wonder if sony going to can ebook business

thomasn75 · 04-12-2012, 07:15 AM

I am wondering if sony is going to stops its ebook reader business after the announcement today. it does seem to me that this product does not fall into line with the strategy announced today. the continued delay of the UK sony book store also makes me suspicious - it really cannot take that long to launch it.

it would be a pity as I am enjoying the T1 but sony is just so far behind amazon and even kobo that it would not be surprised if they throw in the towel.

I would be interested in what you think.

thomas

link to article about sony strategy - take the time to read the full press release as it is more interesting than the article.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/k...-00/#continued

chrisridd · 04-12-2012, 07:23 AM

I was wondering that myself.

It definitely doesn't look like a "core business" if you go to www.sony.co.uk and drop down the "Products" tab. Readers are all on their own...

arciervo · 04-12-2012, 09:07 AM

Given Sony's dire situation, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they leave the e-reader business. Despite being the first major company to introduce an e-ink device and an innovator in several areas (e.g. touch technology, front lighting), Sony doesn't seem to be able to get any traction against the Amazon Kindle.

It would be a great shame if this were to happen, since this would leave Kobo as the only e-reader device available internationally which supports open standards. As a Canadian, I'd be happy to see Kobo gain market share, but personally I find the Kobo Touch to be much inferior to my PRS-T1, at least for the features that I'm interested in.

chrisridd · 04-12-2012, 09:24 AM

One thing Kobo has got right which Sony definitely has not, is their desktop software. Syncing a Kobo is really easy and I haven't seen it go wrong yet with my daughter's Kobo.

Perhaps the rumoured B&N tie up with Waterstones in the UK will give Kobo a decent competitor here.

elcreative · 04-12-2012, 10:04 AM

Not another new deal from Sony... I mean canned eReaders... it's more than enough trouble getting through all their usual packaging without having to open a can as well...

LuvReadin · 04-12-2012, 10:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

Perhaps the rumoured B&N tie up with Waterstones in the UK will give Kobo a decent competitor here.

Don't quite understand?

You mean B&N would bring in the Nook, so Waterstones would be selling both? Or do you think they'd only sell the Nook and leave the Kobo to the likes of Asda?

pssquirrel · 04-12-2012, 10:33 AM

More details on Sony's plans from NY Times:

Quote:

Promising change and announcing a string of goals, Sony’s chief executive, Kazuo Hirai, laid out a revival plan for the struggling electronics and entertainment company, including a focus away from its unprofitable television business and a plan to cut 10,000 jobs ....

To rebuild Sony’s electronics business, Mr. Hirai said he would concentrate on three main businesses: mobile devices, including smartphones and tablets; cameras and camcorders; and games.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/13/bu...e-company.html

I'm hoping e-ink ereaders are included in "mobile devices," but that may be too much to hope for.

arciervo · 04-12-2012, 12:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chrisridd

One thing Kobo has got right which Sony definitely has not, is their desktop software. Syncing a Kobo is really easy and I haven't seen it go wrong yet with my daughter's Kobo.

No doubt about it; the Sony desktop software sucks. (I never use it and rely on Calibre instead.)

On the other hand, I rarely need to synchronize with my PC anyway. I can check out library books directly to my PRS-T1 via wi-fi; as far as I know, only the Kindle has similar functionality (and only in the USA). Using the web browser, I can also download EPUBs and PDFs from the Sony Reader store, the Kobo store, ManyBooks, Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, etc. In the rare cases where the downloads fail, I can save the files to the Dropbox folder on my PC and then load them into my Sony using the Dropbox mobile web site.

thomasn75 · 04-12-2012, 02:06 PM

Well maybe we will be ok. The reader store seems to have gone live today in uk.
Still not sure what sony review will mean for new ereader models etc

LuvReadin · 04-12-2012, 02:27 PM

Oooh, thanks for this. Maybe a good sign for the longevity of the Reader?

chrisridd · 04-12-2012, 02:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by arciervo

No doubt about it; the Sony desktop software sucks. (I never use it and rely on Calibre instead.)

On the other hand, I rarely need to synchronize with my PC anyway. I can check out library books directly to my PRS-T1 via wi-fi; as far as I know, only the Kindle has similar functionality (and only in the USA). Using the web browser, I can also download EPUBs and PDFs from the Sony Reader store, the Kobo store, ManyBooks, Feedbooks, Project Gutenberg, Internet Archive, etc. In the rare cases where the downloads fail, I can save the files to the Dropbox folder on my PC and then load them into my Sony using the Dropbox mobile web site.

What would happen if your Sony died - would you be able to redownload all those books again from all those sites? I would not like my T1 having the only copy of my books.

