Kindle ....2....?

T1ND3R · 02-11-2009, 04:50 AM

Since early December, I had been researching e-book readers to purchase, and like many others, my choice came down to the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Reader.

The decision was tough, and it took me well over a month to make a decision. I had certain criteria that had to be met, but I knew that I would have to compromise in the end.

The first thing I looked at was the availability of content, and at first glance, the kindle was in the lead. As well as having a larger selection of books to purchase, it also offered newspapers, magazines, and blogs, many of which I enjoyed reading. Even though the sony e-book store was lacking in selections, the e-book reader itself was able to support a variety of different formats, meaning that I didn't need to rely on the sony store to purchase my books, allowing me to purchase elsewhere and simply convert (which I have now found to be a pain) the books into the appropriate format and send them for free (Kindle charges 10 cents to transfer documents) to my e-book reader. In the end, due to sony's ability to support multiple formats, availability of content became a tie for both.

The next thing I was looking at was battery life. The Kindle was reported to last for a full week if the wireless was turned off (but it would need to be on in order for you to receive newspapers, magazines, and blogs that you subscribe to) and 2 days if the wireless was kept on. The sony reader was reported to last for 2-3 weeks, which was a major plus. Further research discovered that battery life depended on how often and how much you used it (

duh). The Kindle was reported to last for ~30 hours of continuous use, where as the Sony reader would last for up to 7,500 continuous page turns. A little bit of quick math (and a little guess work) put the Sony reader on top for batter life.

The third thing would be how many books I could take with me. I know I really don't need to carry a whole library around with me, but the ability to be able to reference books whenever you needed to and the ability to choose what book you wanted to read was a major plus. Both the Kindle and the Sony model had about the same amount of internal memory ( 180mb for the Kindle and 192mb for the Sony model). They also both supported expandable memory, which meant that you could literally carry thousands of books with you wherever you went. Kindle supports 2gb SD and the Sony model supports 2gb SD and 4gb of Pro Duo. Even though they both should be even in this department, I gave Sony a plus since I already owned a 2gb Pro Duo that was simply collecting dust (upgraded to 4gb on my digital camera).

The fourth thing I was looking for was design and functionality. Both were reported to have an easy user interface and well placed buttons for turning pages. A plus for both. But the kindle only came in one color, and the design didn't look so great either. I know you shouldn't just a book by it's cover, but the kindle really looked like an ugly unit to be carrying around with you and pulling out at the bus stop. The Sony reader was sleeker and came in 3 different colors, which was definitely a plus. There were also 2 different models to choose from for Sony. The PRS-505, which was the basic model for $300, or the PRS-700, which was touch screen and came with its own attached light, but for an whopping $400.

In the end, even though the Kindle offered complete wireless freedom and a wider selection of books at its own store, i chose to purchase the Sony PRS-505 (couldn't justify spending the extra hundred for a touchscreen and a flashlight).

I've had the PRS-505 for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed using it. I was even able to convert and transfer my small collection of .lit e-books to my PRS-505 as well (even though some of them didn't format correctly. Still haven't figured that out)

The only problem is, Kindle 2 is now available. With all my research, I didn't notice that there was another model on it's way. If I would've known, I would've waited another month before ordering, just so that I could see what the new one was like.

Even though they dropped the expandable memory, it now boasts that it can hold ~1,500 books on its internal memory and has a 16 level gray scale, compared to the 4 level that the first had, and a longer battery life!

Now I feel as if I made a bad decision in picking up the PRS-505 over the Kindle. And mostly because of this comment on the Amazon page -

"At Amazon, we've always been obsessed with having every book ever printed, and we know that even the best reading device would be useless without a massive selection of books. Today, the Kindle Store has more than 230,000 books available, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs. This is just the beginning. Our vision is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds on Kindle. We won't stop until we get there."

....

Sony hasn't made that kind of a promise or proposal, and they never will.

After a day of panicking and self-pity, I realized that not all was lost (Lost is an amazing show by the way... sorry, off topic). I was still able to purchase e-books from different online stores, and maybe one day sony will decide to add more content as well. But until that day comes, I think I will be satisfied with my PRS-505 (even though I would love to have the Kindle 2) because it does what it is meant to do and it supports multiple formats. And besides, I can always purchase the Kindle 2 with my tax returns if I want and gift my PRS-505 to my mother, who has been wanting to borrow it when she goes on trips.

