Aussies rejoice - e-book hardware on sale in this country

[Dajala]

If they do price their hardware over the $500 mark then market forces will take effect and Aussies will import Sony Readers. Simple.

By the way, a Sony Reader shipped via BongoUS.com will cost approx $420 at the current exchange rate.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Dajala

Well, to import a Cybook Gen3 to Australia costs about $550 for the basic reader with no cover (or $695 for the deluxe pack). Those are the prices direct from the cybook site. It really sh*ts me that they add an extra 50 euros to the price because it is outside Europe, before the postage charge is even applied.

To import a Sony PRS-505 from US eBay is around $460.

So if the new reader is an e-ink based device priced under $500 I will buy immediately. If it is over $500, I'll probably choose the Sony option.

B&H has the 505 for $289 (US) and then you add shipping onto that. It's a lot cheaper then going Ebay. B&H does ship out of the USA.

[Dajala]

Jon, great find -- I've searched for a site that would ship directly to Australia before and not found one.

A reader for $289 plus the cheapest shipping option of $41.15 = 330.15 USD = 373.053 AUD.

Looks like Dymocks will need a very good price to get my $$$.

Thanks again!

[sianon]

Originally Posted by Dajala

Jon, great find -- I've searched for a site that would ship directly to Australia before and not found one.

A reader for $289 plus the cheapest shipping option of $41.15 = 330.15 USD = 373.053 AUD.

Looks like Dymocks will need a very good price to get my $$$.

Thanks again!

The problem with purchasing a Sony for Australians, is that you are very limited in content that can be purchased. You need an American credit card to purchase from Sony's store. There is a range of content available from Fictionwise that is multi format and they have now included Sony's format. However these titles tend to be older work or by unknown authors (some of whom have some good stuff). Of course there is always the classics which are available in any format and FREE and are always well worth reading. For me, the lack of content led to my replacing the Sony with an Iliad which I absolutely love despite it's high price.

[Dajala]

I understand the limitations and restrictions of the Sony store.

While Americans are restricted by the DCMA, Australia's recent copyright law overhaul means that Aussies can purchase content such as secure MS reader files, convert them to regular html and read them on a device of their choosing. As long as these 'conversions' are not distributed then no law has been broken.

This means that much more content than PG texts and Multiformat type books are available for legal use on a device here in Australia.

I'd still prefer it if the Cybook was sold by Dymocks so the full range of Mobipocket titles available could be utilised. That would be so much easier.

[mrsp]

Bearing in mind that a Sony would cost $373 and a NAEB cybook $423, $500 would be my limit too. Maybe cybook's direct price for Aussies is designed to encourage us to buy the local unit. If the manufacturer happens to be some other company, its also going to have that effect.

[sianon]

Originally Posted by Dajala

I understand the limitations and restrictions of the Sony store.

While Americans are restricted by the DCMA, Australia's recent copyright law overhaul means that Aussies can purchase content such as secure MS reader files, convert them to regular html and read them on a device of their choosing. As long as these 'conversions' are not distributed then no law has been broken.

This means that much more content than PG texts and Multiformat type books are available for legal use on a device here in Australia.

I'd still prefer it if the Cybook was sold by Dymocks so the full range of Mobipocket titles available could be utilised. That would be so much easier.

I wasn't aware that our copyright laws meant that we could legally convert MS Lit files. That does widen the range of material quite dramatically and makes the Sony reader a reasonable option.

[Dajala]

Ummm, actually I may have been a little hasty with that post. I wasn't able to find the legislation, but the wikipedia page says 'it strengthened anti-circumvention laws, for the first time making it illegal in Australia to circumvent technical measures used by copyright owners'.

[Champ2244]

Originally Posted by sianon

The problem with purchasing a Sony for Australians, is that you are very limited in content that can be purchased. You need an American credit card to purchase from Sony's store. There is a range of content available from Fictionwise that is multi format and they have now included Sony's format. However these titles tend to be older work or by unknown authors (some of whom have some good stuff). Of course there is always the classics which are available in any format and FREE and are always well worth reading. For me, the lack of content led to my replacing the Sony with an Iliad which I absolutely love despite it's high price.

The company http://www.bongous.com also has a personal shopper service. Basically, they will pay for the product with their own money (US credit Card) and you pay them for the product. Once it is shipped to them, they will forward it to Australia along with any other items you may have purchased in the US. Great time to do this with all the deals on US products you can get online. Why limit yourself to only Sony products.

[i, Podius]

Has there been any news on this? I was going to get a Sony Reader for my birthday when this news came out and I decided to wait... but it's been well past 10 days and I'm getting a little antsy. I can't see anything on the Dymocks website about it and I'm starting to think that "He did not yet know its full functionality" would imply it's not really coming any time soon, despite the claim to have it available by Christmas.

So has anyone heard anything?

[Nate the great]

Originally Posted by i, Podius

Has there been any news on this? I was going to get a Sony Reader for my birthday when this news came out and I decided to wait... but it's been well past 10 days and I'm getting a little antsy. I can't see anything on the Dymocks website about it and I'm starting to think that "He did not yet know its full functionality" would imply it's not really coming any time soon, despite the claim to have it available by Christmas.

So has anyone heard anything?

Skip to the last few posts:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...hlight=dymocks

[i, Podius]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

Skip to the last few posts:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...hlight=dymocks

Ah, interesting. I should have searched the forums, my bad. Thanks Nate!

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by Dajala

Ummm, actually I may have been a little hasty with that post. I wasn't able to find the legislation, but the wikipedia page says 'it strengthened anti-circumvention laws, for the first time making it illegal in Australia to circumvent technical measures used by copyright owners'.

Format shifting books, magazines and periodicals was made legal, however.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Blue Tyson

Format shifting books, magazines and periodicals was made legal, however.

Can you cite a source for this? I'm not being difficult, but I did try look for a while (noting that for "DRM" substitute "TPM" - Technological Protection Measures - for more effective Googling ). The closest I came to reference was in the "exceptions", specifically the "interoperability between computer programs" part. If you can point me to something that doesn't rely on me having to (again try) reading the legislation itself, that'd be just grand.

Cheers,
Marc

[Dajala]

Blue Tyson, I read the legislation as the format shifting being legal, while removing DRM being illegal.

My question is that if I own a paperback, can I (legally) have an ecopy from the darknet in my possession even though I didn't do the 'format shift' myself?

The way I see it, I've bought the book and the author has the royalty and I have the book in my preferred format. Win-Win.