Thoughts on Kindle 2.0?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by mukoan

Excuse my ignorance... but can you actually connect the Kindle to your PC and transfer files across manually,

Yes! You can actually connect via USB.

BOb

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by mukoan

Excuse my ignorance... but can you actually connect the Kindle to your PC and transfer files across manually, or are you limited to their whispernet thingy? To me half the fun of ebooks is playing around with format conversion and transferring your own personal documents, etc...

Oh yes, thats why as long as you have a US based credit card and mailing address tied to your amazon account, you can upload from anywhere in the world that you have internet access.

[wallcraft]

Originally Posted by mukoan

can you actually connect the Kindle to your PC and transfer files across manually

Yes. Also, Calibre supports MOBI output and Kindle 1 USB syncing, so if you are using Calibre the switch to a Kindle should be relatively easy.

[JTravers]

Originally Posted by ahintz

And I have loved being able to check out books from the library - that is going to save me some money in the long run, even if some of the Sony book prices are higher then the Amazon prices.

I probably would have sold my Sony Reader and gotten a Kindle2 if not for this very feature. Getting free ebooks from the library is the best deal going; and now with libraries beginning to use the EPUB format, readability on Sony Readers is only going to get better.

[mukoan]

Yes! You can actually connect via USB.

BOb

Oh, cool... then I think I like the kindle2. I personally believe that so long as you can manually transfer files to a device, then format is not so much of an issue. There's always a way around formats. I've yet to find a book I couldn't read on my sony.

So for me I guess it's all down to looks. I do like the thin-ness of the kindle... but apart from that... the sony still looks sexier...

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Rats! You found something you sort of liked. Somebody screwed up.

Actually there are several things I do like about the Kindle that I wish Sony had, such as the dictionary lookup. But in my scale of things, that it is a closed system (and that Amazon is a closed ebookstore) far outweighs the positives. Plus, even though PilotBob (and probably others, too) thinks I am being FUDdy about this, I really do fear Amazon's monopolistic bent.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by rhadin

Actually there are several things I do like about the Kindle that I wish Sony had, such as the dictionary lookup. But in my scale of things, that it is a closed system (and that Amazon is a closed ebookstore) far outweighs the positives. Plus, even though PilotBob (and probably others, too) thinks I am being FUDdy about this, I really do fear Amazon's monopolistic bent.

I'm curious. Did you buy your Sony before or after it had the ADE support? Still think Sony is just as "closed" as the Kindle. Meaning, I don't think the Kindle is closed because I can buy books for it other than at Amazon. (Its as closed as the iPod.)

BOb

[jmorton]

I think the new Kindle is a definite improvement over the first version in terms of appearance and ergonomics, but only a small improvement. It doesn't make me want to trade in my 505.

[Sonist]

The new Kindle looks like it actually went through a design process, with real designers, as opposed to being cobbled together in a back room full of engineers, like the old one.

The dictionary feature is a definitely a huge plus for the Kindle. I am also assuming you can search within books (and PDFs?) like with the PRS700.

I still would have preferred an on-screen keyboard or a slide-out, but Amazon is definitely not Apple. Nevertheless, I am tempted....

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Sonist

The new Kindle looks like it actually went through a design process, with real designers, as opposed to being cobbled together in a back room full of engineers, like the old one.

The dictionary feature is a definitely a huge plus for the Kindle. I am also assuming you can search within books (and PDFs?) like with the PRS700.

I am tempted....

You do understand its always had that?

[Ervserver]

I watched a video on Engadget, the dictionary has been greatly improved on the Kindle II

[Sonist]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

You do understand its always had that?

I do. I've always thought it was a great feature, I just found the design of the old Kindle too objectionable to look at for extended periods of time - I like prettier faces

Thanks for pointing it out, though. Anyway, I just ordered one.

[Red Stapler]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm curious. Did you buy your Sony before or after it had the ADE support? Still think Sony is just as "closed" as the Kindle. Meaning, I don't think the Kindle is closed because I can buy books for it other than at Amazon. (Its as closed as the iPod.)

BOb

Bingo. If Sony would support Mac users and allow us to sync and update firmware, I would have bought the 505 a long time ago. Their response when I emailed their support department as to whether they would release Connect for Mac is that the DRM they use is incompatible with OS X.

[rhadin]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I'm curious. Did you buy your Sony before or after it had the ADE support?

Bob,

I received the Sony as a surprise Christmas gift before it had ADE support. I then found and joined MR because I was thinking about returning the Sony and getting a Kindle. (This was the holiday season when Kindle 1 was released.) I knew very little about ebooks until I found MR.

Anyway, I ended up keeping the Sony for several reasons. First, a friend did get a Kindle and I got a chance to actually see it in person. Rightly or wrongly, it made me think of reading off my laptop. Second, rumors were flying on MR that Sony would be adding ADE support and PDF reflow, which would open it up in a forthcoming firmware update, which was supposed to be "imminent." Of course, the rumors had the firmware update coming sooner than it really did. Third, it became obvious to me as a then ebook newbie that I had lots of other choices for buying books for my Sony than by buying from the Sony bookstore or in the Sony DRMed format. It was not clear that books for the Kindle could be purchased at bookstores other than Amazon.

So, in a nutshell, I received the Sony as a gift a few months before it had the firmware update.

Let me add this: Until I joined MR and really learned about ebooks and the different formats, I assumed -- very incorrectly -- that (a) all ebooks were in PDF format and (b) that regardless of ebook device owned, one could read any ebook on any ebook reading device. I suspect that many buyers of ebook reading devices who haven't come on MR make the same assumptions. These assumptions are important because when choosing a device the uninformed, as I was, make the choice based on factors other than accessibility to ebooks and choice among ebook stores. People buy a Kindle because they have had a good customer relationship with Amazon or trust the brand; similarly with Sony here in the U.S.

[sirmaru]

I still prefer my Sony Reader to Kindle 2.0. Sony allows me to read the books on my Dell 24" HD LCD Monitor and Kindle does not.

If Kindle had supplied PC software for reading like Sony does, then I would have switched for the price advantage with the Kindle books.

Most of my reading is on my PC with just supplementary reading on the Sony Reader.