Reasons I'm not getting a Kindle but the Sony 505 instead.

[rosie_james]

I am getting the Sony Reader PRS-505 for Christmas and, since I am a newbie, I have some questions that I hope someone can help me with (sorry if this is a bit long).

I have gone to the Sony Style Store website but am more confused than ever. First: Is it true that you can only load Sony books onto the reader? Can you download e-books from another source onto a memory card or stick?

2nd: About the memory card or stick: when I go to the manual it tells you that you can use a memory card or memory stick or memory stick in duo. But then it has footnotes that say something about "copyright" not supported or protected or something like that. Can you use any kind of external memory or just a certain type?

Thanks for any help you can give this "newbie."

[astra]

Originally Posted by rosie_james

I am getting the Sony Reader PRS-505 for Christmas and, since I am a newbie, I have some questions that I hope someone can help me with (sorry if this is a bit long).

I have gone to the Sony Style Store website but am more confused than ever. First: Is it true that you can only load Sony books onto the reader? Can you download e-books from another source onto a memory card or stick?

2nd: About the memory card or stick: when I go to the manual it tells you that you can use a memory card or memory stick or memory stick in duo. But then it has footnotes that say something about "copyright" not supported or protected or something like that. Can you use any kind of external memory or just a certain type?

Thanks for any help you can give this "newbie."

Welcome to MobileRead Forum!

You can upload to your reader RTF/TXT files from any source.
You can also upload books in LRF - sony propreitary format (I believe it is the best format for Sony Reader).
LRF files might be obtained from different sources. Such as Sony Connect bookshop, MobilRead Forum - a huge selection of books made by members of this forum (these books are from free domain) and any other ebook online store that sells LRF formated books.
I believe there is another site, don't remember the name off the top of my head that sells ebooks in PDF format. The books are formated to suit reader's 6" screen.

I cannot comment a lot about external memory. I never used one before.
Generally, you can use Secure Digital cards up to 2G and memory stick up to 8G. It is better to purchase a well known brand, such as SanDisk or Lextar. You can upload on this memory the same reading material that you upload to internal. There are is no difference besides that reading from cards drain battery a bit faster,

[Astropin]

Originally Posted by rosie_james

I am getting the Sony Reader PRS-505 for Christmas and, since I am a newbie, I have some questions that I hope someone can help me with (sorry if this is a bit long).

I have gone to the Sony Style Store website but am more confused than ever. First: Is it true that you can only load Sony books onto the reader? Can you download e-books from another source onto a memory card or stick?

2nd: About the memory card or stick: when I go to the manual it tells you that you can use a memory card or memory stick or memory stick in duo. But then it has footnotes that say something about "copyright" not supported or protected or something like that. Can you use any kind of external memory or just a certain type?

Thanks for any help you can give this "newbie."

Check around this site and you will figure out where you can get books from. Not totally sure about the memory either but I do know that the built in memory will hold approximately 160 books.

[spooky69]

I'm going to be getting a Sony Reader PRS-505 for Christmas, and I feel pretty confident with that choice. Here's a list of reasons why:
-The side buttons on the Kindle. I said this in another thread, but they seem like a monumentally bad idea. I don't want to be restricted to only holding the reader by the bottom 1/3, even if doing so isn't that awkward. They clearly had the idea of trying to make the most important buttons on the machine really big and "user-friendly," without giving any thought to the actual usability of their final design. This is the one factor that will *have* to change before I'd even consider buying a Kindle.
-The price of the PRS-505 is more reasonable, although I feel that the extra features on the Kindle do justify the price difference. They're both pretty expensive no matter what, though.
-I simply won't be buying many books for my device if they're available for free somehow, so the online book selection isn't much of an issue at the point. For those who do plan on buying a lot of books, I could definitely see where Amazon would have the upper hand.
-I don't want/need most of the the extra features on the Kindle, though it's nice that they're there for those who have it. I'm getting the PRS-505 as device to read books and other texts, and it seems like the Reader is going to meet that requirement quite well, perhaps even better than the Kindle does currently.
-No matter what, the PRS-505 will continue to perform its primary function right out of the box, with no foreseeable degradation of this functionality for the life of the device itself. The wireless connectivity of the Kindle, however, will always be in a state flux, whether it gets better, worse, or unusable altogether. If the Kindle's internet capability or its web-based services disappear, a major part of its functionality will be lost. Even if the Reader is discontinued by Sony, I feel like the usability of it will probably still continue to be refined by users creating their own hacks for it, and, at worst, will simply stay the same.

