Why should I get a Kindle over a Sony Reader?

[aceflor]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Then I stand half corrected or I half stand corrected.

As Woody would say "whatever works for you"

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Then I stand half corrected or I half stand corrected.

I usually sit while I am online.

BOb

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I usually sit while I am online.

BOb

Well aren't we just Mr. Perfect.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Well aren't we just Mr. Perfect.

Erm.... ok.

BOb

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by crutnacker

Looking at both and trying to make up my mind. I like the Sony's design, access to more open formats, and the fact I can actually try before I buy. I like Kindle's access to a larger library of new books (for cheaper) and cheaper price.

What do you think? If you were picking between the two, what pushed you toward or away from Kindle?

The Kindle has a 30 day trial period that allows you to really put it through it's paces. You can order the Kindle take it to the store where you want to test the Sony and compare them side-by-side (or as much as you can in a store). If the Kindle doesn't work for you, you'll only be out the shipping cost. If you buy any Kindle books, you'll still be able to read them on your computer or iPhone/iPod Touch.

You might even want to download the User Guides for both devices and read through them for more details on features.

What's your reading style? If you're a library user and have access to one with a good supply of the books you like, then the Sony or any of the ebook readers that read Adobe DRM will work for you. if you're a book buyer living in the U.S., Amazon may offer a larger selection of your preferred titles at better prices. I know there are some folks getting great deals with Fictionwise, but I'm lazy and find it too much work to use their club discount system.

If you're comfortable, all of the Amazon .azw book can be stripped of DRM and converted for use on other devices (not true of Topaz books at this time).

You may even want to wait until after CES to see all the million other options soon to be available (I'm only stretching that number a little bit).

[desertgrandma]

What Daffy said, except I'd like to add that how much actual hands on experience do you really get in a store?

With Amazon's guarantee, you can take your time, and use the outstanding customer support for any questions that aren't answered in the already downloaded user guide.

But........the end choice is yours. There is no "right or wrong" answer here. They are both great devices.

[eeenmachine]

I've just ordered a Kindle DX after owning a PRS-505 for about 2 years. My reader is great when I can find the books I want to read on the Sony store, or am able to convert others with Calibre but otherwise its a headache to fill up with exactly the books I want. The DX should handle much of the PDF material I already have without much conversion. I love the build quality and battery life of the Sony, but I have to make sure to plan out my reading when going on a trip since I can't really add new books on the road. Additionally I'm a heavy iPhone user and am looking forward to picking up right where I left off if I'm stuck somewhere without my Kindle.

[steeljam]

I bought the Sony eReader PRS 600 for my wife to read in bed with, while I am not disturbed by the light on (apart from the light in the cover). I convert all formats so far encountered to the .epub format required om my iMac (under Leopard), but do lose the titles ( they come as Untitled by Untitled ) on the display and some anomalies in text sometimes.

[catsittingstill]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Let me guess - Sony isn't out to corner the book *and* ebook market either.

I'm sure if Sony had the opportunity, they would nobly refuse. That's why they don't have their own e-book store, for example.

Originally Posted by AprilHare

It shouldn't have happened ONCE. Can't wait for it to happen again..

(looks puzzled) So Sony's Rootkit doesn't bother you but Amazon's 1984 is a big deal? At least everyone who lost 1984 got a refund and no hardware damage was done. How'd that work out with Rootkit?

Originally Posted by AprilHare

Yeah, we're all sheep anyway. Why should we care where we are shepherded to when Amazon have such nice reassuring faces?

There may be some sheep here, I suppose. However I have books from Baen, Fictionwise, Manybooks and Mobileread on my Kindle. Kindle doesn't restrict me. But I concede it might be a bad choice for you.

Sure the Amazon store is more convenient to use on Kindle. Amazon's more convenient to use on the Internet in general because they pay a lot of attention to that. The fact that their site also has the best prices (most of the time, and given that I'm in the US) is a nice bonus. But I haven't had any trouble looking around and choosing for myself where to get my books.

If you like Sony, that's okay. But the wonderfulness of your Sony would be more apparent if you spent some time telling us the good things about your Sony, rather than bad things about the Kindle that aren't even correct.
---------------------------------------------------
Regarding the original post, I'd just like to say that I originally chose Kindle because 1) at the time Sony was out of the question because their store didn't work with Macs, 2) it was the only reader that would search within books, search across books, highlight and annotate (the iLiad let you mark, including handwrite, on documents, but cost twice as much, and I got the impression it couldn't search). 3) it had access to the Internet, always and for free (granted it's a slow and clunky browser and mine doesn't work outside the US but it was miles better than anything else I could afford, and I live in the US) 4) it had wireless access to the Amazon store, which had generally the best prices and the best selection (apparently not true if you are outside the US). Wireless access to manybooks and mobileread and fictionwise were happy surprises.

