Sony PRS-T1 specs!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Barty

The k3 has a keyboard. The sony doesn't have that excuse

Sony has a keyboard. But it's an onscreen keyboard.

[khalleron]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

I'm spreading this around - mainly because I can't somehow bring myself to believe .

But this was at a launch [ we having one in UK I wonder ?]

From WendyH in the Sony section :-

"The Sony guy that I spoke to said that as there would still be no Sony Store in Australia, the only way you could obtain books via wifi in Australia was through Google or the library. He may have been wrong, but he said you could not buy books using the browser. I asked him about other stores such as Borders and Kobo, and he said you would not be able to buy from them using wifi.

I asked what was the point of having wifi then and he said you could use it to look things up about whatever you were reading e.g. find out more info about something written in the book." Quote, WendyH.

So, what is the point.
From this, it seems that even if Sony do eventually open the famous Sony bookstore.... you still won't be able to buy from Waterstones etc.. ?

Gordon Bennett.......

The press release said you'd be able to use the browser to download unencrypted epubs and pdfs. So you'd be able to buy some books from Fictionwise, for example.

But since I seldom buy books, having the on-board public library and Google Books support is perfect for me.

I don't believe there's another ereader on the market that allows even that much access on-board. So if the Sony is 'useless', so is every other ebook reader.

[readingglasses]

The "lookup" feature is a actually a very clever way of not investing in any coding for the device.
Rather than improving the code to allow some book-like apps on the device, sony just offloads all that hardwork to google and wikipedia by sending a keyword request. Then the search engines do the work that the device should be doing.
This is definitely putting it on par with the kindle's software...in a sub par (but possibly more useful) way.
If you can download epubs in australia...why is it so disappointing not to be able to buy epubs? Are you too snob to read a book for free? You only read the latest commercial releases or else it's nothing?

It's not perfect by any means but it's only a matter of convenience. how many books do you "buy"? Are you always, compulsively buying books you don't have time to read? maybe it's better for you that in australia this won't let you bankrupt yourself buying book after book, every time you can connect the device to a wifi router.
Any commercial epub that can be read on the sony, from anywhere, should still be readable. The least use of wifi is to go and buy a book. You can still do that on any computer with a full browser.
The most common use of wifi on a device is to use the internet and THAT, you CAN do, even in australia.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I have had wireless access on my Sony ereaders for almost 2 years now, 3G on the 900 model & 3G/Wi-fi on the 950. I have probably purchased less than 10 books directly from the Reader Store on my 900 or 950. I just like the idea that I can. It is still better to me to manage my collections via Reader Library or calibre because I have such a large library. I do use Wi-fi frequently to look up info in Wikipedia, and I am excited that they have added the Google Search look-up too. I also have subscriptions to Wall Street Journal and the Sunday Daily Mail, and I love that I just turn on my ereader in the morning and the periodical has wirelessly downloaded at night and is ready to go. Now Sony needs to add more periodical choices like Amazon has.

Sony Reader Store + Google public domain + Library + download of unencrypted files (like feedbooks) all via Wi-fi is a great leap forward. At last Sony can do what my Kindle can (well, library on the Kindle is coming very soon). I'm sorry that the Australians don't have a Sony ebookstore, but maybe there will be one eventually. I can understand why they would put the emphasis on expanding to UK and Germany first since it seems those markets have greater demand presently.

[readingglasses]

So to re-iterate: who cares if you can't buy epubs on the device. If this weren't limited to australia, I still wouldn't care.
You can buy a book on your computer and then load it on to the reader via USB, just like you could with earlier models.

The benefit of wifi is hardly "buying books without the computer" but using the internet or any local network to get instant data.

update: just as bookwormgirl said before me.

[readingglasses]

If you want to complain about its download limitations, complain about it not downloading wikipedia pages that it just allowed you to access via the wikipedia lookup from your book.

Maybe it does but sony haven't announced clearly that it does so we'll see.

