MobileRead Forums - View Single Post - Have you used the Sony software/store, or not?

bsandersen · 04-14-2009, 10:22 PM

I loved the Sony PRS-505, but Sony's assumption that everybody must use a PC was grating. It also seemed wholly unnecessary. The Sony store could have been platform independent, not requiring a special PC application, and management of the unit could, similarly, be done without dependence on a PC. Sony got the ergonomics of the unit right while Amazon struggled; Amazon got the software right. You can see where this is going.

I have traded up to a Kindle for two reasons: (1) I was tired of being a second-class citizen in the Sony world because I ran a Macintosh. Sure, I could fire up Parallels and WinXP anytime I wanted, but why should I _want_ to? (2) The prices in the Sony store were seriously out-of-whack compared to Amazon. Ultimately, the Kindle 2 would pay for itself after a couple of dozen books. Sony's unreasonably high prices in their bookstore subsidized, in a sense, my transition to the competition.

I still own the Sony. I still like the Sony. But I'm putting my future investments, especially in purchased content, into the Kindle. And Sony can thank the software designers and store management for my decision.

04-14-2009, 10:22 PM	#52
bsandersen Nerd Posts: 13 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Acton, MA Device: Sony PRS-300,505, Kindle 2, iPad	I loved the Sony PRS-505, but Sony's assumption that everybody must use a PC was grating. It also seemed wholly unnecessary. The Sony store could have been platform independent, not requiring a special PC application, and management of the unit could, similarly, be done without dependence on a PC. Sony got the ergonomics of the unit right while Amazon struggled; Amazon got the software right. You can see where this is going. I have traded up to a Kindle for two reasons: (1) I was tired of being a second-class citizen in the Sony world because I ran a Macintosh. Sure, I could fire up Parallels and WinXP anytime I wanted, but why should I _want_ to? (2) The prices in the Sony store were seriously out-of-whack compared to Amazon. Ultimately, the Kindle 2 would pay for itself after a couple of dozen books. Sony's unreasonably high prices in their bookstore subsidized, in a sense, my transition to the competition. I still own the Sony. I still like the Sony. But I'm putting my future investments, especially in purchased content, into the Kindle. And Sony can thank the software designers and store management for my decision.