Kindle bias on MobileRead?

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by GlennD

The 700 was an arguable improvement over the 505 - even with fans of the Sony line, a lot of people felt (and still feel) that the difference in contrast makes the 700 a downgrade as a reader. That was kind of a buzz-kill.

On the other hand, the Kindle 2 is at this point widely regarded as a major upgrade. There's only positive press thus far.

I disagree. The k2 isn't a major upgrade. It has almost no new abilities. The one major change was aesthetic.

If you want a pair of Sony products that share a relationship like that of the Kindles, then consider the PRS-500 and PRS-505.When the 505 first came out it was only an incremental improvement over the 500. (The EPUB support came later.)

[TadW]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

The one major change was aesthetic.

Which can be considered /huge/ to some.

[tech_au]

Better not say anything too bad about the Kindle as a certain desert Grandma will come over and stomp on you and if you hassle the Cybook HarryT will send his friendly Dalek around to exterminate you

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by tech_au

HarryT will send his friendly Dalek around to exterminate you

I just learned something new. My American ears always thought it was "Darlek".

[Elfwreck]

I perceive a slight anti-Kindle bias, which is why I'm not surprised to see lots of K2 posts; it's easier to discuss something controversial.

I don't think the anti-K bias is actually against "the Kindle"--I think the MR forums love all ebook readers. I think there's an anti-DRM bias (as in, there are those who hate it, and those who don't mind it, and no notable number of people firmly in favor of it), and a bias against single-format readers, and a bias against devices that don't deal well with PDFs. (I also think there's a slight anti-PDF bias, but we acknowledge that there's a lot of them, and there's not going to be less in the future because they're a very useful form of data containment.)

But since the Kindle is (1) heavy on DRM, (2) poor with PDFs, and (3) tied to Amazon's monopolistic business practices, there are frequent anti-Kindle sentiments.

Which means that, when the Kindle is Big Ebook News, everyone has something to say about it.

[slayda]

There seems to be more anti-K2 sentiment exoressed by K1 owners than by other people.

[jj2me]

I would disagree. Mobileread participants are very fair and knowledgeable, and recognize well the pluses and minuses of each platform. If anything, the Kindle is represented far less than its market share.

Go outside MobileRead and the dismissals of anything not Kindle reminds me of Apple fanboys dissing anything not iPod/iTunes. They like what they have and display no tolerance for others' needs. E.g., "Content is everything, and Kindle has more books to purchase. End of discussion."
- What if you like Calibre's free newspapers and magazines? No, the fanboys think you should buy.
- What if your public library offers free ebooks, mostly in Adobe Digital Editions? No, the fanboys think you should buy.
- What if you need the best PDF rendering? No, the fanboys think you should send your PDFs to Amazon for conversion.
- etc.

Just like iPod fanboys who think everyone's whole audio life should be in iTunes, Kindle fanboys think everyone's whole reading life should be in the Amazon Store.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Gafle

The Kindle is not an interesting device in itself and as e-readers go it is quite limited and poorly designed while still being expensive. Next to a Sony it looks like a cheap toy.

and this is why people here are buying them in droves, right?

How is it limited? I haven't found any "limitations".

I can buy from other stores, download free books, and if I choose, strip drm.

I can download books from my library, and read them on my Kindle without stripping drm........can you do that?

[MickeyC]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Daffy, with all due respect, I think there is a difference between "hating" and expressing criticism. If you go to Amazon's own forums, you'll discover a lot of recent "hating" (in your terms) towards the new Kindle reader. Or, if you browse the forums of other e-book readers here at Mobileread, you will discover "hating", too, that is, there are always some folks who're unhappy with the status quo of a particular e-book reader.

Sure I also disagree with a lot of what is said or criticized at; but everyone has the right to have an opinion. At this point, speaking of today, I don't see any particular bias for or against the Kindle here at Mobileread.

I absolutely agree. I've been a member of this forum for just over a year and the coverage seems totally unbiased. I don't see a pro or anti Kindle (or any other eBook reader) slant.

[ShortNCuddlyAm]

I can remember staying glued to the screen when the Sony 700 was launched, reading the posts here.

It doesn't feel like there is any particular device bias from Alex and the team. As for the members, well, there may be more non-Kindle-owning people here than those with Kindles - there has been some discussion on Desert Grandma's poll on which devices people have (click here to see it) as to why the Kindle tally is so low compared to, say, the Sony PRS 505.

[The Alternative]

My only (and I mean only) problem with the Kindle is that Kindle related posts keep popping up here on the Sony 500-505 page. There is NOT a single post on the Kindle page about any Sony products and it really makes me wonder about the motives.

[Nate the great]

The threads mainly stay where they are created. If a thread is in the wrong place, it was likely started by a forum member, not a moderator.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Gafle

The Kindle is not an interesting device in itself and as e-readers go it is quite limited and poorly designed while still being expensive. Next to a Sony it looks like a cheap toy.

However it is very interesting as a concept - always being connected to a bookstore and news sources - and as such probably represents the future of e-readers. Therefore it deserves the attention it gets. I am pretty sure that all e-readers will follow in the footsteps of the Kindle eventually, so we should all pay attention to it even if we arent in the Kindle camp...

I have to disagree that the Sony Readers look like cheap toys. In fact, I do think they look more sturdy then most because of the metal casing. The Kindle is more limited in file formats it can handle then some, but being poorly designed, I have to also disagree.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

I have to disagree that the Sony Readers look like cheap toys.

Actually, I think he was saying that the Kindle looks like a cheap toy when put side by side with the Sony reader.

But, I disagree. The both look like well made devices.

BOb

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

and this is why people here are buying them in droves, right?

How is it limited? I haven't found any "limitations".

I can buy from other stores, download free books, and if I choose, strip drm.

I can download books from my library, and read them on my Kindle without stripping drm........can you do that?

Actually, yes the 505 and 700 can do that. They can view PDF and ePub from libraries without the need to strip DRM. And as for buying from other bookstores besides Sony, we can and also strip DRM and convert. That is one step the Kindle doesn't have to go through. But Calibre makes it rather easy to convert with no hassle.

What I don't get is why is this thread in the Sony forum? And I also don't get what the K2 hating is all about.