Sony? The Sony you don't actually need Ebook Library. The 505 is seen as a mass storage device and if you don't use Collections, you can just move the books on and off.

Barcey · 11-09-2007, 01:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you do the LIT conversion, you end up with a book that DOES NOT HAVE DRM. Plus lit2lrf is fast and easy to use. I can convert a LIT in less then 5 min after downloading it.

What is so hard with the Sony? The Sony you don't actually need Ebook Library. The 505 is seen as a mass storage device and if you don't use Collections, you can just move the books on and off.

1) Assuming removing DRM is legal.

2) You can do the same drag and drop on the CyBook. It's also seen as a mass storage. I find this awkward because the filenames don't always line up with the book titles. The additional desktop reader software (Windows only) gives you additional features. You can create "reading lists" by dragging and dropping books on the list similar to iTunes. You're working with pictures and book titles rather then file names so I find it much easier. When done you just right click on the reading list and select "Send to Device..."

HarryT · 11-09-2007, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JoeC

The leather case for the Cybook bugs me. The magnets don't stick so it kind of flops open. I can't imagine not using a case of some kind.

Mine's now 4 days old and already the cover is much better at staying closed than it was on the first day. The leather rapidly softens with use and becomes more flexible, so the magnets work.

julia · 11-09-2007, 01:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you do the LIT conversion, you end up with a book that DOES NOT HAVE DRM. Plus lit2lrf is fast and easy to use. I can convert a LIT in less then 5 min after downloading it.

What is so hard with the Sony? The Sony you don't actually need Ebook Library. The 505 is seen as a mass storage device and if you don't use Collections, you can just move the books on and off.

i agree nothing hard with the sony! i don't use ebook library at all.
had no trouble with difference between filenames and booktitles....

11-02-2007, 07:49 AM	#1
Icarusbop Groupie Posts: 156 Karma: 25846 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: UK Device: PRS505	Sony505 Vs. Cybook gen3? I live in th UK have been a keen follower of the cybook gen3 for months now and have been awaiting it's release fervently - however, now that it's released I have found out rather unexpectedly that I prefer the look of the new Sony 505, so which one to buy? Gen3: Expensive to buy - a few people are upset about the pricing scheme, however, I have a friend in the US who could forward it on but it looks like if I buy in the US then forward it on the price is similar at the end of the day by the time duties and the extra shipping from US to my home are paid. Great support for various formats - this was big plus for me, most of my books are in Mobi format -which I constructed from HTML files myself. It comes with no cover by defaut, making it even more expensive if I want to protect it from damage. Bookeen seem to be very positive about further developing the firmware for the future. In pictures available case looks cheap (compared to the 505, in my opinion) and Branding is too Stark for my taste Sony prs505: The big down for me on this one was the book format, but I have discovered a fantastic tool written by a member of this forum which takes most popular formats (including LIT's & HTML (but not I think multipage HTML)) and can convert them straight to LRF books, it can even do batch conversions so doing your entire library should be quite simple- since I kept the original source files for my books I can relatively easily get all my current books onto the Sony. The tool is here Here for those interested. I have converted a couple of books using this tool and they display perfectly (including inline graphics and formatting) on the PC LRF reader that comes with the tool - so book format is no longer an issue if I am willing to invest a little more time for my library. Cheaper than the Gen 3, but will have to come via my Friend again, in total it will be approx £50 (uk pounds) cheaper than the Gen 3 by the time it gets here and also comes with a cover (not leather I grant, but a cover nontheless) Unsure about ongoing future development for the firmware. Good design, smart looking case, discreet branding. So - which one to buy, what does everyone think?

11-02-2007, 08:09 AM	#2
Nate the great Sir Penguin of Edinburgh Posts: 12,375 Karma: 23555235 Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: DC Metro area Device: Shake a stick plus 1	The creator of the tools you found hangs out here. (We love his work.) The Cybook has a couple things going for it. But since you are comfortable with conversion, I am recommending the PRS505.

