8+ Readers in comparison

[HarryT]

That's right; although it's not called that, it's basically a data roaming charge.

If an when Amazon open "local" Kindle stores (and they've said that they'll be opening one in the UK, for example) we can expect that surcharge to be dropped for the "host" country.

[ould]

Originally Posted by JanieB

OMG, you're right! How did I miss that before?? I compared price of books on Sony vs Amazon, but I must not have been signed on to Amazon at the time. I think I read about the additional $1.99 fee when it first became available here, but then they dropped the fee. They must have just bundled that fee into the price of the books.

I read somewhere that Amazon was having troubles working out a deal with the local cell phone providers/networks. I guess in order to keep the "free" whispernet, they have to recoup their costs somehow.

Also note that some books(a few I have checked lately) can only be bought in the US. I know with B&N you can add a US address to your existing account and they don't seem to care but I tried that with Amazon and got an email almost right away saying I have to send them proof of US address. Unfortunately with Kindle you are stuck with Amazon so you may run into trouble with certain books. At least with an EPUB friendly reader you have many more options of where to buy your books Sony, Kobo(Canadian, I believe it is an offshoot of Chapters so you should be safe here albeit at a higher price even though our dollar is currently at par or very close), B&N etc etc. I too am Canadian and in the same boat, looking for a new reader. I currently have an older Sony PRS-500 which I really like but I need something new to appease my gadget addictions. I am keeping my eye on the Onyx/BeBook Neo and Pocketbook 302/602 at the moment. Both support many formats epub included, and both have wifi. Also both have touchscreens which I don't care for but as long as there are hard buttons for turning pages then it's cool with me. I basically just wanna read.

kevin

[mgmueller]

Originally Posted by ould

Also note that some books(a few I have checked lately) can only be bought in the US. I know with B&N you can add a US address to your existing account and they don't seem to care but I tried that with Amazon and got an email almost right away saying I have to send them proof of US address. Unfortunately with Kindle you are stuck with Amazon so you may run into trouble with certain books. At least with an EPUB friendly reader you have many more options of where to buy your books Sony, Kobo(Canadian, I believe it is an offshoot of Chapters so you should be safe here albeit at a higher price even though our dollar is currently at par or very close), B&N etc etc. I too am Canadian and in the same boat, looking for a new reader. I currently have an older Sony PRS-500 which I really like but I need something new to appease my gadget addictions. I am keeping my eye on the Onyx/BeBook Neo and Pocketbook 302/602 at the moment. Both support many formats epub included, and both have wifi. Also both have touchscreens which I don't care for but as long as there are hard buttons for turning pages then it's cool with me. I basically just wanna read.

kevin

Concerning the "proof of US address": Did you add another (US) address to your non-US account? Or did you try to open a new account, solely for US?
Maybe it's the add-on, that's making them suspicious?

[JanieB]

So after reading all the responses and after further consideration, the Kindle 2 is out. I've decided on a Sony. Supporting ePub, better looking (that's important to me too), and not being tied to Amazon are all good things. Now I just have to decide which model. I'd get the 900 in a heartbeat if it was available here. But it's not. I can order from B&H and they'll ship it to me without using a middle man, but the added expense of shipping (the most expensive kind), and customs/brokerage/tax, not to mention having to track it down to wherever the UPS holding facility is to pick it up (I won't be home for delivery, and they won't deliver to my business address) means it'll cost at least $200-$250 more than the 600.

I'm really leaning towards the 600. I can walk into any store and take it home with me. Plus it's more within my budget. I'm thinking I can use it for a couple years, then think about getting whatever the newest best thing is at the time.

[frozennorth]

Sony 600 usually sell for $299 in Canada now. Best Buy and Futureshop offer a pack deal of $319.99 which includes the regular cover (separate cost $39.99). This deal seems to be limited to the red colored one.

If you should order at sonystyle.ca you can save $25 by using coupon code CJFMPLC25 which is good for orders of $250 or more. That would bring the total to $274.99 (without cover).

[angelad]

Originally Posted by JanieB

So after reading all the responses and after further consideration, the Kindle 2 is out. I've decided on a Sony. Supporting ePub, better looking (that's important to me too), and not being tied to Amazon are all good things. Now I just have to decide which model. I'd get the 900 in a heartbeat if it was available here. But it's not. I can order from B&H and they'll ship it to me without using a middle man, but the added expense of shipping (the most expensive kind), and customs/brokerage/tax, not to mention having to track it down to wherever the UPS holding facility is to pick it up (I won't be home for delivery, and they won't deliver to my business address) means it'll cost at least $200-$250 more than the 600.

I'm really leaning towards the 600. I can walk into any store and take it home with me. Plus it's more within my budget. I'm thinking I can use it for a couple years, then think about getting whatever the newest best thing is at the time.

Interesting, Sonys are also good units. Give us a review when you get it.

[JanieB]

Ooh, good to know about the coupon code! Sonystyle.ca offers free shipping too. I have noticed that the sale is only good until March 25, and all the retailers I've seen are offering it at the same price. Now I have to decide whether to save myself $25 and a trip to the mall, or go to the store and be reading a book the same day.

