Kindle or EPUB?

[nowthenmobile]

So, to the crooks of the matter:
I think that I understand the limitations of Amazon's Kindle.
Is it possible to buy an eReader and purchase best-selling modern eBooks for it that I would be able to transfer to eReaders made by other manufacturers ie. a completely flexible approach where I get to keep my eBooks even if I change eReader? If so, which eReaders could I use for that and what format eBooks could I buy (and where from)?

Thank you

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by nowthenmobile

So, to the crooks of the matter:
I think that I understand the limitations of Amazon's Kindle.
Is it possible to buy an eReader and purchase best-selling modern eBooks for it that I would be able to transfer to eReaders made by other manufacturers ie. a completely flexible approach where I get to keep my eBooks even if I change eReader?

If such a device existed, do you think anyone would buy anything else?

[nowthenmobile]

So does that mean that all the eBook sellers are linked with specific eReaders. So, if I bought a Sony, for instance, I couldn't just buy an ePUB from anywhere - it would have to be an ePUB with DRM that matched my Sony - so specific eBook sellers that have an arrangement with Sony? Is that right?

What about libraries - Do they all use the same DRM on their ePUBs?

[Dulin's Books]

most epubs use the same DRM - adobe. B&N screwed that up BUT theirs is supposed to be rolled into Adobe so they can be read by and adobe drm supporting device. Libraries mostly loan adobe drm'd epubs and pdfs.

buy epub

[J. Strnad]

These different flavors of DRM are really screwing up the ideal of buying a book from any retailer and being able to read it on any device. It's like saying, "If you buy a Ford, you have to buy gas from Shell." Nonsense. If there were one standard and everyone played nicely together, the whole pie would grow and everyone would profit; then retailers could compete on the basis of shopping experience rather than "Who did we lock into our format?"

B&N is up for sale. Borders has been verging on bankruptcy for some time. The old way of doing business is doomed, but meanwhile, it's hell on readers.

[Towerblock]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

The latest Sonys use the same display as the Kindle 3. The 5" Sony has a 200dpi version of the display, so might be considered better.

But they all come from the same supplier. There's no real difference between current models. I don't think the nook has been upgraded to the new display yet, although I might be mistaken.

The new displays are a significant improvement on the older displays.

I have a Kindle 3 and a Sony 350. They both use Pearl displays but the Sony is a little whiter in color and I prefer the standard Sony font much more than the 3 fonts on the Kindle 3. I'm sure this is a very individual thing though.

Both devices have features that the other doesn't and I may end up keeping both. I love the K3's web browser and it's very quick for me to make highlights and bookmarks. The Sony is a bit more of a pain. The touchscreen DOES work fine, it's just that with the K3 to start a note, you just press the 5-way controller, a cursor appears on the screen press the center of the controller and start highlighting. It's very quick. On the Sony's you have to physically hit a btn at the bottom of the unit to turn on the first menu to get to notes, take your finger, press the menu onscreen, then a sub menu appears and then you have to click on the screen with your finger to create/edit notes, and then a menu bar appears at the top of the page. You then have to click the first icon to "turn on" highlighting and now you can start dragging onscreen with your finger OR to be more accurate, the stylus that comes with the device which means stopping to take out the stylus to use it like a pen..phew!

Anyway, I bought the Sony because I thought highlighting/notes would be easier, but it's much slower than on the K3. Having said that, I prefer the Sony's display/font and ergonomics. The size is beautiful. Also, I like that Sony can't snoop/delete on my 350 like Amazon can with the K3. I also prefer ePub to proprietary K3.

So, I hope I haven't made things even more confusing..

[jamesbeat]

I mean no offense to anybody by this, but to me, this:

"You can lend an eligible title once to any of your friends or family from your Library, nook or eReader. Once the loan period is up, or if they return it sooner, you can read it again."

is aimed squarely at uninformed people.
The industry relies on uninformed people to keep their old business model going.

Making people jump through hoops like this in a bizarre simulation of 'real life' paper books is stupid, short sighted, and doomed to failure.