Bookworm girl: if I can ask, does the 900/950 series with browser allow you to download a wikipedia page to the device?

the review here: http://www.mobiletechreview.com/gadg...on-PRS-950.htm
says explicitly that it does not allow downloading webpages.

Which makes looking up info less useful. Now I can't have a set of "notes"/webpages that I looked up and learned about while reading my book.
I don't think that's too tablet-level a function to ask for in a networkable device.

Hoping the T1 improved that failing.

Even kobo has promised their browser will eventually be able to download web pages to the device's storage.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by readingglasses

The "lookup" feature is a actually a very clever way of not investing in any coding for the device.
Rather than improving the code to allow some book-like apps on the device, sony just offloads all that hardwork to google and wikipedia by sending a keyword request. Then the search engines do the work that the device should be doing.
This is definitely putting it on par with the kindle's software...in a sub par (but possibly more useful) way.

I don't agree with your statements. The Sony and Kindle implement these searches in a similar way. The Sony method is not sub par. You highlight the word(s) in your book and both Sony & Kindle give you the option to do various things with those words such as launch a Google search or open the Wikipedia page. It's quick and convenient. Google search and Wikipedia are websites. Why would you expect Sony or Kindle to have book-like apps? Is it that difficult to open the browser app to go to google.com or wikipedia.org when you need to access it while not inside a book? Just set a bookmark.

Access to the Google Public Domain books is a separate app from the Reader Store on the 950 model. It makes it much quicker to access and conveniently separates the Google content from the Sony content. I hope that the T1 is similar.

[readingglasses]

Originally Posted by Bookworm_Girl

Why would you expect Sony or Kindle to have book-like apps?

I don't expect it, I know that kindle does have book like apps (notably mobipocket can be used as a reference "app" not only as a readable book format).
The functionality is there now on the sony but you have to be connected to the internet. Since sony already has dictionaries on board as "apps" I would hope they would extend that software to use more such apps. Instead they extended nothing and added a wikipedia lookup (which is certainly very useful anyway).

OffTopic: can I just mention how funny it is that people defend a brand instead of their own particular product, including products they don't yet own /may never bother to buy? Nothing wrong with it, just funny.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by readingglasses

If you want to complain about its download limitations, complain about it not downloading wikipedia pages that it just allowed you to access via the wikipedia lookup from your book.

Maybe it does but sony haven't announced clearly that it does so we'll see.

Bookworm girl: if I can ask, does the 900/950 series with browser allow you to download a wikipedia page to the device?

The 900 didn't have a browser and the 950 doesn't allow downloads at all. But, I don't want to download internet or wikipedia pages for offline access. I have a Wikipedia app on my iPhone, and I never cache the content for access later. If I need to look-up the content again, I just re-access it on the device. You can create bookmarks with the browser too so you remember what you accessed. I am seldom reading in a location where I don't have Wi-fi access (that's why I have a Wi-fi only Kindle and not 3G).

[carpetmojo]

(

Originally Posted by readingglasses

....OffTopic: can I just mention how funny it is that people defend a brand instead of their own particular product, including products they don't yet own /may never bother to buy? Nothing wrong with it, just funny.

Don't know if that was applied to me, but I would never defend kindle, that's a given! )

However, back to this wifi facility that is /isn't on the T1.

The problem about the (apparently) relatively complex d/load limitations/"opportunities" on the T1 is not so much for seasoned ereaders - although I suppose I buy 1-2 books a month, my son buys more, mainly from W/stones I think - but for those new to the technology.
The kindle thing is simple (unless I'm totally wrong and been seduced by all the users on here!) - buy books from anywhere on the move - your High Street favourites like Smiths & W/stones etc.... wherever you are. In a flash, as it were.
And I reckon that's the trick that has made everyone say "oh, can I see your kindle" when you're reading your 350 on the train. Because they've seen the ads, and "got" them.
As their sales success proves.
And they've made an aspect of using the internet simple too, and accessible, often to people who don't see themselves as computer literate.

