Quote:
Originally Posted by Donnageddon
. . . For me, Sony just got it right the first time.
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Exactly, "getting it right the first time", so they don't need to do updates, is indeed Sony's goal.
Sony did not quite hit this level of perfection, so, regrettably, they had to do an update.
But is a "no-updates ever" product really 'perfection'? Is it even a good thing? Perhaps not.
In fact, in Sony's case, this approach can be a bad thing, A VERY BAD THING.
Why?
Because it reflects Sony's attitude towards software support, and responding to users.
When Apple sells a product like the iPad, they look at it as JUST THE BEGINNING.
Where, Sony hopes the SALE, WILL BE THE END OF THE ROAD (and the last time they will have to deal with it.)
The difference between these two philosophies is the difference between being the biggest consumer computer/software company in the world (Apples 1st Quarter Revenues exceeded even Microsoft), vs Sony's less than stellar performance (which may well have them close to being forced to bow out of the eReader market.)
No doubt the Sony is well made, and I am also quite happy with my 650, but this is because I specifically wanted a device that was more geared towards stand-alone operation, not one with good on-line book store integration like the Nooks or Kindles.
For me, NOT having a lot of features geared towards the reader popping up 'special deals' and trying to sell me something is a plus, not a minus.
For most folks though, I'm sure the bookstore access is a plus as long as you can still side load books, and as long as the bookstore integration is not intrusive (no pop-up ads while reading etc.)
With the first generation Nook, non-B&N books that were side-loaded by the user were poorly handled, but with the newer Nooks like the Nook Color and Touch, they can be added to the users main book shelf, just like books purchased from B&N, so this also should not be an issue.
Construction quality wise, it looks like the new touch readers from Kobo and B&N are roughly on a par with the Kindle, which most folks find quite acceptable.