Sony Preparing New E-Book Reader to Challenge Amazon

[graycyn]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

There is still room for improvement. I can read at smaller font sizes on my 350 than on my 950. I would also like for Sony to provide the capability to change font type, line spacing, margins, etc. like other brands. I would also like more font sizes with less increment between each.

I could definitely enjoy more resolution, especially when it comes to illustrations and maps, in fact, I'd prefer a higher resolution screen to a color e-ink, frankly.

And yes to the niceties of more than one font, line spacing, margins, etc... and better increments between font sizes. Although, I've found, now that I've used it awhile, that the Sony medium, which seemed huge after Nook's medium, is actually a pretty comfortable size for my eyes. But closer steps would give the ability to really "hit it" for comfort with all books, all lighting situations.

[drake-r8]

Originally Posted by Timoleon

I gave my 505 a complete resurrection with a battery replacement:

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Replac.../dp/B003SB1D7W

Just out of curiosity, how much trouble did you have prying the case apart? (Not that it really matters - it's doa without a battery, right?). I've got a PRS 500 thats almost 4 years old now and the battery is getting weaker and weaker....

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by graycyn

I could definitely enjoy more resolution, especially when it comes to illustrations and maps, in fact, I'd prefer a higher resolution screen to a color e-ink, frankly.

Yes!

I'm hoping this is what Sony has up their sleeves.

-Pie

[Timoleon]

Originally Posted by drake-r8

Just out of curiosity, how much trouble did you have prying the case apart? (Not that it really matters - it's doa without a battery, right?). I've got a PRS 500 thats almost 4 years old now and the battery is getting weaker and weaker....

No problem --- A little tight if I remember correctly, but definitely doable. The battery replacement kit that I bought had a little tool with it to help pry off the case. Some advice: If you go ahead and do it, do everything on a towel --- it easy to have the tiny screws go flying on you. You can do a search on YouTube for an instructional video. Good luck!

[EatingPie]

Is it possible to get a Pearl replacement screen and put it in the PRS-505?

My 505 has a vertical line down it, and I'd love to replace the screen... upgrade would be sweet!

-Pie

[kartu]

Originally Posted by EatingPie

Is it possible to get a Pearl replacement screen and put it in the PRS-505?

Nope.
Hardware interface has changed.

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

A pBook doesn't allow for changing the font size. So when you go to page 20, you get the same text. If the page number changes based on the text size on the screen, it's useless. I cannot then go to page 20 on my Reader and page 20 on the computer and be at the same page.

Sure, but that's only if we're looking at the exact same edition of a physical book. If I tell you that the text I'm referring to is on page 20 of "A Catcher In The Rye" there's no guarantee whatsover that you're going to locate it on page 20 of your copy of that book.

I can hand out the same edition of a physical book to a bunch of students and know that everybody will find my reference on the same page; alternately, I could supply the same ebook to a bunch of students and tell them all to go to a certain page when using a certain font size.

I don't really see the difference between flipping a physical book to a certain page number and setting a certain font size on an ebook reader and then typing in a certain page number. In fact, getting to the exact spot in the ebook reader, even with maybe having to change the font size, could still be faster than finding the same reference with the physical book.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by JasonB

Sure, but that's only if we're looking at the exact same edition of a physical book. If I tell you that the text I'm referring to is on page 20 of "A Catcher In The Rye" there's no guarantee whatsover that you're going to locate it on page 20 of your copy of that book.

I can hand out the same edition of a physical book to a bunch of students and know that everybody will find my reference on the same page; alternately, I could supply the same ebook to a bunch of students and tell them all to go to a certain page when using a certain font size.

Because different ebook readers use different fonts and font sizes - you'd have to guarantee that they're all using the same ereader, as well as specifying the font and font size.

So much simpler to have a well-defined 'page' that's the same across devices and preferences.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by JasonB

I don't really see the difference between flipping a physical book to a certain page number and setting a certain font size on an ebook reader and then typing in a certain page number. In fact, getting to the exact spot in the ebook reader, even with maybe having to change the font size, could still be faster than finding the same reference with the physical book.

You and I might be using completely different reading devices. If I'm reading the book on my 25" PC monitor with Windows ADE, and you're reading it on your 5" Sony PRS-350, the "screen pages" will bear no relation to each other. The ADE page numbers, however, will still be the same on our two machines.

[Pinecone]

Originally Posted by Flip Martian

from recent conversations with people who no nothing about e-books, the work "kindle" is replacing the words "e-book reader" for the general public.

As have the trademarked terms aspirin, kleenex and others.

If Amazon is not careful, they can lose the trademark protection on that name, and anybody will be able to make a kindle (small K).

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You and I might be using completely different reading devices. If I'm reading the book on my 25" PC monitor with Windows ADE, and you're reading it on your 5" Sony PRS-350, the "screen pages" will bear no relation to each other. The ADE page numbers, however, will still be the same on our two machines.

True but this has simply made it software-dependent rather than a hardware-dependent. Using iBooks on a Mac will give different page numbers than an ADE-based program.

Originally Posted by khalleron

Because different ebook readers use different fonts and font sizes - you'd have to guarantee that they're all using the same ereader, as well as specifying the font and font size.

So much simpler to have a well-defined 'page' that's the same across devices and preferences.

The ePUB format has the ability to specify pages, but it's either not yet full accepted in the spec, or nobody uses it. I looked in to trying to add page numbers to a book because my daughter complained of her eBook not matching her class' pbook. It wasn't going to be an easy process, and I gave up.

I should probably take another look and try with something short.

-Pie

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by HarryT

You and I might be using completely different reading devices.

Yes, which just leads me back to my original point that the only way to guarantee that everybody is on the same page (LOL) is to have everybody using the same thing - physical or electronic. If you're saying that you can have the same font size and same font face of the same electronic copy - but get different results because different devices are being used - that's just an order of complexity. Going back to the classroom, everybody gets the same physical book. In the same classroom, people would also be given the same ebook reader.

I don't think that there's anything intrinsically harder in terms of getting to the same page in the electronic world than in the physical world. (In fact, I've never personally referred to a particular page in my life. I've always just said, "The point in the book where...," or, "Towards the end, right after," etc. So, for me, the actual "problem" is a moot point.) But we do need to work on better solutions so that people can refer to the same thing no matter what they're using to read something on.

Does it need to be so precise as a particular page? Couldn't the same thing be accomplished by saying "Chapter X, paragraph Y" - and have those elements tracked?

[JasonB]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The ADE page numbers, however, will still be the same on our two machines.

Now you've got me thinking about this more. If my screen is so small that it takes me having to press "forward" 10 times in order to move from page 200 to page 201, and you only have to press forward one time - because your screen is so big - I'm not sure that that's going to help either. Even if I know that what you're referring to is on "page 200" - and even if that remains true between our devices and I can still go to the start of my page 200 (which I'll still maintain is at least as theoretically simple - or complex - as the same thing in the physical world) - it's not going to help me determine which of the several screens I have that they all correspond to is the one that I actually want to look at.

[mcrmama]

I like the ADE page numbers so that it doesn't matter which device I am using, it will be on the same page. If I were a student, I would likely change the font of the book to what I am comfortable with and would be annoyed if told I had to use a specific font and less likely to read. I know this about myself since I rarely read prior to getting an ereader and now I go through a book at least weekly since I can change it to look how I want. I would think the next generation would feel even more strongly about this as they will have gotten used to the flexibility of being able to change whatever they want. Perhaps in the future, we will use a measure other than page number to be able to find things that will be more specific than a page number which could span a number of screens on some devices.