kindle vs. sony: amount of ebooks

[bigmat1201]

Between the kindle and the sony prs-505, which one has the most ebooks available to be bought?

I would think the kindle would have the most since it is backed by amazon, which (I think) is probably the largest bookstore in the world (correct me if i'm wrong). Where as sony only has a site that they throw together to support there ereaders, they are in the business of making electronics not the bookstore business.

But on the other hand the 505 has support for DRMed epub books, so you can look at sites that sell those to. But since DRMed mobi has been cracked, you can look at sites that sell mobi books. So which one has the most books available to buy?

I am new at ereader/ebooks, please correct me if I wrong about anything. Thanks

[Gideon]

Kindle. End of story.

The Sony takes more formats, but as far as... not sure how to put this... standard books (books one would normally find in print) most ebooks that are available in other formats will be available for the Kindle, plus a LOT more.

Kindle is at around 200,000 now (that includes, of course, a lot of public domain stuff - but that's available anywhere.)

I haven't looked at the bookstore Sony had since May or so, but last I checked the selection was pretty crummy (at least for what I read, mainly non-fiction) and the prices were obscene.

[HarryT]

Why are you only considering the Kindle and the Sony? The dominant eBook format out there is MobiPocket, in terms of number of devices which support it, and there are numerous Mobi bookstores.

Practically speaking, publishers generally release all eBooks in all the major formats; so in a sense it doesn't really matter. Yes, "numerically" the Kindle book store sells considerably more books but whether the "extra" ones are ones that the typical reader would ever want to buy is highly debateable.

[jxh11215]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Why are you only considering the Kindle and the Sony? The dominant eBook format out there is MobiPocket, in terms of number of devices which support it, and there are numerous Mobi bookstores.

Practically speaking, publishers generally release all eBooks in all the major formats; so in a sense it doesn't really matter. Yes, "numerically" the Kindle book store sells considerably more books but whether the "extra" ones are ones that the typical reader would ever want to buy is highly debateable.

FYI, Kindle can read the mobi format so you can add all those to the Kindle total.

[vivaldirules]

I've been monitoring Sony and Amazon ebooks for over a year and reporting biweekly status here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=16810

The short answer is that Amazon (about 210,000) has almost four times as many ethings for sale as Sony right now (about 55,000). The Amazon total includes probably a thousand or so multiple copies of public domain titles by various publishers. It also includes about a thousand or so "self-published" titles that Sony doesn't sell. And it includes newspapers, magazines, and blogs that Sony doesn't offer. As far as strictly ebooks, there's no question that Amazon is selling more titles than Sony. There's a strong overlap but there are few titles that Sony sells that Amazon doesn't and very many titles that Amazon sells that Sony doesn't. The thread above includes info on at least two specific subjects that have been compared directly.

In October, Sony publicly promised that they would have 100,000 ebooks for sale by the end of this year. As yet, we've seen no sign of that happening.

As far as epub is concerned, at the moment, that's a tiny fraction of the ebooks available for purchase. I personally don't like how epubs are rendered on the Sony Readers with the current firmware and won't buy any more until that's fixed. I also don't know if they have any plans for such a fix either.

Mobipocket to Sony? I'm personally avoiding that avenue if I can. But if you buy Mobipocket ebooks and convert them for the Sony, the landscape changes, probably dramatically. The main issue, though, is that there are many Mobipocket ebooks that are available only from Amazon. And, at least at present, I know of no way to buy one of those ebooks from them without owning a Kindle.

[Alisa]

Since books are not a fungible commodity, for me the big question is which device best supports me getting the books I want to read. If they were, I could just read free, Public Domain books for the rest of my life and never worry about a book store. As it is, I read a lot of newer releases. I'm a public radio junkie so I hear some interesting author being interviewed and I would often trot right out and get their book. That meant I used to buy a lot of hardbacks. Amazon's $9.99 new releases were really attractive for me. I also wanted the search, annotation and dictionary lookup features, but if those aren't a big deal to you, the Sony is cheaper and, IMO, more attractive. (Cybook also has dictionary lookup, by the way, as well as support for user-loaded fonts.)