Dragoro · 02-11-2009, 09:51 AM

The kindle isnt locked in to one store, you can buy ebooks from other sites as long as they arent drm. And of course theres feedbooks and manybooks as well.

TadW · 02-11-2009, 09:55 AM

I think whatever Amazon is able to achieve in terms of getting publishers embrace the e-book, others like Sony will benefit from, too. In the long run I hope it doesn't matter where you buy your reading device from.

JSWolf · 02-11-2009, 10:11 AM

If you don't mind removing DRM, then it's quite easy to convert to something the 505 can view. Takes maybe 5 minutes tops to go from Mobipocket or MS Reader to LRF for the 505. That's removing the DRM and using Calibre to convert.

To remove DRM from Mobipocket, you want MobiDeDRM.py 0.04 or 0.05
To remove DRM from MS Reader, you want ConvertLIT 1.8 and you'll need a Windows computer to be able to run ConvertLIT and purchase MS Reader format.

HarryT · 02-11-2009, 10:25 AM

The "number of books available" for a device is really something of a red herring. A more important question to ask is "are there enough books of the type that I like to satisfy my reading interests". For me personally, the answer is that there are enough out-of-copyright classics alone to last me several lifetimes worth of reading

.

daffy4u · 02-11-2009, 10:29 AM

I see a need to create a "Kindle Myths" wiki page.

KindleKat · 02-11-2009, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daffy4u

I see a need to create a "Kindle Myths" wiki page.

Ha! I'd like to see that myself.

pilotbob · 02-11-2009, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

If you don't mind removing DRM, then it's quite easy to convert to something the 505 can view. Takes maybe 5 minutes tops to go from Mobipocket or MS Reader to LRF for the 505. That's removing the DRM and using Calibre to convert.

Of course, all this can be done to read books purchased elsewhere on the Kindle to. So the kindle isn't REALLY locked into Amazon any more than the Sony is locked into the Sony store.

BOb

RickyMaveety · 02-11-2009, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

Since early December, I had been researching e-book readers to purchase, and like many others, my choice came down to the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Reader.

The decision was tough, and it took me well over a month to make a decision. I had certain criteria that had to be met, but I knew that I would have to compromise in the end.

The first thing I looked at was the availability of content, and at first glance, the kindle was in the lead. As well as having a larger selection of books to purchase, it also offered newspapers, magazines, and blogs, many of which I enjoyed reading. Even though the sony e-book store was lacking in selections, the e-book reader itself was able to support a variety of different formats, meaning that I didn't need to rely on the sony store to purchase my books, allowing me to purchase elsewhere and simply convert (which I have now found to be a pain) the books into the appropriate format and send them for free (Kindle charges 10 cents to transfer documents) to my e-book reader. In the end, due to sony's ability to support multiple formats, availability of content became a tie for both.

OK .... you did some really sloppy research. The Kindle also supports multiple formats, and you are not locked into the Amazon store to get content. Tons of places to get inexpensive and free content for BOTH types of readers.

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

The next thing I was looking at was battery life. The Kindle was reported to last for a full week if the wireless was turned off (but it would need to be on in order for you to receive newspapers, magazines, and blogs that you subscribe to) and 2 days if the wireless was kept on. The sony reader was reported to last for 2-3 weeks, which was a major plus. Further research discovered that battery life depended on how often and how much you used it (

duh). The Kindle was reported to last for ~30 hours of continuous use, where as the Sony reader would last for up to 7,500 continuous page turns. A little bit of quick math (and a little guess work) put the Sony reader on top for batter life.

You don't have to turn on wireless and keep it turned on in order to get newspapers, magazines, or blogs. You turn the wireless on for maybe 5 minutes or so in the morning, download what you want and then (gasp) turn it off again. My Kindle battery routinely lasts for well over a week, but generally speaking, I plug it in at night before I go to bed and read with it plugged in. I then leave it to charge overnight.

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

The third thing would be how many books I could take with me. I know I really don't need to carry a whole library around with me, but the ability to be able to reference books whenever you needed to and the ability to choose what book you wanted to read was a major plus. Both the Kindle and the Sony model had about the same amount of internal memory ( 180mb for the Kindle and 192mb for the Sony model). They also both supported expandable memory, which meant that you could literally carry thousands of books with you wherever you went. Kindle supports 2gb SD and the Sony model supports 2gb SD and 4gb of Pro Duo. Even though they both should be even in this department, I gave Sony a plus since I already owned a 2gb Pro Duo that was simply collecting dust (upgraded to 4gb on my digital camera).

