Worth buying Sony if Non US?
 

Hello All,

I have been an avid ebook reader ever since I got hold of my battered old Cassiopiea. I have watched the (slow) progress of the e-ink devices and think that now may be the time to buy my wife an ebook reader.

My wife travels alot and carrying several paperbacks can be a pain. I'm wanting to get her an ebook reader to go in her airline survival kit (already has a video Ipod and noise cancelling headphones).

My wife mainly reads contempory novels and so would prefer to have access to them in ebook format. But at the moment the only device we see is the Sony Reader, which doesn't seem to have all the publishers on board.

Also we currently live in Bermuda, but will eventually be moving back to the UK (damn visa's). And Sony's ebook library is only available in the US.

Should I still be considering this device? Is Sony going to roll it out worldwide?

Lee.

There are some pretty strong "rumours" of a UK launch sometime next year. :shrug:

But what 'region specific' stuff would the UK version entail?

The most obvious alternative to the Sony Reader is the Bookeen Cybook, which supports MobiPocket for DRM-infested "secure" (encrypted) e-books. Mobipocket is supported on a wide range of devices. The only downside of buying now is that hands-on reviews are limited, but so far the device looks very good.

An alternative strategy is to buy e-books in .LIT (MS Reader) format, break the DRM (e.g. with ConvertLIT) and convert to Sony or MobiPocket format. That way you are not bound to any single format/device. Note that it is also possible to break MobiPocket's encryption, although the software to do so isn't widely available, so even if you go the Cybook and MobiPocket route you are not tied to MobiPocket compatible devices in the future.

I have a hoard of books in LIT format. But I've never had to use ConvertLIT. I'm sure I have a copy knocking around somewhere though.

Is there a decent Sony Ebook development program? I've checked out one site, but it was in Russian...

Otherwise I think I'm sold. The wife will like it because she has heard of Sony. I think she'd think of the Cybook as been shoddy just becuase she's never heard of the company.

Dunno yet. :dunno: Still very much at the "rumours" stage

You're probably finding the origin site for BookDesigner, which is a very nice app. which a lot of folks around here use. That link will take you to English-language resources for it, including links to a nice tutorial on how to use the rascal. :nice:

Cheers NatCh,

All sorted now. I'll have a play with the software tonight, and ensure I'm competent enough to convert my books.

I'm in New York for a few days soon so I'll nip in the Sony store and have a play. Maybe I'll get myself one too. My nag of a PDA is closing on the glue factory.

Dandy. I do suggest you have a look at the tutorial, BookDesigner is pretty easy to use once you get the settings the way you want them, but finding and setting them can be a bit annoying. The tutorial should save you some pain. Always a good thing. :nice:

Will do NatCh, If there is one thing that will put off my wife it will be ill-formatted books.

Like there were for the PRS 500 model and still no UK launch even for that one.

I ... don't recall any UK launch rumors on the 500 (feel free to refresh my memory!). Anyway, these reportedly come from UK Book Distribution types. As always, salt to taste. :nice:

Ff you have an SD memory card, download some of the books from the e-books section in LRF, put them on the SD card and when you have a look at the 505, you can pop in the SD card and see how well formatted things can be. I suggest grabbing books from a wide ranger of people who have formatted them so you can see possibly different styles mostly done with the same program.

Hi, I live in the uk and bought the sony 2 months ago, very pleased with it I also travel a lot with work and it's been a major bonus for me. There are ways to purchase books from the sony site......give us a shout if you need any help.

Great Idea JSWolf,

I'll take a few books along. Although I'm not sure if the staff would take kindly to a foreign card in their product.

Wouldn't the connect reader give an idea of the output aswell?

I emailed Sony UK in order to find out if the PRS-505 would be available in the UK before Christmas. The reply was "I would like to inform you that the e-reader will not be released in this country". I'm now looking forward to the arrival of my Cybook.