Kindle or Sony?

[anniep]

I have been watching ereaders for a while. I've finally decided it's time to bite the bullet and get one. It's between the Kindle or Sony. After I buy the ereader, if I later buy a reader from a different company, will I be able to still read the ebooks I have bought for my old reader? Also can I share books with someone who has the other reader (either Kindle or Sony).

Thank you

[grooks]

The Kindle has wireless for purchasing and downloading books. The Amazon ebook store is one of the largest out there and probably has more than enough content for your reading pleasure. Kindle also has a built-in dictionary for looking up words and there is a physical keyboard which makes the form factor a little larger than the other 6" devices.

Amazon tries to restrict you to buying books through their store. Any book you buy from Amazon cannot be read on any other device and cannot be shared unless a friend or relative also has a Kindle that is registered to the same account. You can purchase stores other than Amazon but they must either be DRM free or if they have DRM it will require removing the DRM before reading.

The Sony is a basic no-frills reader. It does not have a keyboard (except for 700) or dictionary or wireless for purchasing books. It has a smaller form factor compared to the Kindle.

Sony content can be purchased from their online store (smaller than Amazon) or from other retailers like Fictionwise or BooksonBoard. If you are in the US, ebooks borrowed from a local library can be read on the Sony. As with the Kindle, books purchased for the Sony cannot be read on the Kindle and sharing can only occur if another Sony device is registered to the same account. Books can be shared but the file has to be DRM free.

Each device has different file formats that can be used, but there are ways of either removing DRM or using programs to change the format of a particular book so it can be used on either device.

Ultimately your decision will depend on what you want to read, where you want to buy it from and what functionality you want to have in your reader.

If any of my information is incorrect or was not explained clearly, others will be around to clarify.

[wallcraft]

The Kindle's AZW (MOBI) format DRM is circumventable but Sony's LRX format DRM is not. This means that if later on you decide to buy a different brand of Reader AZW ebooks can be transferred (if you strip the DRM) but LRX ebooks can't. However, it is possible to own a Sony but only buy Adobe PDF or ePub ebooks which, like AZW, are circumventable. Also a small percentage of Kindle ebooks are in the TOPAZ format, which is locked to the Kindle. Finally, not everyone agrees that it is legal in the US to circumvent DRM for personal uses such as shifting to a new reading device.

You can share Kindle ebooks by associating them with the same account. One account can have up to 6 Kindles and/or iPhones, but this means that everyone has to buy from the same account. You can similarly share Sony ebooks on one account (6 devices, at least one of which must be a Windows PC), or Adobe PDF/ePub ebooks on one Adobe ID (6 devices, one must be a Mac or a Windows PC). The Adobe option is interesting because you can buy from multiple stores with multiple credit cards because the Adobe ID is managed by Adobe and is just used to download the ebook (not buy the ebook).

Rereading your question, I see that you asked about sharing between the Kindle and the Sony. This is only possible with DRM-free ebooks from, for example, Baen Books (webscriptions.net) and FictionWise. This is done by having the same ebook in two formats, but paying once for the multiple formats. In fact, any DRM-free ebook can likely be converted using Calibre for any reading device. Note, however that sharing DRM-free ebooks may be against the policies of the store you bought them from. My opinion is that if you share paper books with someone then sharing ebooks with the same person is very likely to be legal.

[Andybaby]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

My opinion is that if you share paper books with someone then sharing ebooks with the same person is very likely to be legal.

that's probably illegal actually. but its definitely not Immoral, which is what the law is supposed to be based on.

for books you buy, I would go with the kindle, if you want to read drm free books, I would go with the 505/700.

the kindle 2 is very nice and I think you will be happy with it.

some people have reported that sony has recently made its support department a bit better, which was the main reason I used to say go amazon, but now they are about even.

the sony devices can fit into my pocket, but the kindle cant, that's the only reason I went sony.

[BookishMom]

Originally Posted by anniep

I have been watching ereaders for a while. I've finally decided it's time to bite the bullet and get one. It's between the Kindle or Sony. After I buy the ereader, if I later buy a reader from a different company, will I be able to still read the ebooks I have bought for my old reader? Also can I share books with someone who has the other reader (either Kindle or Sony).

Thank you

Speaking to just the part of your question about which one (Sony or Kindle) -- I own a Kindle 1, and have been researching the Sony 505 quite a bit, but don't have hands-on experience with it. From my experience with the Kindle, and what I've learned about the 505, I think it boils down to this: if you plan on purchasing many of your ebooks, get a Kindle (due to their better store and instant downloading via Whispernet). If you plan on borrowing from the library more, get a Sony (505 or 700) due to its compatibility with DRM'd ePub and PDF ebooks.

I hope this helps.

