Sony closes USA and Canada ebook store

[Hellmark]

The death of their store doesn't bug me, since it has been years since I bought there, but the hardware was always great. The problem was that they pretty much gave up. They didn't compete on price, and they stopped trying to compete on features. When the Nook Glowlight came out, and the Paperwhite, Sony released the nonlighted T2. That was pretty much the nail in the coffin. Most people didn't want to pay more money for fewer features.

[SoCalReader]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

However, I'm more used to holding books (electronic or otherwise) in my left hand, and my hands are large enough that I can hold the Glo with all five fingers around the lower half (thumb on left edge, pinky supporting bottom edge, remaining fingertips around right edge), in which position I can tap the right edge of the screen with the tip of my middle finger to advance a page. Alternately, if I shift my grip so that the bottom left corner of the device rests in the center of my palm, with my pinky supporting the bottom edge and the other three fingers supporting the back, I can use my thumb to swipe left or right and thus page forward or back that way. (It actually ends up being more of a diagonal up/left or down/right swipe, but the Glo doesn't mind.) That's a bit looser grip than I prefer, though; it's as if the reader is a canvas and I'm using my hand as an easel - if I tilt my hand too much, the reader just falls right out. Regardless, if I switch from reading to interacting with menus, I always shift to a firm grip and do that two-handed, just because I need the extra control that gives me.

Thank you. I will try these techniques and offer them to SWMBO.

[MikeB1972]

Originally Posted by Rev. Bob

As for single-hand reading, in my experience that depends on how big your hands are and in which hand you hold the reader. If I held my Glo in my right hand, I could easily read one-handed, aside from the occasional need to go back a page; my thumb would naturally hover above the right edge.

You know you can change the tap zones right? I read left handed and have set the Glo up so a tap of my thumb on the left edge goes forward a page.

[benham]

My 505 has died. It will no longer hold a charge. Isn't that strange timing? Maybe putting all my books on it, overloaded it.

[Alfy]

Originally Posted by benham

My 505 has died. It will no longer hold a charge. Isn't that strange timing? Maybe putting all my books on it, overloaded it.

Yep. The end is nigh.

[ReadTillYouBleed]

Originally Posted by benham

My 505 has died. It will no longer hold a charge. Isn't that strange timing? Maybe putting all my books on it, overloaded it.

There is an item on Amazon, "Battery Replacement Kit for Sony PRS-505 with Installation Video, Tools, and Extended Life Battery". The customer comments there suggest that disassembly of this ereader can be tricky and the product seems to have worked for some commenters but not for all.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by benham

My 505 has died. It will no longer hold a charge. Isn't that strange timing? Maybe putting all my books on it, overloaded it.

Kobo had a deal last week on two of their machines. I remember because I blogged about it. Not sure if they are still on special...it was something like 20 dollars off one of them and 50 dollars of the larger display.

[benham]

Originally Posted by ReadTillYouBleed

There is an item on Amazon, "Battery Replacement Kit for Sony PRS-505 with Installation Video, Tools, and Extended Life Battery". The customer comments there suggest that disassembly of this ereader can be tricky and the product seems to have worked for some commenters but not for all.

That is certainly worth checking out, thanks! I'll check out the Kobos too, but probably wouldn't get one unless they were offering a good deal.

Getting re-acquainted with my Palm TX. I have about 70 books in the prc format but don't think I can download to it anymore. They have excellent ereader software.

[BearMountainBooks]

Originally Posted by benham

That is certainly worth checking out, thanks! I'll check out the Kobos too, but probably wouldn't get one unless they were offering a good deal.

Getting re-acquainted with my Palm TX. I have about 70 books in the prc format but don't think I can download to it anymore. They have excellent ereader software.

I checked my listing of ads (I'm an affiliate just about everywhere there are books...) B&N also has a Valentine special -- 20 dollar gift card with purchase of the Nook Glowlight. I checked and the kobo deal is still ongoing until 14th. You don't need a coupon -- the mark downs are in the store if you browse their selections.

I think the Nook deal is on the front page of B&N, but I could be wrong. You don't need a code for it either.

[ProfCrash]

I would not move from a SOny to a Nook. The Nook's memory is partitioned so that the vast majority of the memory is set aside for books purchased from BN. Anyone moving from a Sony is going to want to bring their books with them and the small amount of space will probably not be sufficient. Also, the most recent Nook Glolight does not have an SD Card Slot so there is no way to expand the limited memory.

[Bookworm_Girl]

I like the new Nook Glowlight as a basic reader, although it's missing lots of software features that the Kindles & Kobos have. I hate that they eliminated the SD card, and their partitioning philosophy has always super-annoyed me. However, if you don't want your whole library on the device, then there is still decent space on the main memory to have a large quantity of books on it. It's a good option for some people and lousy for others.

[Rev. Bob]

Originally Posted by MikeB1972

You know you can change the tap zones right? I read left handed and have set the Glo up so a tap of my thumb on the left edge goes forward a page.

I'm used to the way I've got it at present, and I prefer the "right means advance" setup. Makes more sense to me.

[benham]

Amazon has some PRS-505 for $39! New. The battery kit is $25.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by ReadTillYouBleed

The feature that made me favor Sony readers was their inclusion of high end unabridged bilingual dictionaries for several major European languages. I can't miss their ebook store, since I've never bought a book there, but given that its demise goes hand in hand with the demise of the readers themselves, it is quite a pity.

A terrible pity. I love my Sony Readers and was really disappointed that they didn't produce a Reader this year with a front-lit screen. My husband still uses my PRS-505. The dictionaries that they packed with their Readers were fantastic, and I loved the metal chassis on the older Readers, as well as their firmware. You will be missed, Sony!

[4691mls]

Originally Posted by ReadTillYouBleed

The feature that made me favor Sony readers was their inclusion of high end unabridged bilingual dictionaries for several major European languages. I can't miss their ebook store, since I've never bought a book there, but given that its demise goes hand in hand with the demise of the readers themselves, it is quite a pity.

Yes, the dictionaries are great. I know I will miss then when someday my Sony reader dies and I have to get something else. Hopefully that won't happen for a long time.