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Richey79 · 07-23-2011, 05:49 PM

I can't help but give my opinion on this one... .

I think the Kindle is great in many ways: the idea of making the ereader available to everyone, prioritising the quality of screen and having well-placed page-turn buttons; their everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to features.

But when I look for a little longer, I start to get somewhat irritated by the light weight design of the Kindle, how it creaks when you hold it, the obviously cheap plastic, how easily the spaces between the keys are cracked. If they're cutting their profit margins by so much on this product, then why are they as happy to give you five Kindles as one? - Yes, Amazon's custom service is excellent, but I can't help feeling the value of the product must be approaching negligible.

It helps to think in terms of comparisons.

I enjoy photography a great deal. If the Kindle is a modern compact digital camera, then the Sony is a Leica: the Kindle does eveything you want at a great price-point and even offers modern features that the Sony doesn't: wireless browsing! 3G! and there's nothing wrong with that. Whereas, the Sony is made from metal, feels nice and heavy and you're forced to side-load books onto the device. It also has far nicer fonts than the Kindle, and the same screen renders images better (I'm not sure why this is from a technical perspective, but I'm pretty sure that it is objectively the case). The back of the Sony feels lovely to hold and the efficiency with which the device's size is used to perfection reminds me of nothing more than the Leica M6.

Do people buy the Leica rather than the digital compact to show off, rather than because it represents good value for money in a side-by-side comparison? - Certainly.

Does the Leica offer a more pure experience of photography? - Almost certainly.

Yes, Sony has dreadful computer software and a poor book-store in relation to Amazon. However, this matters not-a-jot when Sony concentrate on the things that really matter to a degree that no other manufacturer does. They deserve respect simply for bucking the trend and having the guts to decide that their product's iidentity is at the higher end of the market.

I'd be disappointed if Sony left the ereader market. Having said that; I'd be disappointed if Amazon left the ereader market-place.

But those people who say the Kindle offers more than the Sony at a fraction of the price have very different priorities to me.

07-23-2011, 05:49 PM	#78
Richey79 mrkrgnao Posts: 241 Karma: 237248 Join Date: May 2010 Device: PRS650, K3 Wireless, Galaxy S3, iPad 3.	I can't help but give my opinion on this one... . I think the Kindle is great in many ways: the idea of making the ereader available to everyone, prioritising the quality of screen and having well-placed page-turn buttons; their everything-plus-the-kitchen-sink approach to features. But when I look for a little longer, I start to get somewhat irritated by the light weight design of the Kindle, how it creaks when you hold it, the obviously cheap plastic, how easily the spaces between the keys are cracked. If they're cutting their profit margins by so much on this product, then why are they as happy to give you five Kindles as one? - Yes, Amazon's custom service is excellent, but I can't help feeling the value of the product must be approaching negligible. It helps to think in terms of comparisons. I enjoy photography a great deal. If the Kindle is a modern compact digital camera, then the Sony is a Leica: the Kindle does eveything you want at a great price-point and even offers modern features that the Sony doesn't: wireless browsing! 3G! and there's nothing wrong with that. Whereas, the Sony is made from metal, feels nice and heavy and you're forced to side-load books onto the device. It also has far nicer fonts than the Kindle, and the same screen renders images better (I'm not sure why this is from a technical perspective, but I'm pretty sure that it is objectively the case). The back of the Sony feels lovely to hold and the efficiency with which the device's size is used to perfection reminds me of nothing more than the Leica M6. Do people buy the Leica rather than the digital compact to show off, rather than because it represents good value for money in a side-by-side comparison? - Certainly. Does the Leica offer a more pure experience of photography? - Almost certainly. Yes, Sony has dreadful computer software and a poor book-store in relation to Amazon. However, this matters not-a-jot when Sony concentrate on the things that really matter to a degree that no other manufacturer does. They deserve respect simply for bucking the trend and having the guts to decide that their product's iidentity is at the higher end of the market. I'd be disappointed if Sony left the ereader market. Having said that; I'd be disappointed if Amazon left the ereader market-place. But those people who say the Kindle offers more than the Sony at a fraction of the price have very different priorities to me.