Just about to order Sony 505

WillWord · 07-07-2009, 10:49 AM

Hi new to forum, but have been reading/learning about new purchase for a few weeks. I have a few questions sorry if asked before but could not find answer.

I mainly read Science fiction, before I buy 505 how easy is it to get books by David Gemmell impossible on UK sites. How do I get them from say US sites. I have found a good selection from Books on Board but when I try to purchase Not available in your country. Can you explain simply how to get round this. I do not have a pay-pal account or wish to get one.

For me the main issue is how to get a good selection of books by Tom Clancy, Ben Bova,David Gemmell, David Eddings etc based in the UK. Product looks amazing but without content is frustrating.

Hope you can help (finger hovering on Play.com to purchase).

Will

AshW · 07-07-2009, 11:02 AM

Do it! Do it!

You can buy credit (Micropay of Gift Certificates depending on the site) on both Books and Board and Fictionwise. Then change your address to the US and spend that credit on the books.

I successfully did this on both sites this weekend.

If you want to be sure try it out before buying your reader. That way you risk losing £5 or so rather than £150+

One other recommendation. When you get your Reader *don't* install the UK software to your computer. Instead download and install the US version. That way you can download any free books they have at the US Sony store.

At first some of this will seem complicated. Removing DRM, format shifting, using different stores, using calibre (I found it complicated at first but got the hang of it and now it's absolutely indespensible). But don't despair, people on here will help and once you get your head around it all it becomes second nature.

WillWord · 07-07-2009, 12:37 PM

AshW Thanks just downloaded my first ebook form Books on Board, worked a treat, also just ordered 505 from play.
Will

dreams · 07-07-2009, 02:21 PM

YEA!!! I have the 505 and love, love, love it.

I hope it doesn't take long to get to you. You are really going to love it.

Make sure you have a wall charger for a good full charge before you start to play with it. (It's hard to put it down when you first get it

)

MickeyC · 07-07-2009, 02:57 PM

Sound advice there from dreams. The longest wait of the year was the day I got my 505 and had to wait for what seemed like days for the USB cable to charge up my new toy. AC adapter is much faster.

Kai Winters · 07-07-2009, 11:32 PM

Hi WillWord,
Welcome to the forum and the world of 505. I have had mine for nearly a month and would not be without it.
I am a big sci-fi fan and have a link below to a great sci-fi site. Check out all the free books in the "free library".
I find their prices to be low as well.
Enjoy,
Kai

http://www.baen.com/

http://www.webscription.net/default.aspx

WillWord · 07-08-2009, 03:36 AM

Thanks for advice I have also purchased PSP mains charger. While I am eagerly waiting for my new shiny 505 what is the best format to buy books in? I purchased a book from Books on Board choices where Adobe Digital additions and a Microsoft one I chose ADE, but looking and reading this forum there seems to be a varied formats recommended.

My use of my 505 will be simple, purchase books from sites mainly Sci-Fi, put on reader and read them. So do I stick with ADE I assume I just transferee from software to reader when I get it?

Can it be this simple, also can ADE be stored on SD cards as well as reader.

Will

gwynevans · 07-08-2009, 03:52 AM

Care needed! "ADE" just means "Adobe Digital Edition" or similar, but serves to hide what you really need to know, as it's applied to both ePub (reflowable format that the Sony handles well) and PDF (page-based format that only works well if the page size matches the display size, and typically, it won't).

The Sony can display PDF's, but the requirements (limitations) of the format mean that it's sub-optimal in most cases, as most PDFs will be designed to be displayed using A4/Ltr page sizes.

Anyway, best options for Sony's are LRF, LRX ('secure' version of LRF - only from Sony?) & ePub. It does display other formats (e.g. RTF & PDF) but they're more use when creating your own documents.

You can also convert from unsecured LIT & MOBI/PRC to LRF/ePub via Calibre, but that's another topic - You should however get a copy of Calibre now though!

Oh yes - cards. There's no problem with having books on them as well as the main memory, but in normal use, the best way is to just use the main memory (which will still allow you a few hundred books!). Try using cards, fine, but there's normally no need to and if you try & load too many books onto a single card, the device will take quite a long time to index it when the card's inserted.

WillWord · 07-08-2009, 04:59 AM

So does this mean I will have trouble reading my first book in ADE format ie will not look like a normal layout and if so can/should I convert it to LFR via calibre, thanks for help.
Will

sony_fox · 07-08-2009, 06:29 AM

I've had no problems reading the pdfs straight without conversion. However the line/word breaks are only correctlty placed fro the Small font size - which on a pdf can be quite small! Purchased books are generally formatted quite well for the 505, free ones sometimes less so.

try it an see! you can always convert afterwards if you don't like it.

WillWord · 07-08-2009, 06:57 AM

sony-fox will just wait till I get 505 (I wish it would hurry up) Any issues I will post new thread.