The Kindle (Mark I, of course) supports much more than 2gb of SD memory. I have used both 4gb and 8gb SD cards in my Kindle. They work perfectly. I do need to carry a library around with me for research purposes, so having 8gb of memory is a serious plus in my book.

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

The fourth thing I was looking for was design and functionality. Both were reported to have an easy user interface and well placed buttons for turning pages. A plus for both. But the kindle only came in one color, and the design didn't look so great either. I know you shouldn't just a book by it's cover, but the kindle really looked like an ugly unit to be carrying around with you and pulling out at the bus stop. The Sony reader was sleeker and came in 3 different colors, which was definitely a plus. There were also 2 different models to choose from for Sony. The PRS-505, which was the basic model for $300, or the PRS-700, which was touch screen and came with its own attached light, but for an whopping $400.

Well, there's no accounting for taste. And while you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, a lot of people do, and I would never recommend that they purchase something that they would be embarrassed to pull out at a bus stop. (Really, you ride the bus and you are that status conscious?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

In the end, even though the Kindle offered complete wireless freedom and a wider selection of books at its own store, i chose to purchase the Sony PRS-505 (couldn't justify spending the extra hundred for a touchscreen and a flashlight).

I've had the PRS-505 for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed using it. I was even able to convert and transfer my small collection of .lit e-books to my PRS-505 as well (even though some of them didn't format correctly. Still haven't figured that out)

The only problem is, Kindle 2 is now available. With all my research, I didn't notice that there was another model on it's way. If I would've known, I would've waited another month before ordering, just so that I could see what the new one was like.

Even though they dropped the expandable memory, it now boasts that it can hold ~1,500 books on its internal memory and has a 16 level gray scale, compared to the 4 level that the first had, and a longer battery life!

Now I feel as if I made a bad decision in picking up the PRS-505 over the Kindle. And mostly because of this comment on the Amazon page -

"At Amazon, we've always been obsessed with having every book ever printed, and we know that even the best reading device would be useless without a massive selection of books. Today, the Kindle Store has more than 230,000 books available, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs. This is just the beginning. Our vision is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds on Kindle. We won't stop until we get there."

....

Sony hasn't made that kind of a promise or proposal, and they never will.

After a day of panicking and self-pity, I realized that not all was lost (Lost is an amazing show by the way... sorry, off topic). I was still able to purchase e-books from different online stores, and maybe one day sony will decide to add more content as well. But until that day comes, I think I will be satisfied with my PRS-505 (even though I would love to have the Kindle 2) because it does what it is meant to do and it supports multiple formats. And besides, I can always purchase the Kindle 2 with my tax returns if I want and gift my PRS-505 to my mother, who has been wanting to borrow it when she goes on trips.

With all your research, there were a whole LOT of things you missed. In fact three out of the four criteria on which you based your choice were plain old dead wrong. The fourth was entirely subjective, but you have to go with what you think will impress the gang at the bus stop.

The Kindle 1 also does what it is meant to do and it supports multiple formats. You just didn't know that ... now you do. Life is hard.

JSWolf · 02-11-2009, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Of course, all this can be done to read books purchased elsewhere on the Kindle to. So the kindle isn't REALLY locked into Amazon any more than the Sony is locked into the Sony store.

BOb

Very true. The Kindle is not locked into Amazon if you do not mind DRM removal and easy format conversion.

RickyMaveety · 02-11-2009, 11:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Very true. The Kindle is not locked into Amazon if you do not mind DRM removal and easy format conversion.

Absolute bull. The Kindle can read any number of non-DRM formats. You don't have to "remove" DRM and convert formats in order to get books outside of Amazon.

Wolfie, old thing, your biases are showing.

Ervserver · 02-11-2009, 11:58 AM

Stats offered for devices by companies are best case scenario numbers, it is highly likely many will never achieve those same numbers in their experiences.
I imagine in a month we will start seeing complaints in regards to not getting the full 1,500 books loaded onto my Kindle II or not quite getting two weeks without a charge, is something wrong with my Kindle?

