Quote:
Originally Posted by delphin
Oh, I see, you mean like the Harry Potter books. 
Tragically this series is not available for the Sony -- but I can just waltz right over to the Kindle store, and ... Oh, crap  not available for the Kindle either!!! 
In fact I have NEVER run across a SINGLE example of a title that was actually of use to me that WAS available on Amazon's Kindle, but was not available for the PRS-650 by accessing the combined resources of my local library, the Sony Store, Borders, Kobo, and Google Books (3 million titles and counting).
My point was simply that it's kind of nice that I can get about 90% plus of my reading material FREE, and for the other 10% I can't imagine a case where Amazon was my only option.
Perhaps you can cite an example of a popular series that IS available through Amazon, but NOT available from Sony, Borders, Kobo, or Google Books???
This question is 'on-topic' for this thread, because in considering the original topic "Is the Sony really that good?", I am sure that everyone will want to know about any books that just aren't available for the Sony, but which could be read on Kindle or another reader. |
I've never read any of the Harry Potter books nor do I intend to, so their availability is not something that I'm concerned with.
My
point was about the availability of books
I like to read from my public library as opposed from Amazon for Kindle,
not in regards to every other ebook store out there. I don't see the point in me knocking Amazon's book availability when it provides me with access to more books than my library system does. I didn't claim that only Amazon carries certain books, only that they carry books I tend to read; I said nothing at all about other ebook stores not carrying them - that is you paraphrasing my remarks incorrectly.
Nor was I discussing "books that aren't available for a Sony but which could be read on a Kindle or any other reader". As we both well know, any book that can't be read natively on a Sony can usually be done so via converting the format it through Calibre, and if it is a Kindle book it's just a matter of breaking the DRM before converting it.
I happen to like Amazon's site. I think that it is well-designed and easy to maneuver through. I've been a customer for so long that I can play that site like a piano. I find Sony's site to be awkward, Borders site to be a very slow loader, and Kobo's to be higher-priced. I haven't checked out Google Books much so I have very little experience with it. The B&N site is pretty good and I have bought ebooks from them; they are usually the one I compare Amazon's book/ebook prices to when deciding where to make the purchase. I don't read a lot of the books that are out of copyright so the fact that they are available free on various sites is not really important to me, since
my needs were what I was discussing.
My go-to site tends to be Amazon; I have never said it was the only option open to me. I like the site, I've had good dealings with their customer service, my non-data orders are error-free and arrive promptly. My ebook and MP3 downloads occur immediately and without glitches. I can find what I want, and with the way their site is designed, I usually find new things that I've never considered before. I don't feel that I am doing something evil by giving them my business, nor do I feel that I should apologize for using them.
The Sony reader is a very good reader - that's why I bought one of them. But I'm not going to say the Kindle is a bad reader or knock Kindle books or Kindle users just because I have a Sony.
