Glad to see Amazon Kindles gradually overtake Sony Readers

[mrkapawutzis]

Originally Posted by grooks

I know you can throw any variable you wish into the above equation but I wanted to look at the scenario of an average consumer.

I think the variable you have to take into account when it comes to the "average consumer" is marketing and familiarity with product. When an average consumer thinks of ereaders, more than likely they'll think of Kindles either because of familiarity (maybe a friend or relative has one, maybe they are already existing Amazon customers and see the big Kindle ad whenever they log on) or because of media coverage, note this article and it's lack of mention of any ereader store except Amazon & B&N. Articles like this are not unusual. Whenever an article is written about ereaders or online bookstores Sony is rarely if ever mentioned. I think for an average consumer looking for an ereader they either settle for what they know or settle for what's available and since Sony doesn't have much of a brick and mortar presence either they're probably only considered by knowledgable ereader fans.

[Halk]

Sony need to come out with a no frills PRS device priced at less than the Kindle. Or match the Kindle price and have wifi.

However something doesn't add up with Amazon.

Why would they be subsidising the cost of the units (or selling them with little or no markup) in order to benefit from product sales yet they have steered away from allowing other devices to use the Kindle format? Would it not make more sense for Amazon to firmware upgrade Kindles to support ePub and Kindle/mobi, or sell books in ePuib in the Kindle section of their store? Either that or the price of screens has dropped down drastically and Amazon are the first company to adjust pricing... Whatever it really is, it doesn't seem to add up with Amazon selling the Kindles so cheap.

[rkomar]

Originally Posted by Halk

Sony need to come out with a no frills PRS device priced at less than the Kindle. Or match the Kindle price and have wifi.

However something doesn't add up with Amazon.

Why would they be subsidising the cost of the units (or selling them with little or no markup) in order to benefit from product sales yet they have steered away from allowing other devices to use the Kindle format? Would it not make more sense for Amazon to firmware upgrade Kindles to support ePub and Kindle/mobi, or sell books in ePuib in the Kindle section of their store? Either that or the price of screens has dropped down drastically and Amazon are the first company to adjust pricing... Whatever it really is, it doesn't seem to add up with Amazon selling the Kindles so cheap.

Not really. The only way they can recoup a loss on the hardware is to sell you your books, so they try to lock you in to their store. Making it easy to get books from somewhere else means less sales for them, and less chance to make up what they lost on selling you their e-reader. The whole scheme hangs on Kindles being the most popular dedicated e-reader, which it is so far.

[Bic]

This survey of 2800 people may explain the difference in forum members.
http://www.investorplace.com/24258/a...reader-market/

Current (as of Nov. 8) device used to read e-books:
47% use a Kindle
32% iPad
5% Sony
4% Nook

Which of the following eBook Readers will you most likely buy in the next 90 days? (asked November 8)
42% iPad
33% Kindle
18% Other/Don't KNow
4% Nook
2% Smart phone with e-reading capability
1% Sony

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20...#ixzz16umqs9SL

[sun surfer]

Wow, I'm part of 1%!

[mrkapawutzis]

At least Sony is beating the Nook

[hnoto]

As far as someone asking for a firmware upgrade, I say, PLEASE DON'T! The last time Sony did any upgrades it screwed up everyone. My 505 is working fine, thank you very much...don't mess with it! It works so well that I bought a 300 for my teenager. I'm part of the 1% on cnet too! Troll, Away! We Sony-owners are just happy as clams, and are busy READING.

[elemenoP]

I must say, I'm actually shocked that Sony beat the Nook!

eP

[astra]

I am proud to be a part of paltry 5%.
It is such a wonderful feeling to be different, to be special D

[bluerfoot]

I own both and I am sad to agree with op. You simply have to have a level of customer service and I feel Sony has failed here. I emailed them (could not find phone support for ereaders) and found they could not even follow the simple email which clearly outlined my issues. So twice I attempted to use their "live chat" and twice waited 45 minutes with no response whatsoever. I needed 5 inches so I got a 305 and touch is nice. But I can totallhy understand why Sony went from a leader to an afterthought.

[elemenoP]

It's true: the Kindle and the Nook are Amazon's and B&N's flagship products, respectively. On Amazon, the Kindle is the #1 product by far, and certainly B&N has put a lot of work into developing and marketing the Nook. Whereas with Sony, what percentage do you think ereaders are, in their business? 1%? 5%? This really shows in the treatment we get from the company, I think.

[lack]

@elemenoP: Sony said around midterm this year that they are going to compete with other ereader maker in quality.
Then they release *50 readers, which I believe support their previous statement.
But I have to admit they are not serious with advertising, and as much heard, customer service.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by Bic

This survey of 2800 people may explain the difference in forum members.
http://www.investorplace.com/24258/a...reader-market/

Current (as of Nov. 8) device used to read e-books:
47% use a Kindle
32% iPad
5% Sony
4% Nook

Which of the following eBook Readers will you most likely buy in the next 90 days? (asked November 8)
42% iPad
33% Kindle
18% Other/Don't KNow
4% Nook
2% Smart phone with e-reading capability
1% Sony

Read more: http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-20...#ixzz16umqs9SL

Ask the same in europe and Kindle will be on the bottom of the list.

Comparing iPad and Kindle/Sony is just silly when it comes to eBooks.
I know a few people who bought an iPad but not for reading.
Why not add Dell, HP, Asus and other PC's to the list ? You can read eBooks on them too.

[elcreative]

And don't forget the lowest power, portable, random access reading device... the paperback...

[=X=]

Originally Posted by SeaBookGuy

I have a Kindle v. Sony related question ...
Never having used a Kindle, I'd like to know what difference (Sony's) PDF reflow makes in that regard? It's supposed to be one of Sony's strengths.

SONY'.s reflow is one of those things where some swear by it and other hate it. I fall in the hated it camp. There reflow is horrible and does not compare to PC or smartphone reflow. When it came to reading PDFs if I could not get the PDF to look nice with soPDF(where any 6" device would look fine) then I would resort to reading the PDF on my smartphone.