Just got my Kindle, and yes, it's better than the Sony Reader.

[WilliamG]

And I own two Reader PRS-500s (wifey and me).

Got my Kindle this evening. It really is as good as everyone says. Pretty much all my complaints about the Reader are solved:

Things I didn't like about the Reader:

1.) Craptastic software.
2.) Tiny page buttons.
3.) Overpriced books
4.) Zero software implementation - i.e. you pretty much literally couldn't do anything but click next page or previous page.
5.) The harshness of the font. Somehow all the fonts were "jaggy" and "harsh" to look at. And only 3 sizes. Easily made more, since I often couldn't find the right-sized font.
6.) No Mac support. I own a Mac. Problem! Having to dual-boot is a pain.
7.) Metal finish on the Reader = COLD, and also my page-turning finger would always sweat on it. Not pleasant. At all.
8.) The annoyance of having to call Sony every time I re-install my OS if I'd forgotten to de-register my computer from the Connect store beforehand.

Amazon won this one. Hands down. And you should have seen me gush over the Reader before/when it came out. I gushed thinking of what Sony could do in the next year from October 2006 (PRS-500 release date?). What did Sony do? Well...they broke the battery indicator in the PRS-500 after a few months, and then...uh...months later, they fixed it. Go...Sony?

But the Kindle isn't as sexy as the Reader! All of a sudden I don't care anymore. Amazing... - functionality over form wins out.

Anyway, back to reading the NYT!

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by WilliamG

....Got my Kindle this evening. It really is as good as everyone says. Pretty much all my complaints about the Reader are solved....

Hey welcome to the Kindle side. I have a Mac as well so I totally agree that it's much more Mac friendly. There is a lot of hatin' going on regarding the Kindle lately, so before the flames begin, I wanted to say congrats on finally getting it.

[sfernald]

Congrats too. I felt (and still feel) exactly the way you do.

[WilliamG]

I'm not completely blind, of course. The Kindle is not perfect. I feel like I have to hold the Kindle quite low in my left hand so I can hit the next-page button, and it really is a pretty ugly device. But, the reading experience is much better, and the software is ace. And that scroll bar - what the heck technology is that?

[NatCh]

Well, numbers 2, 5, and part of 6 went away with the 505, and 3 changed when Amazon beat down the prices for everyone else, but the important thing is that you've found a device that works for you, and I'm very glad for you on that score!

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Well, numbers 2, 5, and part of 6 went away with the 505, and 3 changed when Amazon beat down the prices for everyone else, but the important thing is that you've found a device that works for you, and I'm very glad for you on that score!

Well 6 didn't change completely, as some book prices are still messed up, and no Mac support for the 500 still is just mad. But yes, quite happy with my little fire.

[crionox]

Originally Posted by NatCh

Well, numbers 2, 5, and part of 6 went away with the 505, and 3 changed when Amazon beat down the prices for everyone else, but the important thing is that you've found a device that works for you, and I'm very glad for you on that score!

6 is still a problem until they make their Connect software for Mac, which I don't see happening. Until then, store purchases appear to be a PC-only affair (or PC-emulation-only). Granted, you can manage open files through the USB mass storage mode, but that doesn't help if you're looking to buy items from the Connect store.

This was one of the main things that swayed me over to the Kindle. I am currently running Parallels on my Mac, but my older version doesn't support USB (or at least it hasn't worked for me yet), which leaves the store/software unusable for me unless I pay for the Parallels update. At that point, the Kindle isn't really any more expensive (and way more convenient)...

David

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by crionox

6 is still a problem until they make their Connect software for Mac, which I don't see happening. Until then, store purchases appear to be a PC-only affair (or PC-emulation-only).

That's exactly what I was thinking of when I said only part of #6 was addressed. Putting content straight on via USB on a MacPuter is a step up from what the 500 allowed, but only a small one.

The Kindle solution is clearly better in that respect for non-windows users. The Cybook Gen3 gets on quite well with non-windows machines to, as I understand it, but for straight ease of getting content (assuming the content they have is the content you want), wireless delivery is a hard act to follow.

[dugbug]

Well I don't think anyone will argue on #2 compared to the kindle's

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by dugbug

Well I don't think anyone will argue on #2 compared to the kindle's

True, the Kindle's buttons are just huge, of course, some have found them to be too large, so ....

I was trying to point out that the 505's buttons are probably ~8 times the size of the 500's, by surface area, that's all.

[WilliamG]

I just want to know why the left Previous Page button is so darn big. The Next Page button should be bigger. Silly...

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by WilliamG

I just want to know why the left Previous Page button is so darn big. The Next Page button should be bigger. Silly...

True. They could shrink that thing up and have more grab space on the side. I don't know why the back button is the most convenient button on the right, either. Those are the two buttons I use least out of the four big ones.

[WilliamG]

Originally Posted by Alisa

True. They could shrink that thing up and have more grab space on the side. I don't know why the back button is the most convenient button on the right, either. Those are the two buttons I use least out of the four big ones.

Right. I mean how useful IS a previous page button? I use it so occasionally it's a joke...

[NatCh]

I think part of that depends a good deal on how easy it is to hit the "next page" button by accident.

[AMacD]

I was holding off on the Sony Reader because of all the shortfalls mentioned here, plus Sony's reputation for lousy marketing. When the Kindle came along I ordered one. They sold out so fast that I had to wait for the second batch. It took 12 days to get mine. I have had it about 3 days and have 15 pages of books in the home section. So far I have spent $20 on books, none of them have DRM. The built in dictionary is fantastic. Never before have I had a dictionary along with me to look stuff up. I am also very impressed with the search feature. My only complaint so far is side buttons are so large that they are too easily pushed by accident. I think the next/previous buttons could easily be much smaller with more "grab space". I have recently had eye surgery and this thing is a real savior. One of the primary reasons I bought it was the ability to change the font to a larger size. Of those of you that say this is not a feature, wait until you are 75 years old to comment. I have a friend without a computer who is thinking of buying one for his wife that reads only large print books and who finds those hard to hold. I am a happy reader.