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11-02-2007, 08:31 AM	#3
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	I bought the Cybook and I had the same problem as you. The deciding factors for me was support for more formats, a good attitude from Bookeen about supporting many formats, dictionary lookup support, less weight and thinner form. At first I though the images of the leather case gave a bad impression. Then I read it had magnets inside to keep it closed. And I realized that it did not look like an expensive electronic object inside the case and that is an advantage.

11-02-2007, 10:17 AM	#4
horseyride Enthusiast Posts: 32 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2007 Device: none	Actually I think the specs say the Cybook is thicker and a bit longer then the Sony reader, though it does weighs less Cybook: 118x188x8.5mm, 174g Reader: 122x175x8.0mm, 255g

11-02-2007, 10:38 AM	#5
tompe Grand Sorcerer Posts: 7,452 Karma: 7185064 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Linköpng, Sweden Device: Kindle Voyage, Nexus 5, Kindle PW	Ah, I see my mistake. I compared it with PRS-500.

11-02-2007, 10:58 AM	#6
Barcey Wizard Posts: 1,531 Karma: 8059866 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Canada Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3	Well I'm biased because I just bought a Cybook but I can give you my thought process. I know a lot of people are upset about the pricing (and I personally don't agree with it) but Sony will not accept my money on their website at all because I live in Canada. I could get one through a US distributor but Sony wouldn't officially support me. Everything would have to go back through the distributor. Sony's online terms and conditions of their Online Book site say you have to be a US citizen to use it. Again I know there are work around solutions which many people on this site are using but you have to decide if you are willing to live with these. Bookeen is a smaller company without Sony's financial backing so there are risks associated with this but they are in the business of electronic books so they need to make it successful or go out of business. Sony can just opt out of the market and continue on. (Note: I've bought two Sony PDA's and then they decided to no longer sell PDA's in Canada so I'm biased). For the time being Sony made a business decision to only sell their product in the USA and I made a consumer decision to purchase elsewhere. Having said all that they'll probably announce support for Canada later today. :-)

11-08-2007, 11:50 PM	#8
JoeC Addict Posts: 319 Karma: 2257942 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Kindle Oasis 2 and 3, Scribe	I received my Cybook this morning and have been comparing it to my Sony 505. Both are beautiful in their own way. I really like the feel of the 505, the weight, brushed metal, and case. The Cybook's support of Mobipocket and the ability to do a dictionary lookup forced my hand. The button to turn the pages on the Cybook is hard to get used to. I think the unit is slightly defective - it takes more force than it should. (BTW, I e-mailed customer support and they were extremely responsive. I may return the unit). The leather case for the Cybook bugs me. The magnets don't stick so it kind of flops open. I can't imagine not using a case of some kind. When I first turned the unit on I thought the Cybook display was better than the 505. I may be imagining things but In natural light the Cybook looks better. At best they are very similar. When I figure out how to load more fonts the edge will go to the Cybook. The fact that the Cybook is easily recognized by my PC and it's a piece of cake to transfer books is a great plus. I plan to deck out the family with Cybooks so I can forget about the hassles of converting LIT files, etc. and standardizing on the Mobipocket platform (via Fictionwise of course ). Viva La France!

11-09-2007, 12:38 PM	#9
julia Connoisseur Posts: 88 Karma: 44 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: amsterdam Device: prs-505, kindle2, nook glow	i have both. bought the sony reader 505 in the us while i was travelling there and decided that carrying all the physcical books with me was too much. and sending them back home was getting too expensive since the us postal stopped the special book rate to send stuff back home. i agree with joec concerning the looks of both. i decided to buy the cybook because the ability to buy new novels in the mobipocket format without the hassle of formatting and other technical things that i need to know about. i'm addicted to reading books and less a computerperson. and then i discovered that leaping gnome on this forum is willing to buy credits for non us residents so they can buy 'new' novels from the sony store. altho' that's an opportunity to get new books i'd rather have the feeling of being independent. differences in some features: control, filtering, greyscale, booting is quicker with the sony, when you stop reading and start again the sony opens up the page that you just left, like the fontschoices in the cybook, the lightness of it. mobipocket format is a big matter of taste i guess and if you want newly published books.