Now, there are some points of concern with the PRS-505 compared to the Kindle:
-Sony. It doesn't seem like their support for the Reader so far has been that great, although they hit most of the big targets with the hardware upgrade from the 500 model. Despite that, everything I've read points to some serious complacency in regards to the firmware. Why are there still no separate folders for different MP3 books/albums? It seems like that would be an extremely easy feature to implement, but it's the type of thing that will continually be overlooked in the "it works well enough as it is" type of development environment that can plague software projects. The limited available font sizes and lack of alternate fonts also seems like a pretty straightforward issue that hasn't been addressed despite plenty of complaints. I'm really hoping that the Kindle's release and subsequent popularity will be a big kick in the ass for Sony. The thoroughness of their firmware updates for the 505 and how well they address the demands of the users will be the biggest factor in determining whether I buy a newer model if/when I purchase a new e-book reader after this one. Despite my worries about Sony's abilities to hone their product, it also remains to be seen how well Amazon can accomplish the same task. People (both members of the press and casual observers) reacted extremely negatively to the design of Kindle's original "prototype." What changes did they make to the design in the year it took them to release the device? They added some tacky-looking and pointless embossing to the rubber pad on the back. This doesn't speak well to Amazon's ability to listen to what the consumer wants.
-On the other hand, the dictionary is really an extremely desirable feature. I'd hope that Sony (or the users) could find a way to get a Dictionary on the Reader (pretty doable, although I imagine the interface for this feature would be a little cumbersome without the scroll wheel) then I'd have virtually no reason to want a Kindle.
-Amazon simply has a better ability to offer content for their device. I mentioned that the usefulness of the Kindle's internet connectivity will change throughout the life of the product, but no matter what, it will probably continue to function for longer than the Sony's Connect book store. I saw on here that they'll probably be starting a partnership with Barnes & Noble, so we'll see how that changes things.
-Faster page turns on the Kindle. Hopefully this is something that could be optimized on the 505 with future firmware updates.

Anyway, a lot of that was pretty long-winded, but I'm really looking forward to getting my Reader. I'm still open to getting a Kindle at some point, but they'll have to do a lot with the next version to show that they've learned from people's input. If they don't, somebody else is sure to come out with a much sleeker, more well-rounded internet-capable reader.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by spooky69

-On the other hand, the dictionary is really an extremely desirable feature. I'd hope that Sony (or the users) could find a way to get a Dictionary on the Reader (pretty doable, although I imagine the interface for this feature would be a little cumbersome without the scroll wheel)

The dictionary interface that the Gen3, iLiad, etc, have is perfectly adequate and could be used with no problem at all on the Sony. I do agree that lack of dictionary support is now a major failing of the Sony - it's the only "big-name" bookreader which doesn't have it.

[edsohsmith]

The dictionary interface that the Gen3, iLiad, etc, have is perfectly adequate and could be used with no problem at all on the Sony. I do agree that lack of dictionary support is now a major failing of the Sony - it's the only "big-name" bookreader which doesn't have it.

It does seem like a strange decision not to include this functionality on the Sony. I would hope that a firmware upgrade would remedy this, but I am certainly not holding my breath.

[rflashman]

Originally Posted by spooky69

-No matter what, the PRS-505 will continue to perform its primary function right out of the box, with no foreseeable degradation of this functionality for the life of the device itself. The wireless connectivity of the Kindle, however, will always be in a state flux, whether it gets better, worse, or unusable altogether. If the Kindle's internet capability or its web-based services disappear, a major part of its functionality will be lost. Even if the Reader is discontinued by Sony, I feel like the usability of it will probably still continue to be refined by users creating their own hacks for it, and, at worst, will simply stay the same.

My Sony Reader's connect software stopped working when I upgraded to Vista 64, with no plans from Sony to support me. So I don't entirely agree with this assesment. Also, if the Kindle's wireless stops working, isn't it the same as the Sony Reader?

[spooky69]

Originally Posted by rflashman

My Sony Reader's connect software stopped working when I upgraded to Vista 64, with no plans from Sony to support me. So I don't entirely agree with this assesment. Also, if the Kindle's wireless stops working, isn't it the same as the Sony Reader?

