3 New Sony Readers announced today, apps coming this fall

[krischik]

Just when i thought that Amazon won the war for world (eBook) dominations Sony does come to the rescue. I have given up hope already. It is not the just devices why I thought Amazon would win. It is the apps for iPhone and Android. Sure everybody reading mobobiread will have eInk and nothing else. But we the mobiread readers are connoisseurs. The vast majority is not.

For that I think the availability of apps for mobile phones are very important. Amazon has then. B&N has them. Apple has then. ePUB/ADE did not have them. For this I thought ePUB/ADE might die. As in die before DRM dies. As in die before a strong competition to Amazon will emerge.

But now there is at least some hope. If the rumored iPhone / Android apps will emerge.

[SkyDream]

I'm disappointed that the new PRS-950 didn't make it to Germany.
What's wrong with Sony and Germany ?

[EowynCarter]

And yes, I'm willing to pay Sony more money if the device fits my needs.

Me, too. But i ain't buy that kind of reader before I can actually try it. Make sure ePub justify is fixed once and for all.
I'll also wait for the Orizon. Then, compare and see where this goes. Hopefully one of the two will match my quite strict requirement. (I expect something near "perfect").
Or maybe the new pocketbooks, if I can get my hand on one.

[bill_mchale]

Originally Posted by krischik

Just when i thought that Amazon won the war for world (eBook) dominations Sony does come to the rescue. I have given up hope already. It is not the just devices why I thought Amazon would win. It is the apps for iPhone and Android. Sure everybody reading mobobiread will have eInk and nothing else. But we the mobiread readers are connoisseurs. The vast majority is not.

For that I think the availability of apps for mobile phones are very important. Amazon has then. B&N has them. Apple has then. ePUB/ADE did not have them. For this I thought ePUB/ADE might die. As in die before DRM dies. As in die before a strong competition to Amazon will emerge.

But now there is at least some hope. If the rumored iPhone / Android apps will emerge.

Ummm, I am pretty sure that Kobo's ereader App supported any books that were encrypted with Adobe DRM, not just Kobo purchased books. In addition, are you sure that the nook ereader App doesn't support it as well? The nook itself does.

The long and the short of the success of app will be, I think, how easily it lets users obtain content. One of the big handicaps that Sony has always had is that their software and their ebook store is not easy to use. If that doesn't change, I don't see them catching up with the Nook, let alone the Kindle.

--
Bill

[krischik]

Originally Posted by SkyDream

What's wrong with Sony and Germany ?

The need for a SIM card. The 950 offers “gratis” access to the Sony shop. But the Sony shop is only available in the USA. Outside the USA there is no book store to subsidise the “gratis” 3G access.

Gratis of course in “” as subsidised is not really gratis.

I might still have the PRS950 for the WiFI access but the Sony marketing managers can't think that far.

[Geppetto]

The 350 model is really disappointing:

- no WiFi
- no SD card slot
- no headphones jack (no mp3!)

[Salgueiros]

Originally Posted by Geppetto

The 350 model is really disappointing:

- no WiFi
- no SD card slot
- no headphones jack (no mp3!)

Why do you need a expansion slot? 1.4 GB of space available isn't enough?

[dordale]

I'm really excited about the new Sony Readers. I recently bought a nook to replace my aging 505. I like the nook--but one of the main reasons I bought it was for its dictionary feature---which on the nook is less than stellar.

The new Sonys with two english and multiple translation dictionaries are very attractive.

My husband has a Sony 900, and I really like the touch screen interface too. If the screens on the new Sonys are as clear as they are purported to be, I may have to find a way to justify purchasing another reader after only owning my nook two months.

And I don't find the no Wifi, no SD card slots, and no headphone jacks to be negatives. I don't use any of those features on the readers I have. I might go for the 350 just to have a device with a smaller form factor.

dordale

[Georgiegirl2012]

Perhaps the knowledge that there was an imminent new model launch is responsible for the fact that I managed to find a Sony PRS600 for £149.99 rather than the RRP of £229 (or thereabouts). The official Sony shop is selling them for £179 with a free case.

So maybe if i'd waited a couple of weeks, I could have got the newer shinier one, or possibly ordered (and got) the Kindle 3 for the same price. But given that this will be my first e-reader and I've been to have a play in the Sony shop (and pretty much fell in love) I am happy with the relative bargain I've got.

Although it's driving me nuts waiting for it to be delivered.

[Amalthia]

Now my question is can the device actually handle holding 1200 ebooks or 2000k ebooks? Currently if you have more than 1k ebooks on the PRS-505 if the device crashes it takes up to an hour to reload. The fewer books on the device the faster that process goes. I'm currently keeping the number under 1k ebooks so the wait isn't too long when the device restarts but when I had 2k on my device it took about 2 hours to restart the device.

I'm curious to see if the newer devices address this issue.

[ManosHandsOfFate]

Originally Posted by Salgueiros

Why do you need a expansion slot? 1.4 GB of space available isn't enough?

Especially if you can't side load MP3s and PDFs will likely be unreadable on a 5" screen.

[igorsk]

Originally Posted by maxbookworm

Maybe there's hope in the US, then!

The PR specifically omits mention of Silver one for US (and does mention it for Canada).

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by darknessangel

God damn it Sony! You keep dropping the ball! Why do I need so much touchcreen? I need a large reader! -_- Meh, they didn't even put connectivity on those (not that I would use it) but it could be (useless) excuse to update. I really don't mind the new pearl screen. I don't want touchscreen or rather fingersmudge on my reader. And I (or anybody for that matter) won't be able to read those 2 GB of books. I have 43 books in my current 505 and there's still free space FFS!

So basically (for me) they updated... nothing interesting >_>

Way to go Sony!

GJMS

I've got over 200 books on my 505 and I'm at the point where if I want to add books, I have to take books off first. I could use the SD card, but issues of shortened battery life and increased boot time are why I don't, so more internal memory would be very useful to me.

[astra]

Originally Posted by SkyDream

I'm disappointed that the new PRS-950 didn't make it to Germany.
What's wrong with Sony and Germany ?

The same here. No mention of 950 in the UK.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by flyingpostman

This isn't always the case (pardon the pun). A metal case doesn't have much give to it, and has more weight which when dropped can cause quite a bit more damage. Plastic has more give and a lighter weight, a drop from a height of 3 feet probably wouldn't do anything. A drop from 3 feet for my leather-cased PRS-505 caused the power slider to pop out (which I fixed) and crack on the (what I once thought was metal) corner of the foil-coated plastic top plate. Otherwise I'm all for the more-heft and weight equals quality feel.

I'm interested in the new PRS-650 *if* it is equal in non-reflectiveness as the 505. The new display looks crisp and the touch-dictionary would come in useful, although I would never touch the screen with my fingers, I can't stand dust, let alone fingerprints all over the reading screen.

I fell onto concrete while carrying my 505 and fell on top of it, to boot. Power switch pop-out and very minor ding all the damage it suffered. I believe if it had been one of the plastic e-readers it would have shattered, so I consider the increased price of the Sony's sturdier construction to be rather cheap insurance.

It's the 'more give' of plastic casings that cause the screen to break. Give me sturdy, please.

When the screens are plastic, then I might consider a plastic case. As long as the screens are glass, I'll stick with the Sony.

YMMV, of course.