[toomanybooks]

You can only share books with another reader of the same type that is registered to your Sony or Kindle account. Both allow up to six devices including your computer on your account.

I would recommend looking through the e book availability on the Amazon, Sony, Fictionwise and Books on Board e book stores. See which device has the most titles you want in a compatible format.

I love my Sony and would highly recommend it. But you would probably be happy with either reader.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by BookishMom

Speaking to just the part of your question about which one (Sony or Kindle) -- I own a Kindle 1, and have been researching the Sony 505 quite a bit, but don't have hands-on experience with it. From my experience with the Kindle, and what I've learned about the 505, I think it boils down to this: if you plan on purchasing many of your ebooks, get a Kindle (due to their better store and instant downloading via Whispernet). If you plan on borrowing from the library more, get a Sony (505 or 700) due to its compatibility with DRM'd ePub and PDF ebooks.

I hope this helps.

Definitely a good summary of content differences but there are pretty large functional differences between these devices that may matter. For instance, the Kindle has search, highlighting, clipping, annotation and dictionary lookup. Plus Whispernet brings Web and Wikipedia access as well as wireless delivery of content. The 700 has the search, highlighting and annotation (not sure about clipping) but no dictionary. The 505 pretty much just shows you books. The 700 and the 505 have better content organization than the Kindle, though.

[desertgrandma]

If you buy the Kindle, you have 30 days to return it, no questions asked, just pay return shipping.

Gives you plenty of time to decide if its for you.

On the Sony, I don't think you have that guarantee.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

If you buy the Kindle, you have 30 days to return it, no questions asked, just pay return shipping.

Gives you plenty of time to decide if its for you.

On the Sony, I don't think you have that guarantee.

It probably depends on the retailer.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Alisa

It probably depends on the retailer.

Yes, of course it does. And if you buy a Sony anywhere, that should be your first question......

"If I don't like it, for any reason, can i get my full purchase price back within the first 30 days??"

[InlawBiker]

All good advice. I wanted the Sony but got a Kindle 1 used off Craigslist, because I figured out how to convert library books to be compatible with it. And because it was cheap. I read most of my books from the library and buy the occasional book.

I was asked recently which one to get, and I said the same thing as BookishMom - Sony for library books, Kindle if you're buying most of your books. I don't mind doing the manual conversion thing but I don't recommend it to non-techies.

Personally I'm really happy with the Kindle. I'm the first to admit it's not a necessary device - the library is full of paper books I haven't read. But I read a lot more now, probably twice as much as I used to just because it's so easy to get more books.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by InlawBiker

All good advice. I wanted the Sony but got a Kindle 1 used off Craigslist, because I figured out how to convert library books to be compatible with it. And because it was cheap. I read most of my books from the library and buy the occasional book.

I was asked recently which one to get, and I said the same thing as BookishMom - Sony for library books, Kindle if you're buying most of your books. I don't mind doing the manual conversion thing but I don't recommend it to non-techies.

I consider myself 'non-techie'. However, I found the conversion of library books to be seriously do-able. Not on my own......with help from those here.

I think its all in the desire to learn.

[BookishMom]

Originally Posted by InlawBiker

I was asked recently which one to get, and I said the same thing as BookishMom - Sony for library books, Kindle if you're buying most of your books. I don't mind doing the manual conversion thing but I don't recommend it to non-techies.

It sounds like we're both on the same page with this. I was able to figure out Igor's scripts to convert the PID so my Kindle can host the MobiPocket-format library books, but I've noticed that many more books are being offered in just Adobe formats, not MobiPocket (especially newer titles). It seems that OverDrive may be phasing out Mobi format, or that libraries are just choosing Adobe and not Mobi because it's requested more often. That's why I'm seriously considering the Sony, since I don't want to strip the DRM on the Adobe formats to be usable on my Kindle. (Just a personal choice, not trying to judge or push my values on others.)

Personally I'm really happy with the Kindle. I'm the first to admit it's not a necessary device - the library is full of paper books I haven't read. But I read a lot more now, probably twice as much as I used to just because it's so easy to get more books.

I love my Kindle, too. I read a lot more now than before, and my eyes appreciate the adjustable fonts.

[F1Wild]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

If you buy the Kindle, you have 30 days to return it, no questions asked, just pay return shipping.

Gives you plenty of time to decide if its for you.

On the Sony, I don't think you have that guarantee.

I purchased my Sony from Fry's Electronics and they have a 30-day return policy, with receipt. I hated the Sony Cover/Lightwedge and returned it to Fry's after I tried using it and they had no problem refunding my money ( I got cash, but had an option for store credit). I guess the return policy depends on where the device is purchased.

[HarryT]

What does the store do with all the returned devices? Resell them?

Here in the UK you can generally only return something if it's faulty, not merely because you don't like it .