That does fall under the "Oh, Sony." category there. I guess you'd have to hope that the user base would come up with a solution for this one, or that the release of the Kindle will prompt Sony to clean up all these loose edges. Since I haven't had a chance to use the software yet, is it similar to iTunes where you can't even browse the books without installing the software on your computer? It's becoming a major pet peeve of mine when people copy the style and functionality of that miserable piece of shit. When I hear about the "syncing" that the Sony transfer software does, it makes me roll my eyes, and I might not be getting the device if there weren't a user-created alternative. I have an iPod Shuffle 2nd gen and it turns out that there's a 12kb program that replaces the entire transfer functionality of iTunes, allowing me to simply drag and drop files onto it an explorer (much better then having them "synced" onto the device and into a cryptic file tree with names like MX4CL.mp3, give me a break) and then create a new playlist for the device with the click of a button, more than halving the time involved in getting an album on the Shuffle and allowing me to removing three separate start-up processes added by iTunes. If iTunes is the standard for what a portable media device's transfer/media store software is supposed to be like, I suggest we move back to the days when everything had a plug.
Anyway, I actually read about another thing on here that made me a little concerned about the viability of the Reader, which is that a lot of users are getting very short battery life (around 500 page refreshes over only a few days) from the PRS-505. I can definitely live with that if it doesn't get better, but it's just another thing that you have to hope that Sony can (will?) fix with a firmware update.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by HarryT

The dictionary interface that the Gen3, iLiad, etc, have is perfectly adequate and could be used with no problem at all on the Sony. I do agree that lack of dictionary support is now a major failing of the Sony - it's the only "big-name" bookreader which doesn't have it.

I absolutely agree. It was one of the big draws for the Gen3 and the Kindle for me over the Sony. I really hope they add this and fix that Vista problem that was mentioned. I'd like to see robust competition continue and for that Sony needs to keep up. I love my Kindle but I think we're all served better by having more than one strong player in the market. Plus I know there are folks that probably have a good deal of Sony content and I'd like to see them still have good readers down the line.

[ctitanic]

The "No computer Needed" is a big feature for me. And that's why I'm thinking about getting the Kindle. The access to the web at all time is a big plus more when you don't have to pay for it!

[Ervserver]

I hear there are wireless SD cards now, wonder if these would work with the Sony units

[Astropin]

Originally Posted by ctitanic

The "No computer Needed" is a big feature for me. And that's why I'm thinking about getting the Kindle. The access to the web at all time is a big plus more when you don't have to pay for it!

You don't have to pay for 24hr web access? I find that hard to believe.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by Astropin

You don't have to pay for 24hr web access? I find that hard to believe.

I think the model they are working on now, since the Kindle is not particularly suited for websurfing, is that people will mostly be using the access to get content. It isn't free. Nothing's free. It's factored into the price. Amazon has been quite frank that getting content and Wikipedia search will stay this way. Websurfing itself is "experimental" and they have been clear that they may start charging for that. If most Kindle users are like me, they probably won't have to. Websurfing on this thing is dreadful. It's primarily a reader, not a tablet pc. Whispernet is great for what it was made for: getting your content immediately even when you're away from home and doing searches. These two features are a great added value, IMO. I've used it in a pinch to browse the web, but my smartphone does a better job.

[tsgreer]

Originally Posted by Alisa

I think the model they are working on now, since the Kindle is not particularly suited for websurfing, is that people will mostly be using the access to get content. It isn't free. Nothing's free. It's factored into the price. Amazon has been quite frank that getting content and Wikipedia search will stay this way. Websurfing itself is "experimental" and they have been clear that they may start charging for that. If most Kindle users are like me, they probably won't have to. Websurfing on this thing is dreadful. It's primarily a reader, not a tablet pc. Whispernet is great for what it was made for: getting your content immediately even when you're away from home and doing searches. These two features are a great added value, IMO. I've used it in a pinch to browse the web, but my smartphone does a better job.

I agree, I have used it to browse some reviews for books I was considering buying and have read several Wikipedia articles, but the actually websurfing stuff I leave to my computer. I do love being able to read the reviews and wikipedia stuff, so that's awesome...

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Astropin

You don't have to pay for 24hr web access? I find that hard to believe.

Believe me - web surfing on an eInk device is not something you'd want to do .