Sony Reader Lives on with Rowling!

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

My guess is due to the lack of advertising and marketing, plus how difficult it is to get sony readers in some areas.

I actually mentioned this in my post asking the question. Nobody advertises but Amazon. And the Reader is just as accessible as the Nook or Kindle; meaning, mostly online, and mostly through their own store.

So "MIA" doesn't make sense to me... hence me asking!

Originally Posted by Andrew H.

It's pretty clear that she's releasing it in multiple formats; the paidcomment linkbait article at the beginning basically made up the fact that HP would be in epub.

I don't think it's fair to characterize the OP as linkbait. The logical conclusion is ePUB based on the Sony partnership. However, the PR does talk about full accessibility, which at this point in the game means either plain text (so unlikely, not even mentioned in this thread), PDF (a disaster) or multiple formats (the likely answer).

-Pie

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

I actually mentioned this in my post asking the question. Nobody advertises but Amazon. And the Reader is just as accessible as the Nook or Kindle; meaning, mostly online, and mostly through their own store.

So "MIA" doesn't make sense to me... hence me asking!

But in comparison, when weighing in brick and mortars, it isn't as easy to get. Fewer stores stock the Sony readers, and many do stock lower quantities, so you'll see stores selling out more often. Nooks and Kindles can be had at most department stores now

[JSWolf]

But we don't know what will happen with the next Sony Readers given that Sony is in league with Rowling. All we are doing is guessing.

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by Hellmark

But in comparison, when weighing in brick and mortars, it isn't as easy to get. Fewer stores stock the Sony readers, and many do stock lower quantities, so you'll see stores selling out more often. Nooks and Kindles can be had at most department stores now

Uh oh! There was a whole thread devoted to this. A lot of bogus info floating around.

The B&M world is hit-and-miss for all Readers (not counting B&N and Sony Style stores). Kindle can be found at Radio Shack and Best Buy, while the Sony can be found at Sears. Target illustrates how volatile the B&M market really is. They originally sold the Sony, kicked it for the Kindle, then kicked that for the iPad... and now are on to yet another e-Ink Reader (can't remember which, Nook?, though they kept the iPad too).

Anywho, the best way to get any e-Book Reader is still online. The B&M market is not a good way to judge availability of any Reader brand.

So, I go back to... MIA doesn't make sense.

-Pie

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

Uh oh! There was a whole thread devoted to this. A lot of bogus info floating around.

The B&M world is hit-and-miss for all Readers (not counting B&N and Sony Style stores). Kindle can be found at Radio Shack and Best Buy, while the Sony can be found at Sears. Target illustrates how volatile the B&M market really is. They originally sold the Sony, kicked it for the Kindle, then kicked that for the iPad... and now are on to yet another e-Ink Reader (can't remember which, Nook?, though they kept the iPad too).

Anywho, the best way to get any e-Book Reader is still online. The B&M market is not a good way to judge availability of any Reader brand.

So, I go back to... MIA doesn't make sense.

-Pie

Target has the nook now. Walmart used to sell Sony, along side the Kindle and others, has now appeared to pulled the Sony Readers. On their website, all they have listed PRS300's that they're trying to clearance out for $100. Bestbuy had it as well, I remember seeing PRS350's and 650s not too long ago, but no more. They've dropped Sony, but still sell kindles, nooks, etc. Even the website no longer lists them.

And yes, online is the best way to get a reader, but most people still like buying in stores. Seeing what they want before buying it. Plus, even if they don't plan on buying it in stores, way it is now, people see kindles and nooks, and that is all they know, so when they buy online they go for those. On top of it all, there are times when the different websites don't have any of the Sony readers in stock. There are times that the Sony website no longer has them in stock. Now, tell me why there are times when in the middle of a model's lifespan that there should be any reason that the manufacturer is out of stock? For example, right now, the PRS650, and PRS950 is sold out in all colors, and the PRS350 is only available in Silver, from the Sony website. It has been this way for a while now. Right now, Sony has rumors that new models will launch next month, and if that is true then it could explain the lack of stock now, but this isn't a recent development. There have been stock issues going back to December.

Ok, they're in few brick and mortar stores, stores often have limited quantities of them, websites online are often sold out, and they've not had any advertising in almost a year. Please explain how that is NOT MIA? I am a Sony Reader fan, and try to pay attention when ever I goto a store to see if I see them. I've also looked because I have toyed with the idea of buying a second one for myself. There is bogus info around, but I am going off of first hand experience. I know that I've seen Walmart, Target, and Bestbuy pull their Sony readers, and clearance them out. I don't think it is because a new reader line is coming out, because why would they have done it months ago? You don't make room for something that isn't due out for another 4-6 months.

Also, how come you sign your posts by writing your name, instead of using the signature option?

[Dulin's Books]

the stock issues have to do with the coincidental timing of two events.

1. The Earthquake and Tsunami
2. Sony's renewed push of their ereaders in their home market.

The simply don't have the quantity available to fulfill large orders for chains in the US etc. Those chains have filled the shelf space with other models

[elcreative]

And yet again, it seems N America is the main shortage area... I can walk into a store in the UK and choose from 20+ 650s in a choice of three colours and around the same number of 350s in various colours together with a few Bookeen Opus and a couple of different Elonex models... stock shortage, not here...

[Hellmark]

Originally Posted by Dulin's Books

the stock issues have to do with the coincidental timing of two events.

1. The Earthquake and Tsunami
2. Sony's renewed push of their ereaders in their home market.

The simply don't have the quantity available to fulfill large orders for chains in the US etc. Those chains have filled the shelf space with other models

However, there were stock issues before the disasters. The problem is, when stock does return, if it does, they'll have to fight even harder to make up for all the lost ground, in an already tough battle.

[charmian]

I think whether the e-reader is available in a brick and mortar store is a big issue. If you have never owned an e-reader before, you don't really know what you physically want out of an e-reader: you see how some people say the Nook STR is too wide for them, while others like the width, some say the buttons on this e-reader are too easily pressed, others say the buttons on this other e-reader require too much pressure, some people don't like how the new Kobo doesn't have page turn buttons on the side, etc. Being able to touch an e-reader, especially for less-experienced e-reader users, matters more than being able to touch a laptop or a desktop computer, IMHO.

[EatingPie]

Okay, I don't know if I should reply to things here, or just point out info in the more relevant (and incorrectly named) End of the Line for Sony Readers thread.

I'll make a few points.

In terms of "stock issues" before the Tsunami, those primarily involved the PRS-650, and even then, just the Black model.

This post deals with availability of Readers on the date it was made (all the Readers except the black PRS-650 were in stock):

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=119

Note that previous posts in that thread cite availability from other online retailers; I specifically cite 5, one of which stopped selling Sony Readers (Best Buy), another of which I did not cite (Sears).

This post deals with responses regarding claims about stock issues:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...&postcount=229

I made a bunch of posts in that thread. Again, I don't know if it's better for me to link to them, or just rehash them here. It seems like we're headed down the same path though, and if that's the case I would push for posting to that thread... but it is somewhat related to this topic, so it's a crap shoot.

Anyway, my point is that the PRS-650 Black is the only reader that's been problematic in terms of stock (the PRS-950 has become a hit and miss of late). Most of Sony sales do occur from their site, but the same can be said for Kindle and Nook. They are not "MIA" as claimed, and I made many citations and references that disproved such claims.

-Pie