T1ND3R · 02-11-2009, 05:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

OK .... you did some really sloppy research. The Kindle also supports multiple formats, and you are not locked into the Amazon store to get content. Tons of places to get inexpensive and free content for BOTH types of readers.

With all your research, there were a whole LOT of things you missed. In fact three out of the four criteria on which you based your choice were plain old dead wrong. The fourth was entirely subjective, but you have to go with what you think will impress the gang at the bus stop.

The Kindle 1 also does what it is meant to do and it supports multiple formats. You just didn't know that ... now you do. Life is hard.

I am aware that I would've missed quite a lot of "hard" info in my research (mainly because I don't know anyone with a kindle or Sony Reader and because I am new to the market). The research that I did was from a consumer's perspective (who was completely new to the market). After checking out these forums, i have learned that there are plenty of ways to get different formats of books to work for all e-book readers (I am currently using calibre, book designer {though i don't understand it too well yet}, and a few of the ABC converters).

The fact is, there is way too much information out there about the Kindle and you never know what is true or false unless you own the product. With that being said, how is someone supposed to shop for a product like that? I had to take what I believed to be true and false and separate the info myself. Most of the info I took with me were from the actual sites that the products are offered on, then I looked at other sites for confirmation.

How was I supposed to interpret it all? Not everyone is an expert on the subject.

(And no, RickyMaveety, I don't ride the bus. I was simply using that as an example. And why so much hostility?)

desertgrandma · 02-11-2009, 06:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

(And no, RickyMaveety, I don't ride the bus. I was simply using that as an example. And why so much hostility?)

THAT wasn't hostility. That was just Ricky making some logical points.

You don't want to see RM hostile,............trust me.

bwaldron · 02-11-2009, 06:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

THAT wasn't hostility. That was just Ricky making some logical points.

You don't want to see RM hostile,............trust me.

Heh.

I must say I didn't perceive any hostility, either. Directness, sure.

02-11-2009, 04:50 AM	#1
T1ND3R Member Posts: 15 Karma: 322 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Wisconsin Device: PRS-505	Kindle ....2....? Since early December, I had been researching e-book readers to purchase, and like many others, my choice came down to the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Reader. The decision was tough, and it took me well over a month to make a decision. I had certain criteria that had to be met, but I knew that I would have to compromise in the end. The first thing I looked at was the availability of content, and at first glance, the kindle was in the lead. As well as having a larger selection of books to purchase, it also offered newspapers, magazines, and blogs, many of which I enjoyed reading. Even though the sony e-book store was lacking in selections, the e-book reader itself was able to support a variety of different formats, meaning that I didn't need to rely on the sony store to purchase my books, allowing me to purchase elsewhere and simply convert (which I have now found to be a pain) the books into the appropriate format and send them for free (Kindle charges 10 cents to transfer documents) to my e-book reader. In the end, due to sony's ability to support multiple formats, availability of content became a tie for both. The next thing I was looking at was battery life. The Kindle was reported to last for a full week if the wireless was turned off (but it would need to be on in order for you to receive newspapers, magazines, and blogs that you subscribe to) and 2 days if the wireless was kept on. The sony reader was reported to last for 2-3 weeks, which was a major plus. Further research discovered that battery life depended on how often and how much you used it ( duh). The Kindle was reported to last for ~30 hours of continuous use, where as the Sony reader would last for up to 7,500 continuous page turns. A little bit of quick math (and a little guess work) put the Sony reader on top for batter life. The third thing would be how many books I could take with me. I know I really don't need to carry a whole library around with me, but the ability to be able to reference books whenever you needed to and the ability to choose what book you wanted to read was a major plus. Both the Kindle and the Sony model had about the same amount of internal memory ( 180mb for the Kindle and 192mb for the Sony model). They also both supported expandable memory, which meant that you could literally carry thousands of books with you wherever you went. Kindle supports 2gb SD and the Sony model supports 2gb SD and 4gb of Pro Duo. Even though they both should be even in this department, I gave Sony a plus since I already owned a 2gb Pro Duo that was simply collecting dust (upgraded to 4gb on my digital camera). The fourth thing I was looking for was design and functionality. Both were reported to have an easy user interface and well placed buttons for turning pages. A plus for both. But the kindle only came in one color, and the design didn't look so great either. I know you shouldn't just a book by it's cover, but the kindle really looked like an ugly unit to be carrying around with you and pulling out at the bus stop. The Sony reader was sleeker and came in 3 different colors, which was definitely a plus. There were also 2 different models to choose from for Sony. The PRS-505, which was the basic model for $300, or the PRS-700, which was touch screen and came with its own attached light, but for an whopping $400. In the end, even though the Kindle offered complete wireless freedom and a wider selection of books at its own store, i chose to purchase the Sony PRS-505 (couldn't justify spending the extra hundred for a touchscreen and a flashlight). I've had the PRS-505 for a couple of weeks now and have enjoyed using it. I was even able to convert and transfer my small collection of .lit e-books to my PRS-505 as well (even though some of them didn't format correctly. Still haven't figured that out) The only problem is, Kindle 2 is now available. With all my research, I didn't notice that there was another model on it's way. If I would've known, I would've waited another month before ordering, just so that I could see what the new one was like. Even though they dropped the expandable memory, it now boasts that it can hold ~1,500 books on its internal memory and has a 16 level gray scale, compared to the 4 level that the first had, and a longer battery life! Now I feel as if I made a bad decision in picking up the PRS-505 over the Kindle. And mostly because of this comment on the Amazon page - "At Amazon, we've always been obsessed with having every book ever printed, and we know that even the best reading device would be useless without a massive selection of books. Today, the Kindle Store has more than 230,000 books available, plus top newspapers, magazines, and blogs. This is just the beginning. Our vision is to have every book ever printed, in any language, all available in under 60 seconds on Kindle. We won't stop until we get there." .... Sony hasn't made that kind of a promise or proposal, and they never will. After a day of panicking and self-pity, I realized that not all was lost (Lost is an amazing show by the way... sorry, off topic). I was still able to purchase e-books from different online stores, and maybe one day sony will decide to add more content as well. But until that day comes, I think I will be satisfied with my PRS-505 (even though I would love to have the Kindle 2) because it does what it is meant to do and it supports multiple formats. And besides, I can always purchase the Kindle 2 with my tax returns if I want and gift my PRS-505 to my mother, who has been wanting to borrow it when she goes on trips.

