Sony v Kindle

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jersysman

I'll be interested in the thinking and comments in this thread. I am in the market for another ereader and am keeping my options open. So come one...come all and give your opinions!!!

The advantage of the Sony is the fact that it uses ePub books, which have much richer formatting possibilities than the Mobipocket format used by the Kindle.

The disadvantage of the Sony is ALSO the fact that it uses ePub books, and the hoops you have to go through to buy one are tedious in the extreme compared with the ease of buying Kindle books.

Yer pays yer money and yer takes yer chance. Both the Kindle and the Sony are very good readers indeed; I'm sure most people would be very happy with either.

[Ditchleyportrait]

the kindle wifi + 3g is $139. end of story. the sony 650 costs either a lot more or a little more and has no networking capabilities.

besides the obvious, amazon offers free document conversion and free sending (over wifi) with your .kindle email address.

lastly, it costs twice as much for a batt replacement from sony than from amazon.

the sony may look better according to some, but if you're concerned about looks, then get the white kindle. i only say that because it may be a bit more uncommon than the graphite. the graphite color is handsome.

the iriver story hd is a better device imo than the 650 if only because it has native support for google books and a superior screen. oh, and wifi.

also, no ac adapter included for the sony

[pidgeon92]

Honestly, I'll never understand why it always has to be one or the other.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by pidgeon92

Honestly, I'll never understand why it always has to be one or the other.

It doesn't. I have both a Kindle and a PRS-350.

[Phogg]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It doesn't. I have both a Kindle and a PRS-350.

If Kindle had Epub support (or Sony had Topaz) would you still?

[OldGunbunny]

Originally Posted by HarryT

It doesn't. I have both a Kindle and a PRS-350.

Step back 25 years and look at the personal computer software market. Dominated by several companies, all of the software (word processing, spreadsheet, graphics, database) had different file formats and user interfaces.

Microsoft introduced Word for Windows and Excel for Windows (what's now referred to as Microsoft Office).Almost overnight the standardized user interface and ability to read and write most standard file formats offered by the Microsoft products destroyed the market for Word Perfect, Lotus, Harvard Graphics and Borland's dBase (not to mention Ventura Publisher and Adobe PageMaker).

Any manufacturer who uses that model and seamlessly integrates most of the standard ebook formats into one form factor will own the market. I have most of this functionality in an Android powered tablet now. Double tap a book and it opens in either the Kindle for Android reader or the ePub reader. There are still some minor presentation differences, but it's far better than using two different readers.

I'd prefer eInk for reading, rather than a color LCD screen as well as longer battery life, but I find myself using the tablet more than the Sony reader now.

[carpetmojo]

Originally Posted by DiapDealer

I'm certainly Ok with it, but my Kindle seems to be taking it all rather badly.
Baby.

[Salgueiros]

I am not surprised. The Sony is better. And the price difference is justified in my opinion. I would not buy a Kindle even if it is cheaper. A good book has a lot of value for me, the same for a book reader... i am very much satisfied with my readers and the quality of the Sony are worth the price. End of story.

[SensualPoet]

It strikes me as odd that Which? took an entire year to get around to these comparisons with the Kindle 3 WiFi and Sony PRS 650 -- which have been shipping since Sep last year. And both are expected to release updates in the next 60-ish days. It's at that point that a direct comparison makes more sense.

It is worth noting that "have one of each" is a decent option ... best of Amazon bookstore and epub library books etc ... but a Kindle+Kobo combo or Kindle+Nook combo is barely more expensive than a single Sony PRS-650.

[holterzoff]

sony and quality? a joke, if you say that apple or amazon are building quality ok, but sony?

[TheLongshot]

Originally Posted by holterzoff

sony and quality? a joke, if you say that apple or amazon are building quality ok, but sony?

I don't think it is a joke at all. My 505 is a quality piece of hardware that still works well to this day.

[din155]

I would have stayed with kindle had they introduced touch screen. I was always afraid of breaking those keys. But most of my books are from Amazon because many times it is the cheapest and sometimes the only place where I can find the books I am looking for.

din

[Salgueiros]

Originally Posted by holterzoff

sony and quality? a joke, if you say that apple or amazon are building quality ok, but sony?

Nope, not a joke. Sony has the best quality ereaders i tried. And i tried a lot of them.

[din155]

Originally Posted by Salgueiros

Nope, not a joke. Sony has the best quality ereaders i tried. And i tried a lot of them.

this!

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by HarryT

I have both a Sony and a Kindle. Each has its strengths and weaknesses. To assess them as pretty much equal is, I think, fair, although I find myself using my Kindle a lot more, primarily because I prefer its user interface.

Do you have a 650 or just a 600? The 650 is just so much nicer. Upgraded interface although similar. But the IR touch works so much better then the touch layer. Plus the Pearl screen without a touch layer is so nice.