Ripplinger · 04-12-2012, 02:48 PM

As long as you have your account info at the various online book retailers, you should just be able to redownload your past purchases. Wherever I've purchased books from, I've noticed that I still had the option to do that, or to download different formats of the same book.

But to make things easier for myself, I always have a copy on my PC as well, and I backup the full drive every few months by cloning it for safety, so I usually have at least 3 copies to get anything back much quicker.

chrisridd · 04-12-2012, 02:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomasn75

Well maybe we will be ok. The reader store seems to have gone live today in uk.
Still not sure what sony review will mean for new ereader models etc

Ooh, well spotted about the reader store!

Teknikal · 04-12-2012, 05:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomasn75

Well maybe we will be ok. The reader store seems to have gone live today in uk.
Still not sure what sony review will mean for new ereader models etc

First I've heard of it but yes I just checked and you are right store is up.

I really think Sony will probably keep the ereaders going apart from video games it's about the only thing they still do well.

Bookworm_Girl · 04-12-2012, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by thomasn75

Well maybe we will be ok. The reader store seems to have gone live today in uk.
Still not sure what sony review will mean for new ereader models etc

That's great news for people in the UK! Thanks for sharing.

04-12-2012, 07:15 AM	#1
thomasn75 Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1085592 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: kobo aura h2o v2, kobo Aura, sony prs t1	wonder if sony going to can ebook business I am wondering if sony is going to stops its ebook reader business after the announcement today. it does seem to me that this product does not fall into line with the strategy announced today. the continued delay of the UK sony book store also makes me suspicious - it really cannot take that long to launch it. it would be a pity as I am enjoying the T1 but sony is just so far behind amazon and even kobo that it would not be surprised if they throw in the towel. I would be interested in what you think. thomas link to article about sony strategy - take the time to read the full press release as it is more interesting than the article. http://www.engadget.com/2012/04/12/k...-00/#continued

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04-12-2012, 07:23 AM	#2
chrisridd Guru Posts: 928 Karma: 2146660 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, Marvin 3	I was wondering that myself. It definitely doesn't look like a "core business" if you go to www.sony.co.uk and drop down the "Products" tab. Readers are all on their own...

04-12-2012, 09:07 AM	#3
arciervo Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Dec 2011 Device: Sony PRS-T1	Given Sony's dire situation, I wouldn't be at all surprised if they leave the e-reader business. Despite being the first major company to introduce an e-ink device and an innovator in several areas (e.g. touch technology, front lighting), Sony doesn't seem to be able to get any traction against the Amazon Kindle. It would be a great shame if this were to happen, since this would leave Kobo as the only e-reader device available internationally which supports open standards. As a Canadian, I'd be happy to see Kobo gain market share, but personally I find the Kobo Touch to be much inferior to my PRS-T1, at least for the features that I'm interested in.

04-12-2012, 09:24 AM	#4
chrisridd Guru Posts: 928 Karma: 2146660 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: London, UK Device: Kobo Aura, Kobo Aura ONE, Marvin 3	One thing Kobo has got right which Sony definitely has not, is their desktop software. Syncing a Kobo is really easy and I haven't seen it go wrong yet with my daughter's Kobo. Perhaps the rumoured B&N tie up with Waterstones in the UK will give Kobo a decent competitor here.

04-12-2012, 10:04 AM	#5
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	Not another new deal from Sony... I mean canned eReaders... it's more than enough trouble getting through all their usual packaging without having to open a can as well...

04-12-2012, 02:06 PM	#9
thomasn75 Groupie Posts: 170 Karma: 1085592 Join Date: Nov 2011 Device: kobo aura h2o v2, kobo Aura, sony prs t1	Well maybe we will be ok. The reader store seems to have gone live today in uk. Still not sure what sony review will mean for new ereader models etc

04-12-2012, 02:27 PM	#10
LuvReadin Addict Posts: 372 Karma: 1925568 Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: England, UK Device: Sony PRS-T1 and Cool-ER	Oooh, thanks for this. Maybe a good sign for the longevity of the Reader?

04-12-2012, 02:48 PM	#12
Ripplinger 350 Hoarder Posts: 3,574 Karma: 8281267 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Midwest USA Device: Sony PRS-350, Kobo Glo & Glo HD, PW2	As long as you have your account info at the various online book retailers, you should just be able to redownload your past purchases. Wherever I've purchased books from, I've noticed that I still had the option to do that, or to download different formats of the same book. But to make things easier for myself, I always have a copy on my PC as well, and I backup the full drive every few months by cloning it for safety, so I usually have at least 3 copies to get anything back much quicker.