For my mother

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by stoobie

Having used a Kindle for a while, I'd recommend it for the simple reason that when you register it with amazon, you get an e-mail address that you can send ebooks to which are then automatically transferred to the Kindle.

So if your mother has a wifi kindle then you can manage it by converting books using calibre then sending the file to mother@kindle.com (or whatever e-mail is created for her) and it will automatically appear on her kindle whenever she is in range of the wifi or plugs the USB cable in.

All you need to do during your next visit is to delete the books that are no longer needed and theres no requirement for your mum to ever need to understand transferring files or converting books.

I would add to that - you can have access to your mom's account on Amazon, and send her books from there.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But the Kindle Touch doesn't have any buttons, if I remember correctly... But that beside, the KT isn't an option to Ea, as that isn't for sale outside the US.

I've got one and I don't live in the US .

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by l_macd

Not having a go at all, I'd just love to find someone who has used both the T1 and KT and could honestly say one is better than the other for a concrete reason. Or perhaps, as I suspect, they are pretty evenly matched and any preference is going to be down to the individual?

I've been thinking about it, and I think that the "concrete reason" you are looking for comes down to this:

If you are a newbie, and especially if you are not the kind of person inclined to engage technology on anything other than an "it just works" level, you probably should start off with the KT. The reason is that the KT is part of an ecosystem which is self-contained and sufficient for the inexperienced or "it just works" EBR user's needs.

As you become more experienced with EBRs, and learn your individual preferences, you might migrate to an EBR which fits you better. A better fit is likely going to be something involving at least some subjectivity:

(1) You might like how the T1 fits in your hand better than how the KT does.
(2) You might like the fonts & relative font sizes on one better than on the other.
(3) You might like having the option to use touch or buttons to page forward/back, which the T1 gives you but the KT doesn't.
(4) You might prefer to read against the side colors of one of the T1s rather than the grayishbrownish color of the KT.
(5) You might like being able to write notes on the T1 with a stylus.
(6) You might prefer the T1 page refresh time to that of the KT - OTOH, you might not like the black screen effect that comes with the T1's refreshes.
(7) You might like having an EBR not as closely tied to a walled garden of the Amazon ecology.

For me, all these items except (5) (I don't do notes) come down on the side of the T1 rather than the KT.

I wonder how many people will actually have meaningful experience with both the T1 and the KT? My own experience is from having had both Kindles and Sonys in the past. The only time I have ever preferred a Kindle is when Amazon got out in front of the Sony technology, or where Sony did something that didn't work out all that well, like the 600 screen. I suspect that most people who own both have acquired them in a sort of technologically staggered fashion - the latest iteration of the two EBRs.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I've got one and I don't live in the US .

Well, naturally, you can jump through hoops. But personally, I'm done jumping through hoops. And I've no idea what Amazon offers you UK people. As we're (the rest of Europe who don't have a "local" Amazon presence....) are even hardly allowed to look at those pages before being shunted off to the US site.

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by Harmon

Yep - I should have put a smiley at the end of the sentence! So I've gone back & done that.

The two kinds of device will, from time to time, be evenly matched when they are at the same general point of development. The T1 and KT happen to be at that point.

But there is one objective factor to take into account. The KT has the advantage of the Amazon ecosystem. It just works better than the Sony system. The T1 has the advantage of a wider range of available file formats. So if you can anticipate where most of your ebooks will come from, you can make an informed choice.

This is mostly important for people who don't want to get involved in file conversion, DRM stripping &c.

The amazon eco system only works for English speaking people. And as I doubt Ea's mother speaks fluently enough English... In non-English speaking Europe, epub readers still are the best choice.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

The amazon eco system only works for English speaking people. And as I doubt Ea's mother speaks fluently enough English... In non-English speaking Europe, epub readers still are the best choice.

Amazon are making progress. They have French and German bookstores, and are shortly opening Italian and Spanish.

I agree, though; ePub is a far better choice if you are not served by an Amazon bookstore for your language.

[soulfuldog]

Originally Posted by Sweetpea

But the Kindle Touch doesn't have any buttons, if I remember correctly... But that beside, the KT isn't an option to Ea, as that isn't for sale outside the US.

Yep sorry for hijacking the thread a little, I wasn't really thinking of the differences between the KT and the T1 in terms of Ea's original question, more in general terms as Ea said right at the start the Kindle wasn't a consideration.

I know the Kindle Touch doesn't have any buttons (a negative for me), but I don't much like where the buttons are on the T1 so that's a negative for it too!

I agree with much of what Harmon has posted, a Kindle (whether it's the non-touch or touch version) is probably the best and easiest device for those who want to keep things simple due to the Amazon ecosystem - the exception being as in this case, in non-English speaking countries which don't have their own local Amazon.

Harmon, thanks for another interesting post on the differences you see between the T1 and KT, it's good to hear a balanced opinion, even though it just really confirms to me that it's all pretty subjective. I'm beginning to think that a in fact a hybrid of the two would probably be my ideal ereader

[Sweetpea]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Amazon are making progress. They have French and German bookstores, and are shortly opening Italian and Spanish.

But I think it'll be a long time till they'll go to "smaller language" countries, such as Denmark...

Besides, unless you're from said countries, you can't buy from those Amazon sites (electronic stuff, that is...). So much for One Europe...

[dieselnutjob]

My mum just mentioned that she would like an ereader. She's a bit younger though, and we are English speaking Brits.

She's not that tech savvy/comfortable but there is wifi in her house. I think that a device that can be used stand-alone without needing to be slaved off of a PC would be best.

I think she would enjoy gutenberg. Is there a device that can download free gutenberg books without a PC ? She does read a lot of books. Mostly ones she picks up used.

The last complication is that she has to read a lot of documents for a charity that she works for. People email her word documents to read, and she doesn't like reading them on the PC. There isn't a device that can access an email account and open a word attachment is there? Last night she told me that if she could read them on an ereader she would like that.

A relative has a new kindle thing that they were showing off, and I let her play with my old Sony 505 which she said she found quite readable, but of course it is entirely PC dependant.

[Sweetpea]

Kindle. It simply is the easiest device for English speakers. And word documents can be sent to her kindle account and she'll be able to read them on her kindle, simply by using wifi.

[HarryT]

Agreed. The Kindle sounds like the best choice for her needs.

[LuvReadin]

Going back to the OP, I would go with the Sony too. I've tried out the Kindle, and I much prefer the Sony. Plus the Kindle doesn't work with libraries in the UK - no idea if it does in other European countries, but I would doubt it.

The other possibility, because you should be able to buy online from the UK, is a Kobo. Waterstones bookshop is the main stockist, but it's also available in Asda and Currys, currently at about £67.