Will

07-07-2009, 10:49 AM	#1
WillWord Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Device: SONY 505	Just about to order Sony 505 Hi new to forum, but have been reading/learning about new purchase for a few weeks. I have a few questions sorry if asked before but could not find answer. I mainly read Science fiction, before I buy 505 how easy is it to get books by David Gemmell impossible on UK sites. How do I get them from say US sites. I have found a good selection from Books on Board but when I try to purchase Not available in your country. Can you explain simply how to get round this. I do not have a pay-pal account or wish to get one. For me the main issue is how to get a good selection of books by Tom Clancy, Ben Bova,David Gemmell, David Eddings etc based in the UK. Product looks amazing but without content is frustrating. Hope you can help (finger hovering on Play.com to purchase). Will

07-07-2009, 02:21 PM	#4
dreams It's about the umbrella Posts: 25,110 Karma: 56250158 Join Date: Jan 2009 Device: Sony 505\| K Fire \| KK 3G+Wi-Fi \| iPhone 3Gs \|Vista 32-bit Hm Prem w/FF	YEA!!! I have the 505 and love, love, love it. I hope it doesn't take long to get to you. You are really going to love it. Make sure you have a wall charger for a good full charge before you start to play with it. (It's hard to put it down when you first get it)

07-07-2009, 11:32 PM	#6
Kai Winters Lover of Books Posts: 218 Karma: 1073074 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern NY Device: iPhone 7+	Hi WillWord, Welcome to the forum and the world of 505. I have had mine for nearly a month and would not be without it. I am a big sci-fi fan and have a link below to a great sci-fi site. Check out all the free books in the "free library". I find their prices to be low as well. Enjoy, Kai http://www.baen.com/ http://www.webscription.net/default.aspx Last edited by Kai Winters; 07-07-2009 at 11:36 PM.

07-08-2009, 03:52 AM	#8
gwynevans Wizzard Posts: 1,402 Karma: 2000000 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: UK Device: iPad 2, iPhone 6s, Kindle Voyage & Kindle PaperWhite	Care needed! "ADE" just means "Adobe Digital Edition" or similar, but serves to hide what you really need to know, as it's applied to both ePub (reflowable format that the Sony handles well) and PDF (page-based format that only works well if the page size matches the display size, and typically, it won't). The Sony can display PDF's, but the requirements (limitations) of the format mean that it's sub-optimal in most cases, as most PDFs will be designed to be displayed using A4/Ltr page sizes. Anyway, best options for Sony's are LRF, LRX ('secure' version of LRF - only from Sony?) & ePub. It does display other formats (e.g. RTF & PDF) but they're more use when creating your own documents. You can also convert from unsecured LIT & MOBI/PRC to LRF/ePub via Calibre, but that's another topic - You should however get a copy of Calibre now though! Oh yes - cards. There's no problem with having books on them as well as the main memory, but in normal use, the best way is to just use the main memory (which will still allow you a few hundred books!). Try using cards, fine, but there's normally no need to and if you try & load too many books onto a single card, the device will take quite a long time to index it when the card's inserted. Last edited by gwynevans; 07-08-2009 at 03:58 AM. Reason: Added 'cards' comment

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07-07-2009, 11:02 AM	#2
AshW Connoisseur Posts: 55 Karma: 148 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Narnia Device: Sony Reader	Do it! Do it! You can buy credit (Micropay of Gift Certificates depending on the site) on both Books and Board and Fictionwise. Then change your address to the US and spend that credit on the books. I successfully did this on both sites this weekend. If you want to be sure try it out before buying your reader. That way you risk losing £5 or so rather than £150+ One other recommendation. When you get your Reader don't install the UK software to your computer. Instead download and install the US version. That way you can download any free books they have at the US Sony store. At first some of this will seem complicated. Removing DRM, format shifting, using different stores, using calibre (I found it complicated at first but got the hang of it and now it's absolutely indespensible). But don't despair, people on here will help and once you get your head around it all it becomes second nature.

07-07-2009, 12:37 PM	#3
WillWord Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Device: SONY 505	AshW Thanks just downloaded my first ebook form Books on Board, worked a treat, also just ordered 505 from play. Will

07-07-2009, 02:57 PM	#5
MickeyC Grand Sorcerer Posts: 16,731 Karma: 12185114 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Florida Device: iPhone 6 plus, Sony T1, iPad 3	Sound advice there from dreams. The longest wait of the year was the day I got my 505 and had to wait for what seemed like days for the USB cable to charge up my new toy. AC adapter is much faster.

07-08-2009, 03:36 AM	#7
WillWord Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Device: SONY 505	Thanks for advice I have also purchased PSP mains charger. While I am eagerly waiting for my new shiny 505 what is the best format to buy books in? I purchased a book from Books on Board choices where Adobe Digital additions and a Microsoft one I chose ADE, but looking and reading this forum there seems to be a varied formats recommended. My use of my 505 will be simple, purchase books from sites mainly Sci-Fi, put on reader and read them. So do I stick with ADE I assume I just transferee from software to reader when I get it? Can it be this simple, also can ADE be stored on SD cards as well as reader. Will

07-08-2009, 04:59 AM	#9
WillWord Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Device: SONY 505	So does this mean I will have trouble reading my first book in ADE format ie will not look like a normal layout and if so can/should I convert it to LFR via calibre, thanks for help. Will

07-08-2009, 06:29 AM	#10
sony_fox Zealot Posts: 109 Karma: 84 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Manchester Device: Kobo Auroa H2O	I've had no problems reading the pdfs straight without conversion. However the line/word breaks are only correctlty placed fro the Small font size - which on a pdf can be quite small! Purchased books are generally formatted quite well for the 505, free ones sometimes less so. try it an see! you can always convert afterwards if you don't like it.

07-08-2009, 06:57 AM	#11
WillWord Junior Member Posts: 6 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: UK Device: SONY 505	sony-fox will just wait till I get 505 (I wish it would hurry up) Any issues I will post new thread. Will

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