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As far as warranty goes... I've decided to hold off until April, and see if either Sony announces a launch in the UK, or even has a UK launch. I've seen April mentioned a few times.
However, if it's true that the screens (which I understand are all made by the same company) are holding back production, I don't see why Sony would want to start selling in the UK, when they can't satisfy the US market. Not unless they thought they could make way more money from it, which they probably could.
There's a couple of reasons why I'm against a Cybook.
Firstly if you look at the comments on the last entry of their blog there's a few people with a faulty product and it seems Bookeen are ignoring their emails. Also, Bookeen are, and quite blatantly, selling to the US at a cut price compared to the UK.
They ship to whichever country you pick, but they choose a price based on where you live.
UK £245 - E325
US $350 - E236
Euro E350 - E350
Is it just coincidence that the only place where they compete with Amazon and Sony they have reduced the price by 100 Euro?
It is not the case that it costs less for them in the US. And it's not the case it costs more for them in the EU or UK.
The only conclusion I can draw from it is that they're charging a premium where there's no alternative. I don't like that.
From that I'd expect when and if Sony launch in the UK, or when someone else comes out with a "basic" ebook reader in the UK then Bookeen will adjust their price to compete.
There's a huge benefit in waiting for a UK launch from Sony as well. In the UK consumer laws are miles better than they are in the US. And buying from another country also makes things much harder. In the UK if it goes wrong then it'll get replaced, and I can go through the courts if I have to. If I buy from Europe I don't believe I have the same rights, and if Bookeen just ignore emails or say no to returns then going through the courts or Trading Standards is much more difficult. If I buy in the US then there's also much less cover.
If come April prices haven't dropped, or things haven't changed then I'll have a choice of one or the other. I also, along with other family members, own a condo in Florida, so I could buy over there using a US address and bring it back across with me.
Ideally though I'd like to pay a price that isn't over inflated (I can understand higher prices in the UK because consumers have much more punch), and I'd like a decent level of "insurance" in case it goes wrong, i.e. my statutory rights.
Having said all that though, I'm still back at looking for a list of the cons, rather than the pros of the two devices.
As I understand...
Both are identical for..
Screen (one may have more greyscales, doesn't affect me)
Battery life (Give or take)
Ease of use (Both of them I can access like a hard drive and throw files on/off)
DRM - Each has their own. Bookeen seem to have more retailers, but those retailers seem to be just resellers of one product, so there's no real advantage there. Sony site is/may be restricted to the US. I'm quite sure I could use an American address and an American credit card to get around that.
The differences are
Sony can't use different fonts unless I manually edit the file before, and embed a font. I'm not sure how useful that would be, since I don't really have any concerns over font size. I think small/med/large would likely be enough options.
Do either of them have "bad" button layouts? I.e. am I going to have to fiddle with a finicky little button and accidentally move back a page rather than forwards, or go to a menu when I just wanted a page flip?
Lights - I realise neither of them have a backlight, and I also realise that's part of the point of the devices. However, I like to read at night, and I'd like to be able to attach a light to it. I see Sony have an accessory that puts a light in a sensible place. I've not seen the same for the Cybook.
Is one of them more, or less durable than the other? I realise it's a very subjective question, but is one of them better designed in case I accidentally drop it, or I fall asleep reading it and in the night I roll over on top of it.
Anything else anyone can think of along the lines of "I wish I hadn't bought this Sony/Bookeen reader because the Bookeen/Sony reader doesn't do this"
Until then though I can't separate them.
Edit : Oh, and thanks a TON for the help so far!
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