Quote:
Originally Posted by taoistpunk
enjoy whatever reader you have...if it works for you, that is all that matters.
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That really what it all boils down to.
For me, if I had a Kindle, I'd be doing the same thing I am with the Sony. Buying the MS Reader version of things & converting them. I don't trust any of the DRM producers to far.
As for Sony not being able to provide the content Amazon can, yes and no. Everyone's always going on and on about Amazon's 80,000 books, or whatever number they're touting this week and bemoaning that Sony only has 29,000 or whatever. It's no doubt true Amazon has more stuff overall, but they also carry books from small e-only publishers & pod publishers that can also be had for the Sony by buying right from the publisher or from Fictionwise in their Multiformat offerings. So I'm not sure really how much more Amazon really has. I do know that for regular fiction they don't really appear to have any more than Sony & some titles Sony (& other formats) has they don't offer at all. So don't just go by the numbers and assume one is sooo much better than the other.
As for who will stick it out for the long haul, you're probably right (history is on your side) that Sony will drop the Reader & the BBeB format if it proves unprofitable, but if the devices are profitable you may see it accept other DRM formats & Sony just stop selling their own format. No one can really know at this point. I agree that their track record isn't in their favor, but Amazon has screwed folks with ebooks in the past so their record is not pristine either.
As long as folks don't have a problem with breaking DRM they are much better off buying books they can convert, or multiformat stuff from Fictionwise or Baen if they want to ensure their books will be usable on any device in the future.