[frozennorth]

Maybe you can talk them into giving you the same deal.

[JanieB]

I was thinking of going up to the Sony store today, and seeing if they'll give me a $25 gift card for their book store. The US units have this included, but not the Canadian ones. I'm not very good at bargaining, but it can't hurt to ask. $25 off the price, or a gift card..either way will make me happy.

[HarryT]

You know that the Sony has perhaps the poorest ePub support of any device on the market? If you plan to read primarily ePub books, I really would think twice about buying a Sony, unless you go for the PRS-900, which does have better support than the other models.

[frozennorth]

The 900 isn't available in Canada. But the ragged right in epubs and lack of continuous zoom for pdf on the 600 led me to order the Onyx Boox early this month. A better screen also helped. The only advantage the 600 has is better dictionary support and it's prettier.

[JanieB]

You know that the Sony has perhaps the poorest ePub support of any device on the market? If you plan to read primarily ePub books, I really would think twice about buying a Sony, unless you go for the PRS-900, which does have better support than the other models.

The 900 isn't available in Canada. But the ragged right in epubs and lack of continuous zoom for pdf on the 600 led me to order the Onyx Boox early this month. A better screen also helped. The only advantage the 600 has is better dictionary support and it's prettier.

Oh sure...now you tell me! Haha...I just went out today and got the Sony 600. I'm sure I'm going to love it...whenever it finishes charging so I can play with it! Now I have a million other questions, but this probably isn't the right thread to ask them in. I'm off to search the rest of the forums!

[ould]

Originally Posted by mgmueller

Concerning the "proof of US address": Did you add another (US) address to your non-US account? Or did you try to open a new account, solely for US?
Maybe it's the add-on, that's making them suspicious?

I did open a new account with a US Address, using a different email address even. I think they went by my IP Address to determine I was connecting from Canada so you may be able to get around it by using a VPN or Proxy service. Too much trouble if you ask me.

Kevin

[JanieB]

Here's my first impressions of my new Sony 600. Please keep in mind that this is my very first ereader, and I'm reading my very first book on it. I wasn't even able to play with one in the store before I bought it. Plus, I just bought it 2 days ago, so I haven't had much time to experiment yet.

Pros:
It feels good in my hand. It seems to fit nicely, the page turning button is in just the right place for me. It looks good too, and it's nicely weighted in my hand.

Cons:
It froze as soon before I even had a chance to start using it. And later it froze again. It didn't come with a user manual (grumble grumble...NOTHING has user manuals anymore!), just a quick start guide. The Sony site doesn't have the user manual findable by menus. Luckily, my husband has great google-fu and was able to find it for me. Once reset, everything seemed to work ok. At least until it froze again.

I'm not too happy about the fact that recharging requires that the computer it's connected to can't go into a sleep/hibernation mode.

The software isn't very user-friendly, and looks a bit dated. Buttons with no labels, buttons in odd places, buttons that make things disappear. For some reason, some of my books go into my Sony library and some into my ADE library. I haven't figured out if I can/how to combine all the books into one yet. Maybe that's what Calibre is for. Haven't gotten that far yet. I made the mistake of moving the files after downloading, but luckily I was surfing here and discovered my mistake before reconnecting the reader. I got the links reconnected, and so that was fine. But still...just another way the software doesn't work well.

Reading: The screen contrast isn't bad most of the time, but I have a hard time in low-light situations. I know it's supposed to be easy on the eyes, but mine felt strained after an hour or so last night, even after I increased the font. I really wish it had a contrast more like a paper book, with a soft white background, rather than medium gray. The screen glares, as everyone has said. It's not too annoying in a well lit place, but not so good last night when I needed more light, but got too much glare when I turned it towards the light. I guess that's why they sell the book lights with the covers.

It didn't take long at all to get into the book and forget about the medium. My biggest problem was trying to decide which book to read first! 20 brand new books all at once, I was in heaven!

The book I chose to read first was a PDF format. The small font showed a full page, but the print was sooo tiny! I prefer reading that particular book at a medium font, or large for low lighting. The issue with enlarging the font though is that it messes with the formatting. I have blank lines where there shouldn't be, and no lines breaks where there should be. Conversations, where each character's dialogue should be on a separate line, are all in one line. It messes with the flow of my reading a bit. Hopefully other formats won't do that.

Pro/Con??: It's heavy. It feels good to hold it in my hand, but I was surprised at the weight of it. Part of my reasoning for buying an ereader was to eliminate carrying books in my luggage when I travel. It'll eliminate the bulk of carrying multiple books, but I'm not sure it'll eliminate much weight.

Despite the longer cons list than the pros list, I really love it and I'm glad I got it. I was just a bit surprised that the technology doesn't seem quite as up-to-date as other electronic gadgetry.

(sorry this turned out so long...hopefully it'll help someone else looking for an ereader.)

[SneakySnake]

ooh,

I was on the verge of ordering the 600 when I read this thread. Now I have to look again. i had never heard of the Onyx but it sounds good. Prolly wont work in Oz though. Back to the drawing board and rethinking the $$$ to spend on an Iliad...