Breaking news!!!!! Sony to sell Epub only

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by krischik

Did BeBook not do precisely that only from Mobipocket to ePUB? Remember: you don't have to update!

And they could just convert all LRX into ePUB and let you re-download.

BeBook didn't have a choice. Mobipocket made it either or but not both. So BeBook took the route of moving forward with ePub instead of staying behind with Mobipocket. Sony does not have to drop LRF/LRX support to have ADE with ePub/PDF.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

BeBook does not have an ebook store.

I agree that conversion of all titles by Sony from LRX to ePub is a possible approach. I can't see any advantage to this for Sony over providing LRX reading firmware.

The advantage is that since there are lots of devices that do and will support ePub via ADE, Sony can sell ePub to people who do not own a Sony Reader. This means Sony can be a bigger player then Amazon in the long run since more people will go there to get content.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by Moejoe

Save it for later, it is but a gentle ribbing

Good show!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by griffonwing

Holy Crappola! This thread started 10:48pm last night (according to my time), and by 9:50am, has already reached the bottom of Page 10! This thread is on fire!

As for the subject, this is great news indeed! I greatly applaud Sony in this decision, and look forward to Amazon countering it with the same. I've never seen any sense or reason to say "you can only read this book on my device, so if you want to read this book, buy my device".

Sony has seen the light. Will Amazon open their eyes? Or will they turn their faces and wiggle back into the darkness...

Sony saw the light when they first adopted ADE. Now Sony sees the entire sun with this switch to selling ePub and lower prices. Amazon beware.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Sony saw the light when they first adopted ADE. Now Sony sees the entire sun with this switch to selling ePub and lower prices. Amazon beware.

Hopefully they are using protective eye-wear, so they do not go blind from the sheer brilliance.

Where did they mention that they would have lower prices? And did they put forth any numbers?

- Ahi

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The 500 may be an issue, due to the small size of its ROM. ISTR that Sony said that the ePub firmware wouldn't "fit" into the 500 when they released the firmware update for the 505.

Yes, I remember this as a point of discussion, which may have been one of the reasons they offered a Trade-in Program.


Don

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by corroonb

Why would Sony remove LRF support from the 505/700 as has been suggested in this thread?

If they did this, 4000 ebooks on MR would be useless to most users.

What I would really like to see is a firmware update for the 500 that supports ePub. I know it would remove LRF/LRX from the 500. But it would give users a choice of what they want without having to get another reader of some kind.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ahi

Hopefully they are using protective eye-wear, so they do not go blind from the sheer brilliance.

Where did they mention that they would have lower prices? And did they put forth any numbers?

- Ahi

Read the following thread and you'll see the press release on the lower eBook prices.

Adding to mounting tensions in the publishing industry over the pricing of electronic books, Sony Electronics announced Tuesday evening that it was lowering prices for new and best-selling books in its e-book store, to $9.99 from $11.99.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...054#post544054

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by ahi

Hopefully they are using protective eye-wear, so they do not go blind from the sheer brilliance.

Where did they mention that they would have lower prices? And did they put forth any numbers?

- Ahi

They've already dropped NYT bestsellers to 9.99 on their ebookstore. Not to mention coming out with a $200 device.

I agree with Jon. Coming out with ePub, and dropping the ebook prices and device prices, they're going to kick some ass.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Read the following thread and you'll see the press release on the lower eBook prices.

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...054#post544054

Thanks.

But $11.99 to $9.99 leaves me deeply unimpressed. It's like when electronics stores offer a 10% discount (with taxes, not included in the price, being 15%)... oh, gee, I only have to pay 5% more on top of the ticket price? You're so generous! Wheeee!!!*

A move in the right direction though, I suppose...

- Ahi

* Why am I on a swing all of a sudden? Don't ask!

[corroonb]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

What I would really like to see is a firmware update for the 500 that supports ePub. I know it would remove LRF/LRX from the 500. But it would give users a choice of what they want without having to get another reader of some kind.

As long as it's optional for both the 500 and 505/700, I don't see the problem.

But if it's a choice between improved EPUB support and LRF, then I'll be waiting a few years at least.

[purl4peace]

Originally Posted by wallcraft

I don't regard the page numbers as annoying enough to stop using ADE, but they can disrupt the flow of reading. I don't understand why Adobe does not include a option to toggle the page number display on and off. This is one of the many indications that mobile ADE isn't designed to be used. It is designed to appeal to the producers of ePubs, not to readers of ePubs.

So I only have one book that is ePub (which I hadn't read yet so I just pulled it up to see what all the "hoopla" is about.

While I wouldn't say that it is "unreadable", it certainly isn't as "purdy" as the lrf/lrx books I have.

That said, PERHAPS the reason that they are waiting until later this year to make the switch is because they are making changes to the way books are formatted etc is to correct the minor issues associated with the page numbers etc. I have to suspect that landing Sony as a customer is a big deal for the Adobe ePub folks so I suspect they will have to keep Sony happy in terms of producing good quality content and software. If they flip Sony the bird and produce crappy books and software, that will be bad for Sony and they will be very vocal about it.

Just my "hopeful" view of the situation.

On a side note -- I hope and pray the new reader that is intended to go head-to-head with the Kindle is a DX size as well. The 5"-6" reader has been done to death. I would like another larger format reader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by ahi

Thanks.

But $11.99 to $9.99 leaves me deeply unimpressed. It's like when electronics stores offer a 10% discount (with taxes, not included in the price, being 15%)... oh, gee, I only have to pay 5% more on top of the ticket price? You're so generous! Wheeee!!!*

A move in the right direction though, I suppose...

- Ahi

* Why am I on a swing all of a sound? Don't ask!

When you purchase eBooks from Sony, you don't have to pay any sales tax. Sony's price drop is to keep competitive with Amazon. And given that more devices will handle ePub than AZW, this is a very smart move on Sony's part. So they will be able to sell to anyone who has a compatible reader or a computer that runs OS X or Windows. That will be more possible customers then Amazon could possibly have.

[ahi]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

When you purchase eBooks from Sony, you don't have to pay any sales tax. Sony's price drop is to keep competitive with Amazon. And given that more devices will handle ePub than AZW, this is a very smart move on Sony's part. So they will be able to sell to anyone who has a compatible reader or a computer that runs OS X or Windows. That will be more possible customers then Amazon could possibly have.

I did not mean to suggest Sony added sales tax--just that the size of the price drop was underwhelming.

$10 is still about twice what I think is reasonable for the average light-reading ebook.

- Ahi

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by corroonb

As long as it's optional for both the 500 and 505/700, I don't see the problem.

But if it's a choice between improved EPUB support and LRF, then I'll be waiting a few years at least.

Sony does not need to remove LRF from the 505/700. The problem is that the ROM in the 500 is not large enough to support both ePub & LRF. So for the 500, it would be an either or and the user would then get to make the choice. I'm not saying this is what will happen, but maybe. My guess is that Sony will make the 500 trade-in offer valid for the 600 and/or 300.