If you are going to be buying books that have been out awhile or stuff like SciFi from Baen's, then the Kindle may not be as attractive. The price evens out over time at places like Fictionwise and Baen's is just really reasonable all the time. If your local library has an Overdrive service with lots of ebooks you want, then Sony has an advantage there, too. They have a lot more DRM-ed PDF than they do Mobipocket.

[lisar0813]

really new at this but i live in canada and purchased a kindle but amazon will not will not let me upload does anyone know away around this?

[Bookathon]

I'm afraid not, as far as I know kindle is USA only, and you need to have USA credit card attached with your amazon account.

[alll87]

i agree

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by lisar0813

really new at this but i live in canada and purchased a kindle but amazon will not will not let me upload does anyone know away around this?

lisar, do you have a U.S. based credit card and address tied to your Amazon account?

If so, you can download books to your computer, and then to your Kindle via the USB cord included.

If not, as they clearly state, you cannot, as they will only support U.S. addresses.

However, you can download free books found on this site and lots of others.

Your other option, if you haven't had it for more than 30 days, is to return it and get a refund, minus your shipping costs.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by Gideon

Kindle. End of story.

The Sony takes more formats, but as far as... not sure how to put this... standard books (books one would normally find in print) most ebooks that are available in other formats will be available for the Kindle, plus a LOT more.

Kindle is at around 200,000 now (that includes, of course, a lot of public domain stuff - but that's available anywhere.)

I haven't looked at the bookstore Sony had since May or so, but last I checked the selection was pretty crummy (at least for what I read, mainly non-fiction) and the prices were obscene.

Now, surely you know that good stories never end!
______________

Here's my advice, bigmat1201:

1) Listen to every one on this thread and on this site. Look at those critics who can see value in the different devices - those who are fair-minded, able to analyze both the strengths and weaknesses of the devices they're familiar with.

2) Listen, as well, to the tone of that advice. How does a writer (I include myself) come across to you? Arrogant? Sincere? Understanding? God's right-hand advisor?

3) Look at the ergonomics of the different devices.
4) Look at the content-value of the devices. (Do you read mainly Fiction or Non-Fiction?
5) Look at the different formats available from each device.
6) Look at personal horror stories. (Device Failure.)
7) Look at successful stories of ownership.
8) Look at front-engine managment. (Sony's store, for example: some people like it, whereas most people seem not to like it. For me, it's ok.)
9) Look at the "Library" of available ebooks for the device(s) you're considering.
10) Look to see if anyone has a personal agenda in "bashing" a device.

And always - ALWAYS - smile when you're reading.

Have Fun!

Don

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

Now, surely you know that good stories never end!
______________

Here's my advice, bigmat1201:

1) Listen to every one on this thread and on this site. Look at those critics who can see value in the different devices - those who are fair-minded, able to analyze both the strengths and weaknesses of the devices they're familiar with.

2) Listen, as well, to the tone of that advice. How does a writer (I include myself) come across to you? Arrogant? Sincere? Understanding? God's right-hand advisor?

3) Look at the ergonomics of the different devices.
4) Look at the content-value of the devices. (Do you read mainly Fiction or Non-Fiction?
5) Look at the different formats available from each device.
6) Look at personal horror stories. (Device Failure.)
7) Look at successful stories of ownership.
8) Look at front-engine managment. (Sony's store, for example: some people like it, whereas most people seem not to like it. For me, it's ok.)
9) Look at the "Library" of available ebooks for the device(s) you're considering.
10) Look to see if anyone has a personal agenda in "bashing" a device.

And always - ALWAYS - smile when you're reading.

Have Fun!

Don

Or.....

they could just listen to me. Kindle sucks! Reader rocks! I am the right hand of God! Muahahhahahahah!!

Sorry, I had to.

FWIW, I haven't had a problem finding content on the ebookstore, and when they don't have it, amazon usually doesn't either. If you are worried about content, I'd start searching for books you want, and see who is better. I buy a lot of paperback fiction books, and I tend to find what I needed cheaper on Sony's website (they usually have a standard 5% off, whereas Kindle will usually sell them full price- but not always).

