Best of both worlds?

[sdmama]

No, this comment is not about Hannah Montana...

I do not yet have my Sony Reader since it is on backorder at BooksonBoard. Now, I am seriously considering also getting a Kindle - either a used K1 or a K2. Does that seem silly?

[Nate the great]

Nope. Not silly at all.

[zelda_pinwheel]

you certainly wouldn't be the first.

[daffy4u]

It's a great idea.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by sdmama

No, this comment is not about Hannah Montana...

I do not yet have my Sony Reader since it is on backorder at BooksonBoard. Now, I am seriously considering also getting a Kindle - either a used K1 or a K2. Does that seem silly?

Welcome to MobileRead, sdmama,

Then you would indeed have the 'best of both worlds"

I am definitely predjucided, but I would suggest the K1. Just my opinion. Others will feel differently.

[pbennett]

Having owned the original Sony Reader (PRS-500 I believe), a Kindle 1 (soon to be given to my niece), and now a Kindle 2, IMO, I'd cancel the order for the Sony and buy a Kindle 2. I absolutely loved my Kindle 1 (bought 3 more of them for family) and the K2 is a really nice improvement in a fair number of ways.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pbennett

Having owned the original Sony Reader (PRS-500 I believe), a Kindle 1 (soon to be given to my niece), and now a Kindle 2, IMO, I'd cancel the order for the Sony and buy a Kindle 2. I absolutely loved my Kindle 1 (bought 3 more of them for family) and the K2 is a really nice improvement in a fair number of ways.

Yes but the 505 is a huge improvement over the 500. I have a 505 and have played with the Kindle 1, and much prefer my 505.

[KimmyA]

No, this comment is not about Hannah Montana...

As soon as I read the title, I started thinking of the song.

I don't think it's silly to change your mind. I'm not big on waiting so if I could get an ereader that got great reviews and get it now, that's probably what I would do.

[pbennett]

The 505's main improvement over the 500 was the better screen. It still doesn't have the wireless access (hard to understate how huge this really is), built-in dictionary (again, something you don't realize how much you'll use until its there), ability to search (huge), and add notes.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pbennett

The 505's main improvement over the 500 was the better screen. It still doesn't have the wireless access (hard to understate how huge this really is), built-in dictionary (again, something you don't realize how much you'll use until its there), ability to search (huge), and add notes.

That's relative though. I don't want the wireless, and don't need the dictionary. I think it is a good thing to have one that is free of wireless for those who don't want it.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by pbennett

The 505's main improvement over the 500 was the better screen. It still doesn't have the wireless access (hard to understate how huge this really is), built-in dictionary (again, something you don't realize how much you'll use until its there), ability to search (huge), and add notes.

It also does PDF's (with reflow) and epubs, both with and without DRM.

Wireless means nothing to some folks.

I agree on the dictionary, at least for me. I always thought it was no biggie, but find myself using it a fair amount.

Searching & notes. A plus for some, no biggie for others.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

It also does PDF's (with reflow) and epubs, both with and without DRM.

Wireless means nothing to some folks.

I agree on the dictionary, at least for me. I always thought it was no biggie, but find myself using it a fair amount.

Searching & notes. A plus for some, no biggie for others.

I didn't think the wireless was a big deal when I decided to buy the Kindle. I didn't care about it at all. I figured they'd included it for the technophobes who were afraid of transferring their files via USB and people who worked on the road a lot or spent long commutes on transit. I'm not one of them. What I realized after I started using it is that it really changes the way I buy books for the better.

I do not buy books ahead of time. You wouldn't think this could be such a huge money-saver, but it is. I used to buy several books at a time so I'd always have something to read. The thing is, I was frequently wrong about what to buy. I'd start books and not finish them because I didn't like them that much. I'd buy a book I found interesting then not even start it because I'd moved on to something else. I would venture to say that at least 20-30% of my paper books are unfinished. I may be more impulsive than most, but that's a lot of wasted money. I didn't even really notice it until I got the Kindle and stopped doing that. I bought about 80 Kindle books last year. If my old buying pattern had held, I likely would have bought 16-24 more that I didn't read. That goes a long way towards paying for the Kindle right there especially when you consider I used to buy a lot of hardback new releases. The only unfinished purchased books on my Kindle are the ones I'm reading right now. I shop on Amazon's site and rather than buying a book I'm interested in, I send myself the sample. I only buy the book if I've finished the sample. There's a link at the end. I click that and I have the book within a minute. I don't have to dislodge the cat or put down my cup of tea. Unless I'm going to be out of the country, which is fairly rare, I have no reason to buy a book without reading the first chapter. It doesn't matter if I'm at home in my comfy chair, at the dentist's office or on a train. I'll have the rest of the book when I want it.

I can see why dictionaries don't seem like that big of a deal to a lot of folks. We all read a lot. Most of us have developed the skill of making an educated guess about words we don't really know through context and form. However, I find my reading experience is richer when I can look up the word. Sometimes it's even a word I know but I feel the author is using it in a more nuanced way. I can pursue that curiosity without breaking the rhythm of my reading. But I must say that part of the reason I was pretty set against buying a device that wouldn't let me search or do dictionary look up was that they seemed like such basic level features. You have computing power. You have books. You can harness that power to do more with the books than just showing you the pages. I thought a reader should try to be more than merely a storage system.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

That's relative though. I don't want the wireless, and don't need the dictionary. I think it is a good thing to have one that is free of wireless for those who don't want it.

Add me to the list of "didn't need a dictionary when I had my Sony, love it on my Kindle" crowd.

BOb

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Add me to the list of "didn't need a dictionary when I had my Sony, love it on my Kindle" crowd.

BOb

Oh, I'm sure I'd use it if I had it. It's just not a "buy" factor for me. It's like a little plus.

[bwaldron]

Originally Posted by lilac_jive

Oh, I'm sure I'd use it if I had it. It's just not a "buy" factor for me. It's like a little plus.

Not an absolute deal-killer, but I've found that dictionary access is a rather big plus for me -- especially when reading some older literature with words that have fallen into disuse and never made it into my vocabulary. And I've been (re-)reading a lot more classics these days.