Put it in Perspective

[manchuia]

for some reason (no real evidence behind this), but if I were going to bet on who would drop their e-reader line first I would bet Sony.

In conjunction with your examples of "giving up" on niche technology, I just think there is more at stake (money wise) for Amazon than Sony. Amazon is an electronic store front, that's their bread and butter and the Kindle is a mobile store front that caters to a pretty reliable buying niche (voracious readers ). The Kindle seems like a natural extension of their business model and a way for them to actually place a product into a less competitive market (as opposed to trying to sell a movie downloading box or MP3 player).

Sony has so many other options floating around that if the company took a large enough hit (or gave the books to the bean counters) they could easily decide that they gave it a go and the market is just not worth the time or effort.

In addition.. they market seems pretty handcuffed on innovation. screens come from a central location, and, while hardware can always be streamlined, most of the great leaps look to be software (and distribution) and Sony is not a software company. They make software for their devices, but you can tell in the design and length between updates (not only for Reader, but PSP, PS3, etc.) that they would rather just make the cool looking device.

[HarryT]

Just a note, manchuia, that e-Reader is owned by Fictionwise - nothing at all to do with Sony. I don't see Fictionwise dropping e-Reader - they've invested a lot of money in it and are heavily promoting it.

I entirely agree with you that Sony may well drop their eBook readers; they don't have a particularly good track record in that area (eg look at Minidisc).

[moz]

I too expect Sony to tire of the PRS and move along. I'm hoping that by then there will be significantly better options around and in the meantime I'm not buying secure ebooks. In any format So far that has not been much of a problem, Fictionwise and Baen have good selections, reasonable prices and Calibre does most of the conversion work for me.

To be honest, the formatting thing doesn't matter to me. I've spent way more time removing formatting than trying to get it to match anything in particular because mostly I read novels. Which means I want no margins, small fonts and if I could remove all page breaks that would suit me just fine. The only thing so far is that I'm not enough of a Python programmer to get feeds working for the most part (ie, they either work immediately or I never get them to go regardless of how long I spend).

So what I'm looking for in the future is probably better software (ie, maturity) and a two-page device rather than any radical advance in hardware. And, of course, the demise of DRM.

[HarryT]

Hi moz,

Just curious - why do you want a two-page device? There doesn't seem to be any point to that with an electronic display!

[obzenic]

I think a 2 page device could be cool...

Primary e-ink display with super battery life, super high quality text...
Secondary display (which could be disabled when not necessary) across the page, maybe oled so still decent battery life but brilliant colours etc).

I think ideally, if you could get the eink screen with haptic feedback and touch capability, there's no reason you couldn't power up the device to use in a laptop style format rather than a book one when the mood suited you (of course you'd need a clever hinge to tuck away the shiny colour screen). Because a keyboard doesn't really change layout, the eink screen would work fine for it in my opinion, as well as offering an interesinting alternative to a trackpad or similar, by way of a whole screen

I'd love to see a company (one who's given it more thought than me hopefully ) make something like this

[HarryT]

I don't think personally that touch screens are at all good for eBook readers - I couldn't bear to read from a screen with fingerprints all over it! Hardware buttons work a lot better, IMHO.

[manchuia]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Just a note, manchuia, that e-Reader is owned by Fictionwise - nothing at all to do with Sony. I don't see Fictionwise dropping e-Reader - they've invested a lot of money in it and are heavily promoting it.

I entirely agree with you that Sony may well drop their eBook readers; they don't have a particularly good track record in that area (eg look at Minidisc).

I am using e-reader as a general term. It's like kleenex, post-it, or hoover, while it's true that they are specific brands a majority of the public understands the general items that they represent and will understand your point without you having to specifically say tissue or vacuum.

This has not been an issue of contention in most every other post on this board, I wouldn't think an issue would crop up now (especially in the context in which it was used)

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by manchuia

I am using e-reader as a general term. It's like kleenex, post-it, or hoover, while it's true that they are specific brands a majority of the public understands the general items that they represent and will understand your point without you having to specifically say tissue or vacuum.

This has not been an issue of contention in most every other post on this board, I wouldn't think an issue would crop up now (especially in the context in which it was used)

hou boy ! you have no idea. actually the whole "e-Reader is a format, not a generic word for reading device" controversy is a recurring theme around here. and it *can* get confusing. we've had several threads (and even more thread hi-jacks) about what to call the devices. personally i recommend "liseuse". i do agree with you though that in all probability, one day e-reader will become the generic term just like kleenex.

[HarryT]

In this case it was unclear whether you were referring to the "e-Reader" book format being dropped, or the Sony e-Book reading device. It's best to be clear about these things, don't you think? I agree, in many cases, it is clear what's being referred to, but in this particular case it wasn't at all clear (to me, anyway!) whether you were referring to a book format, or to a reading device, hence my post.

[manchuia]

I will use model numbers from now on then.

I figured it was clear because we were talking about company products not formats. If it were a format issue (concerning sony) I would use LRF vs AMZ (amazon) but as I thought it was clear I was only talking about the actual act of providing readers (or staying in the business of providing a reader) I didn't think that level of detail was necessary.

[HarryT]

No big deal.

[jerryleejr]

I spent most of the day looking at the amazon and sony website, Really at this point there are about 12 books I can not find for the Sony, and 10 total for both( These 10 are separate from the previous 12). Now that is not to say there wont be more as new releases come out. But I converted roughly 50 pdf's today to lrf nothing really current mostly classics but the process was about as straight forward as you can get. Good job Calibre and Kovid. So by the time I finish the books I have and the soon to be purchased one. The PRS 705 and Kindle 3.0 will be out. I just hope Sony stays with it. I have been burned by them before.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by jerryleejr

I converted roughly 50 pdf's today to lrf nothing really current mostly classics...

You did check the files available here first didn't you? :-)

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Just a note, manchuia, that e-Reader is owned by Fictionwise - nothing at all to do with Sony. I don't see Fictionwise dropping e-Reader - they've invested a lot of money in it and are heavily promoting it.

I entirely agree with you that Sony may well drop their eBook readers; they don't have a particularly good track record in that area (eg look at Minidisc).

Oh lord, yes. I used to purchase lots of Sony tv sets (the small ones that were multi-purpose), but not so much anymore because they dropped their whole line of multipurpose monitors.

They also have an awful track record with regard to repairs. Those times that I have sent something in for repair, they have said that cost of repairs is prohibitive, and that I should just purchase a new monitor.

So .... given a chance to buy anything Sony, I now think twice. They used to be my first choice, and I used to think a lot of their support. But, the company has simply changed over the past several years, and not for the better.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by basschick

actually the prices of other ebooks are quite competitive with the kindle - sometimes even better. check out booksonboard.com and fictionwise.com

the sony has a nice collection of books, and - unlike the kindle - they're not just sold at the sony ebook store; you can buy them at other stores. the sony was the first reader i ever put my hands on, but for me the cybook read the most formats with no conversion, including the formats found on free book sites, and there are lots and lots of mobipocket books. but what decided me on the cybook is that if it's lost or damaged, i can read all my mobipocket books on my computer or many pdas using the free mobipocket.

btw, converting to either the sony formats or to mobi is a lot easier than you think. i was doing both without even bothering to read the instructions, and it takes around a minute per book.

All of your non-DRM Mobi books will work on the Kindle. Can you buy DRM Sony books anywhere other than at Sony? I think you are slamming the Kindle when you say "unlike the Kindle". I think they are the same.

Dale