Drawbacks of Kindle (stuff I wish for and don't have yet)
I would love it if my Kindle could read ePub. I would love it if it could read more e-book formats and handle more kinds of DRM than just Amazon's. I would love it if it could search across pdf files (it will be able to read pdf files when my turn in the Whispernet upgrade queue comes up, or when I get impatient and download the new firmware--but Kindle 2 and DX can search within a pdf file, but can't search across pdf files, for reasons I do not understand). I *really* wish it had folders or tags for organizing content. Yes, I know calibre does something similar with the metadata, but WAAAH I want to be able to do it on the fly on my Kindle.

So there you go. Perhaps someone with a Sony will tell us the good and bad things about their Sony. Which model of Sony are you contemplating?

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

It shouldn't have happened ONCE. Can't wait for it to happen again..

Really? You're right it should not have happened once but why would you want it to happen "again"? What will that do for you?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Really? You're right it should not have happened once but why would you want it to happen "again"? What will that do for you?

I expect it is so that she can say, "See I told you so..."

BOb

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by AprilHare

It shouldn't have happened ONCE. Can't wait for it to happen again..



Yeah, we're all sheep anyway. Why should we care where we are shepherded to when Amazon have such nice reassuring faces?

I love this argument that calibre (a third party open source tool) makes up for all the manufacturers shortfalls. Conversions aren't necessarily perfect and I'd love you to show me how to convert DRMed EPUBs without breaking a) the law and b) the MobileRead rules. Planning to conveniently borrow a EPUB ebook anytime soon with your Kindle? No idea if you can borrow a DRMed PDF..

Yeah, after all we can rely on Amazon to have every book on the planet, in Mobipocket - hang on, isn't that what Amazon want you to do?..

AprilHare, I'm not understanding your antagonistic approach to the Kindle. Why can't they both co-exist peacefully, without the attacks? You "can't wait for it to happen again"? Will it give you such pleasure to that?


The only sheep I see around here are those who choose not to learn from past mistakes on the part of the ebook readers, and fail to back up their investments. If that means stripping drm, then so be it.

Please allow those newbies looking for advice here to judge on the merits of the different readers without such a 'fanboy' attitude.

[Boston]

I own a Sony PRS-505 and Kindle 1. Because neither are the current versions, I can't compare what you are looking at but I understand your dilemma.

I love the Amazon store and buy all of my books from there.
It has the selection, convenience and pricing I want. I buy books more than I buy any other commodity, and I am too lazy to go to multiple places looking for the best price and selection I want.

I eventually bought my mom a Kindle and registered it to my account so we can share books. She loves the convenience and I could never see her going through the effort of connecting her reader to her PC, etc. But that's an added benefit of the Amazon store, not the primary reason I shop there.

But the Sony has become my primary reader
I bought the Sony because I was tired of converting books from the library and other free sources. But surprisingly, I now find myself converting all of my Kindle books (except for the occasional topaz ones) for the Sony.

The funny thing is that:
I prefer the font and spacing on my Kindle.
I prefer the larger page turn keys on my Kindle
I find the Kindle easier to hold

Yet, the Sony seems to be the reader I grab simply because I can slip in my handbag without even knowing its there. Plus I can keep all of my books on it organized into collections (I read a lot of different types of books depending on my mood). Without some sort of folders, I found keeping more than 5 pages of books on the Kindle too much to keep track of (but that's just me)

That being said, I still turn on my Kindle each night to get the NY Times News and AP Entertainment updates.

If I was buying a first reader today, I would still probably go with the Kindle. Simply because of the convenience, pricing and selection of the Amazon store. But I really like having both. I know I probably just added to your confusion

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

Unfortunately, if you live outside the US, the selection of books in the Kindle Store is rather poor. Pick pretty much any best-selling author you care to name, and it's not available outside the US. No Dan Brown; no Steven King; no Terry Pratchett - the list goes on and on.

But if you go with a Sony, you can get a lot more choice outside the USA. Dan Brown, & Terry Pratchett do exist in ePub. But not in AZW or Topaz. I don't think Stephen King exists in eBook outside the USA.

[mdibella]

Originally Posted by Boston

The funny thing is that:

Yet, the Sony seems to be the reader I grab simply because I can slip in my handbag without even knowing its there.

Interesting you should say that...I have a Sony 505 and a Kindle 2 (and a Kindle DX) but the one that usually goes in my purse is the Kindle 2.

The DX is great, large screen, but it's heavy and too big to carry around.

The Sony is smaller but it's heavier than the K2.

K2 is lightweight and fits nicely into my purse. I bought some Kindle BookArmor off the Amazon website so it doesn't get crushed or dusty.

I'm really anxious to see the new iRex reader, if it ever gets released. It might have a nice combination of larger screen and yet smaller (overall) device. Amazon will insist on wasting all that space with that dumb keyboard...

If only Amazon supported ePub, I honestly think the war would be over because I really do think the K2 is the most comfortable one to actually use.