Quite how a simple "hook" ad for the Sony will go, I can't imagine - especially if there's not even a Sony Bookstore to buy from......
But it would seem so far that the Sony publicity won't be able to say " buy ebooks from anywhere you would normally buy real books, using your T1". (Or say "choose from millions on Amazon" but that's another snaggle-patch altogether...)
Or have I got it wrong ?
Because most people I know that got a kindle did it because that is the first thing that appealed to them - later realising the huge choice, and brand, of Amazon.
Because it made the process seem simple.

So sadly, the new T1 doesn't seem to do everything the kindle does. And that's the major competition.

[CommonReader]

Originally Posted by carpetmojo

The kindle thing is simple (unless I'm totally wrong and been seduced by all the users on here!) - buy books from anywhere on the move - your High Street favourites like Smiths & W/stones etc.... wherever you are. In a flash, as it were.

Err, since when can you buy books from any vendor you like with a Kindle? The brilliant point of the Kindle - from a vendor's point of view - is that it firmly shackles you to Amazon, after all.

[Bookworm_Girl]

carpetmojo, Sony is introducing a Reader Store in the UK later this year. I think it will be simple to use on the T1. They may have the store organized differently on the T1 or perhaps organized different by country, but I attached some photos of what the US store looks like on the 950. The critical question is how will the UK Reader Store selection compare to Waterstones, WH Smith and other options that you have available.

One photo shows the home screen, another photo shows the details of a particular book, and the last photo shows what Google Books public domain looks like. You can see that when browsing the store it gives you quick links to similar books or other books by that same author. You can even add a book easily to your wishlist. You can also add multiple items to a shopping cart, whereas other readers do individual purchases. Some books in the US have excerpts that you can read, but they currently do not have downloadable samples to read offline like other brands. Hopefully they add that capability.

[EatingPie]

Originally Posted by readingglasses

I don't expect it, I know that kindle does have book like apps (notably mobipocket can be used as a reference "app" not only as a readable book format).
The functionality is there now on the sony but you have to be connected to the internet. Since sony already has dictionaries on board as "apps" I would hope they would extend that software to use more such apps. Instead they extended nothing and added a wikipedia lookup (which is certainly very useful anyway).

OffTopic: can I just mention how funny it is that people defend a brand instead of their own particular product, including products they don't yet own /may never bother to buy? Nothing wrong with it, just funny.

In terms of defending the Sony, over half this thread was an expression of disappointment in many of the new design features, particularly form-factor issues. And you have to expect some defense, since this is a Sony device thread!

On wikipedia, Already mentioned is the size issue; many more gigabytes than feasible to place on local storage, especially flash-based memory. I wouldn't even be willing to waste the disk space on my laptop. And a special picture-less wikipedia would be an undertaking to create (not just removing pictures but re-generating every page).

The dictionaries remain on-board, and work similarly as before. Plus the google search sounds like extends to the internet at large, making it far more useful than wikipedia alone (wikipedia is beyond untrustworthy, and I'm a contributor/editor!).

So, I'm not sure what you're looking for exactly. Your requests strike me as unfeasible; they're not even provided for on an iPad! But maybe there was something more subtle that I'm missing?


-Pie

[Bookworm_Girl]

The 950 has an option in the browser to do a screen image capture so you can still access some info offline. I wonder if the T1 will have that same option?

[khalleron]

Carpetmojo,

You can't buy books from other booksellers with a Kindle - only from Amazon.

I suppose that makes it 'simple', but it also seems to be what you're complaining about with the new Sony.

From the videos we've seen, there are dedicated icons for getting books from the Sony Store, Google Books, and your public library. You can also download unencrypted ebooks from other places, such as here at Mobileread.

Now, what is it you're really complaining about? The lack of 'ease of use', or the lack of choice? Because the Sony gives you several choices that NO OTHER ereader gives you, in an apparently relatively easy to use manner. Which is MORE than the Kindle does at the present date.

But I think I'm going to give you the same advice I gave readingglasses - get a tablet. You don't really want an ereader.