Quote:
Originally Posted by JSWolf
The average person just wants to read the purchased eBook and is not really concerned with rereading it or the fact that it may not be transportable to some future device.
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Ok, lets consider I am an average person.
I bought a Sony PRS-500 when it first came out (got as Christmas present actually). Sony's ebook store didn't have alot available that I was looking for, what they did have cost more than a paper back down the street at Barnes & Nobel. I read the demo books that were on my machine. I ended up reading many free books and buying books from books stores like scifi-az that had sony formated PDFs.
Now, I see that Kindle has this new reader and they have thousands of books at better prices than the Sony store. So, I buy one of those since my son has been using my Sony alot, reading all the books I mentioned above that I managed to get for it.
What, I can't read the books I buy from Amazon on the Sony too?
To me, the above scenerio would be one a normal person would run into. As you say, not really understanding DRM and thinking the books would work on both devices.
So, now I have 4 options:
Option 1 (Technically illegal)
Start buying books that I can break the DRM on and convert for my Sony and Kindle... which eliminates one of the best features of the Kindle, the Amazon book availability and pricing (Wispernet not withstanding). Or, I have to buy the same books twice, once from Amazon and once from Sony (assuming we both want to read it and Sony has it.) Wait, why is this more convenient than paper backs?
Option 2
Return my Kindle and buy a second Sony due to the device lock-in that the DRM requires. (Granted this may save me money up front because the Sony is about $100 less than the Kindle. But, it might cost more as less books are available at the Sony store and many cost $5-7 more than the Kindle store. At my estimated reading rate of one book a week that adds up.)
Option 3
Sell the Sony and buy a second Kindle due to the device lock-in that the DRM requires. (This will cost me $200 more assuming I can sell the Sony for $200 or so. But the cheaper book cost at Amazon will probably pay for this difference in a year or so.)
Option 4
Forget eBooks all together... its too early at this point. I can buy a p-book, me and my son can read it (granted not at the same time) and I can sell it used to recover some money to buy more. Or I can get books from the library for free.
Most sane "average" people are going to go with Option 4. How does that help the ebook industry move forward? DRM is about vendor lock-in... it isn't good for the average person or the technical person and it only casues problems for the honest customers.
Me I'm not sane or average so I am strongly considering Option 3. As I said, due to the Kindle book availablity and pricing, not that I think the Kindle is a better device than the Sony.
BOb