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02-11-2009, 09:51 AM	#2
Dragoro Lovecraft Fan Posts: 414 Karma: 539914 Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Michigan Device: Kindle Paperwhite 2, Kindle Touch	The kindle isnt locked in to one store, you can buy ebooks from other sites as long as they arent drm. And of course theres feedbooks and manybooks as well.

02-11-2009, 09:55 AM	#3
TadW Uebermensch Posts: 2,583 Karma: 1094606 Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Italy Device: Kindle	I think whatever Amazon is able to achieve in terms of getting publishers embrace the e-book, others like Sony will benefit from, too. In the long run I hope it doesn't matter where you buy your reading device from.

02-11-2009, 10:11 AM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,545 Karma: 145863177 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	If you don't mind removing DRM, then it's quite easy to convert to something the 505 can view. Takes maybe 5 minutes tops to go from Mobipocket or MS Reader to LRF for the 505. That's removing the DRM and using Calibre to convert. To remove DRM from Mobipocket, you want MobiDeDRM.py 0.04 or 0.05 To remove DRM from MS Reader, you want ConvertLIT 1.8 and you'll need a Windows computer to be able to run ConvertLIT and purchase MS Reader format.

02-11-2009, 10:25 AM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383099 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	The "number of books available" for a device is really something of a red herring. A more important question to ask is "are there enough books of the type that I like to satisfy my reading interests". For me personally, the answer is that there are enough out-of-copyright classics alone to last me several lifetimes worth of reading .

02-11-2009, 10:29 AM	#6
daffy4u I'm Super Kindle-icious Posts: 6,734 Karma: 2434103 Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Long Drive, Calinadia Candafornia Device: KDXG, KT, Oasis	I see a need to create a "Kindle Myths" wiki page.

02-11-2009, 11:58 AM	#12
Ervserver Wizard Posts: 2,624 Karma: 1008294 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Iowa, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch	Stats offered for devices by companies are best case scenario numbers, it is highly likely many will never achieve those same numbers in their experiences. I imagine in a month we will start seeing complaints in regards to not getting the full 1,500 books loaded onto my Kindle II or not quite getting two weeks without a charge, is something wrong with my Kindle?

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