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Or.....

they could just listen to me. Kindle sucks! Reader rocks! I am the right hand of God! Muahahhahahahah!!

Sorry, I had to.

FWIW, I haven't had a problem finding content on the ebookstore, and when they don't have it, amazon usually doesn't either. If you are worried about content, I'd start searching for books you want, and see who is better. I buy a lot of paperback fiction books, and I tend to find what I needed cheaper on Sony's website (they usually have a standard 5% off, whereas Kindle will usually sell them full price- but not always).

I guess it just depends on the books you read. I read a lot of new releases but not all. So I went back and checked on my last five paperback books (though some of them were library checkouts and not Amazon purchases) and compared Amazon and Sony prices. Here they are:

The Blessing Way - Tony Hillerman

Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $4.00

Sophie's Choice - William Styron
Sony: $8.09
Amazon: $4.14

Dance Hall of hte Dead - Tony Hillerman

Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $5.59

Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

Sony: $12.60
Amazon: $9.99

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

Sony: $5.69
Amazon: $4.79

Of course a couple of those would be available for free for either device through the library. Plus, as I said before, the Sony can take better advantage of the library collection. Still, I don't recall seeing many books that are in paperback and full paperback prices at Amazon. Maybe it was the first day they hit paperback? Sometimes it takes a week or so for the price drop.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by Alisa

I guess it just depends on the books you read. I read a lot of new releases but not all. So I went back and checked on my last five paperback books (though some of them were library checkouts and not Amazon purchases) and compared Amazon and Sony prices. Here they are:

The Blessing Way - Tony Hillerman

Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $4.00

Sophie's Choice - William Styron
Sony: $8.09
Amazon: $4.14

Dance Hall of hte Dead - Tony Hillerman

Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $5.59

Housekeeping - Marilynne Robinson

Sony: $12.60
Amazon: $9.99

The Dark is Rising - Susan Cooper

Sony: $5.69
Amazon: $4.79

Of course a couple of those would be available for free for either device through the library. Plus, as I said before, the Sony can take better advantage of the library collection. Still, I don't recall seeing many books that are in paperback and full paperback prices at Amazon. Maybe it was the first day they hit paperback? Sometimes it takes a week or so for the price drop.

Here's mine:
To Sin with a Stranger- Kathryn Caskie
Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $6.99

To Seduce a Sinner- Elizabeth Hoyt (man I'm reading a lot of books with "Sin" in the title, ha ha)
Sony: $6.64
Amazon: $5.59

Matter of Scandal - Suzanne Enoch
Sony: $5.69
Amazon: $4.79

Well that didn't prove my point very well, heh.

[DebT]

My experience....following an attempt to purchase the Kindle with a few other items was told by Amazon my card wasnt mine. They filled all the order on my card except the Kindle but claimed my card wasnt mine for the Kindle ?????? Got the keyboard and the game but couldnt get the Kindle.....????? because the card is not mine...????? A nightmare. Rude customer service reps.....cancelled the order I placed with the card that wasnt mine for just the Kindle mind you....got the keyboard and game...on the card that wasnt mine...???? ...and went back to search and research. I purchased Sony prs 505 because it is readily available....cheaper....nicer looking...available....oh yeah I said that already. Bonus multi format and collections! I dont have to purchase books only from Sony.
Being a consumer I am still a bit baffled by the go live on that O womans show just before the holidays and run out of stock a week after the show...????? Not only run out but way out to the point of not being available until March?????
I am willing to pay a buck or two more for books from Sony vs Amazon for the extra bonus of better customer service reps and ummmmm oh yeah availability. The sad part my card and me are not likely to purchase anything from Amazon again because of the bad experience.
I love the Sony...I have had the most fun reading and re reading some great books. I have purchased 5 books but have had more fun getting the other 165 books from all over the net. I have not yet mastered some needed skills for converting files but I will get to it. I will then learn to create some great omnibus books like some of the other fantastic folks here.
Weigh the pros and cons of features you want or need. Be clear on what you really want it for and its use for you. Once you make that list and really pay attention to you I think the right one will be a clear choice.
Have fun reading!