Sony Reader to Kindle 2?

[Seant018]

Interesting, I had a 500 until it broke. Now I am looking to buy a new reader and i'm leaning heavily towards a Kindle 2. This thread only makes me want to buy a Kindle even more

People always mention the speed of the 500, and while it was my only reader, I never really had any problems with it. It will be interesting to see how much of a difference I see when I finally get around to getting a new reader.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by S.Canton

I've tried both the 500 and the Kindle 1 and greatly prefer the Kindle, but it really boils down to personal tastes.

To be honest, the 500 vs the K1 is not a fair comparison. The 505 vs the K1 is a fair comparison.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by bwaldron

I thought that the Kindle 1, Kindle 2, and Sony 505 were using the exact same screen. Different controllers, so they differ in refresh speed and number of grey shades.

(The device casing color and screen font also impact perceptions of the screen.)

Rumor has it that some early K1's may have been using leftover stock of the pre-Vizplex screens.

[Seant018]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

To be honest, the 500 vs the K1 is not a fair comparison. The 505 vs the K1 is a fair comparison.

That just means us 500 users switching to something like a K2 will be even more happy

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Seant018

That just means us 500 users switching to something like a K2 will be even more happy

I do think people switching from the 500 to a K2 with the Vizplex screen will be happy. Most of that will be because of the Vizplex screen. Then after that will be because of the better ergonomics and lighter, thinner device.

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I went from the Sony 500 to the Kindle 1. I feel the Kindle is a much better machine and the content selection and pricing is infinitely better. However, I had zero $ investment in the Sony store. I had got all my ebooks either free or in a format that I could liberate and convert for the Kindle.

The screen and speed was a big improvment over the 500... but the 505 does have the same Vizplex screen which the Kindle has.

BOb

That was pretty much my experience.

After my 500 broke I decided to order a Kindle because I really wanted to see what all the fuss was about. I was really hesitant about spending that much money on a reader, which ironically was exactly how I felt when I first bought my 500. I was very happy with my 500 and liked it much more than I expected to after I learned the tips and tricks. It was the same way with the Kindle except even more so because of all the features the Kindle has that the Sony doesn't. Features like search and dictionary support are important to me and are what really make e-books unique and worthwhile.

Not only that, much of the content is more open if you decide to crack the DRM. LRF DRM hasn't been cracked yet. People talk about Topaz but I haven't seen a book I wanted in Topaz format yet. I'm kind of a picky reader, though. I think you'll find that most bestsellers and a lot of good literature is in AZW (aka mobi) format. You can tell by looking to see if the file size is listed, which I hear means it's probably AZW.

What you really have to decide is if the extra features are worth the money to buy two Kindles. I agree with the poster above who said you might want to order one for your wife first and see if you like it. If you are content with your Sony and, like me, never buy e-books with DRM that can't be cracked, you will have no problem sharing content. And here's a little tip for your mobi formatted ebooks: if you use the mobi2oeb tool in Calibre, zip up the resulting files, and rename the extension to EPUB, then most ePub readers will be able to read it. Granted, it's not real ePub due to a slightly different file structure and I don't know how the Sony Reader will handle such files but you could potentially have a very easy solution for sharing content between the Kindle and the Sony. Does anyone here have experience with trying this on the Sony? As JSWolf pointed out, though, you will always be able to convert ebooks without DRM into LRF.

Epub books are also easy to convert into mobi by simply using the OPF file in MobiCreator. Just open the file, click build, and you have yourself a very nicely formatted mobi e-book.

[kovidgoyal]

calibre directly converts mobi to epub and vice versa, so interoperability is a snap.

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by kovidgoyal

calibre directly converts mobi to epub and vice versa, so interoperability is a snap.

Well, there you go. I haven't fiddled around with Calibre too much since epub and mobi output was installed. I just tried it out, though, and it supplied a very well-formatted ePub book. I've been loving this program since I had my 500. If you decide to keep your Sony, and even if you don't, this is an invaluable tool.

And thanks for your work, Kovid.

[RPribyl]

I was wondering about this as well so I'm glad this thread is here The only thing I worry about with the Kindle is the format seems much more difficult to convert. I love being able to put just about any format on my 505 using Calibre.

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by RPribyl

I was wondering about this as well so I'm glad this thread is here The only thing I worry about with the Kindle is the format seems much more difficult to convert. I love being able to put just about any format on my 505 using Calibre.

Calibre now supports mobi and the Kindle so you can dispense with that concern. It really is not as difficult as you imagine to convert books for the Kindle even without Calibre.

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by RPribyl

I was wondering about this as well so I'm glad this thread is here The only thing I worry about with the Kindle is the format seems much more difficult to convert. I love being able to put just about any format on my 505 using Calibre.

There are a bunch of easy ways to convert books to Mobi format for the Kindle, including Calibre, Mobi Creator, Mobi Perl & Book Designer.

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by RPribyl

I was wondering about this as well so I'm glad this thread is here The only thing I worry about with the Kindle is the format seems much more difficult to convert. I love being able to put just about any format on my 505 using Calibre.

One thing to appreciate about Sony is that they've really done a service to e-books by providing a device with so many different format options. But converting to Mobi for Kindle is really not that difficult. In fact, because Mobi is such a popular format, there is a lot of support for it. I find it easier to convert to than LRF and just as easy to convert to as ePub. Mobi and ePub are very easy to go back and forth between, as well, as discussed above.

[europas_ice]

Most of these posts have focused on the screen differences noticed upon switching. Would anyone care to comment on how it is switching from sony's buttons and size to the kindle's button layout and size?

[RPribyl]

Originally Posted by SpiderMatt

One thing to appreciate about Sony is that they've really done a service to e-books by providing a device with so many different format options. But converting to Mobi for Kindle is really not that difficult. In fact, because Mobi is such a popular format, there is a lot of support for it. I find it easier to convert to than LRF and just as easy to convert to as ePub. Mobi and ePub are very easy to go back and forth between, as well, as discussed above.

I didn't realize it was possible to convert for the Kindle. I guess I thought Amazon had found a way to make it impossible. Now I'm kind of sad as I'm wishing I would have bought a Kindle Oh well I still love my Sony!

[Traffic Goddess]

I have to admit that I'm loving the touchscreen in the sony 700. It would be perfect if only the ebook library software would work. Switching to Kindle would probably be less stressful to me at this point. I don't know why Sony didn't just stick with the online format of downloading books from the site. *sigh*