I would suggest that the OP learn all he/she needs to know about DRM and then decide whether to circumvent it.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

most epubs use the same DRM - adobe. B&N screwed that up BUT theirs is supposed to be rolled into Adobe so they can be read by and adobe drm supporting device. Libraries mostly loan adobe drm'd epubs and pdfs.

buy epub

In B&N's defense, their DRM is by far the friendliest. Even if Adobe was to get out of the DRM business, they could easily support their eReader DRM since it is the only major DRM that doesn't require authorization from a central server.

--
Bill

[nowthenmobile]

I would be prepared to remove DRM for backup but not for transferring to a different manufacturer's eReader.
On that subject, how do you go about getting K3 files onto your PC so that you can remove DRM? I read a review of the Sony and the author was saying that he bought the Sony because there was no way of making a backup. Now I assume he wasn't considering removing DRM but when you download straight from Amazon, it made me wonder about the mechanics of actually getting the file off the K3.

[church mouse]

[QUOTE=nowthenmobile;1141553]I would be prepared to remove DRM for backup but not for transferring to a different manufacturer's eReader.
On that subject, how do you go about getting K3 files onto your PC so that you can remove DRM? QUOTE]

Just download Kindle for PC - you can then have your purchases sent to your Kindle and your PC, or just to your PC for sideloading on to your Kindle.

[nowthenmobile]

Thanks. That sounds pretty straight forward. I can't understand then why the chap was saying that you couldn't back up kindle files.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

most epubs use the same DRM - adobe. B&N screwed that up BUT theirs is supposed to be rolled into Adobe so they can be read by and adobe drm supporting device. Libraries mostly loan adobe drm'd epubs and pdfs.
buy epub

I said it when epub first came out and I'll say it till they fix it.

The epub standards screwed up when they failed to standardize a DRM as part of the spec. It is nobody else's fault.

[=X=]

Originally Posted by nowthenmobile

Thanks. That sounds pretty straight forward. I can't understand then why the chap was saying that you couldn't back up kindle files.

because you where wanting to back up your files for your kindle device.
The kindle 4 PC acts as a kindle device and counts as one of the six allowable kindle device's.
If you download a file to your kindle for PC you cannot copy it to your kindle.

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by nowthenmobile

What does it mean on Amazon if there is no "simultaneous device usage" entry?

At BooksOnBoard what does it mean when both Adobe ePub and Adobe Digital Edition are listed.
This is one of their bestsellers:
http://www.booksonboard.com/index.ph...ok&BOOK=601577
It has loads of formats listed, all with a padlock next to it.

At Amazon, if the ebook details don't have a "Simultaneous Device Usage:" entry, then the ebook has DRM.

At Books on Board, anything with a locked padlock has DRM. It might be that only PDF files show "Adobe Digital Edition" but I haven't checked. Only if there is no padlock is the book DRM-free.

[Mange]

Originally Posted by nowthenmobile

So, to the crooks of the matter:
I think that I understand the limitations of Amazon's Kindle.
Is it possible to buy an eReader and purchase best-selling modern eBooks for it that I would be able to transfer to eReaders made by other manufacturers ie. a completely flexible approach where I get to keep my eBooks even if I change eReader?

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

If such a device existed, do you think anyone would buy anything else?

There's another solution. In Sweden and Germany the publishers no longer use DRM. Instead the watermark solution is used and you no longer have to think about what kind of ereader to get. Because most ereaders accept most formats - except Kindle of course .
So you can copy your library of ebooks should you sell an old ereader and get a new one without any trouble.
Of course you're not allowed to copy the ebooks for redistribution or allowed to sell them.

So the discussion here is no longer so focused on ereader brand or DRM but rather on when we'll see more publishers coming out with their books as ebooks.

In Sweden most libraries carry ebooks and have done so for the last ten years or so - and it's completely free to borrow books.
You're allowed to borrow them for 28 days.
The number of ebooks you're allowed to borrow at one time differs. From 3 books a week to 10 (or more?) a week depending on the library.

Take care,
Magnus