Kindle ....2....?

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Angst

I'm in the same boat. I compared the Sony PRS-505 to the Kindle 1.0 and bought the Sony, without realizing the Kindle 2.0 was on the way. I'm still happy with my decision. The only reason to prefer the Kindle, (for me anyway), was the availability and price of books. Fictionwise has relieved much of the pain.

If Sony abandons the reader, I can add my PRS-505 to my collection of Betamax tapes. Given Sony's sales and marketing overseas, (in relation to the US), they seem to be flooding the foreign markets prior to the arrival of Kindle. I suspect the Sony reader will survive for a year or two at least.

I hope it lasts a lot longer than that. No one should have to pay a couple of hundred dollars for something that only works a year or two. That's just wrong on so many levels.

[Angst]

Originally Posted by T1ND3R

Great vision. I would like to see that, too. I'm sure it'll get there, but not for a long time.

I don't even care if the book has DRM, as long as it has the DRM I am using.

The problem is not DRM, but that DRMs are not compatible or transferable. It really sucks that in order to read all the books I would like to, I would have to purchase or download about 5 different readers, none of which support all the DRM methods. This lack of interoperability is the primary driving force behind deDRM products. If you could read all the books you purchase, regardless of method of DRM, you would have no reason to try to hack DRMed books.

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

Hey .... I threw my back out. What do you want? I'm in a completely foul mood, and probably will be until my back stops hurting. (Grump, grump, grump)

I do hope that you feel better soon, Ricky. You have been in the wars lately --- flood, bad eye, pneumonia, back strain, evil developer etc. And that's just the last two weeks or so. We could set up a thread dedicated to your tribulations, so that we can all sympathize and send you waves of sympathy. But I'm hoping that it won't be needed, and that the rest of 2009 is a vast improvement. Do look after yourself.

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by Patricia

I do hope that you feel better soon, Ricky. You have been in the wars lately --- flood, bad eye, pneumonia, back strain, evil developer etc. And that's just the last two weeks or so. We could set up a thread dedicated to your tribulations, so that we can all sympathize and send you waves of sympathy. But I'm hoping that it won't be needed, and that the rest of 2009 is a vast improvement. Do look after yourself.

I thought there was one already ... didn't we call it the "Vent and Rant" thread?? I make a LOT of use of that one.

[detacht69]

Let me get this straight... If I'm to understand correctly,
not only does the K2 NOT have an organizer like this:

If I have even 100 books on it, how can I get to the one I want quickly?



Is there no way to transfer FREE ebooks back and forth? I mean.. .lit files, lrf's... I understand it "converts" pdf and docs but surely I wouldn't get charged the .10 cents if I used the USB cable, right?

[SpiderMatt]

Originally Posted by detacht69

Let me get this straight... If I'm to understand correctly,
not only does the K2 NOT have an organizer like this:

If I have even 100 books on it, how can I get to the one I want quickly?



Is there no way to transfer FREE ebooks back and forth? I mean.. .lit files, lrf's... I understand it "converts" pdf and docs but surely I wouldn't get charged the .10 cents if I used the USB cable, right?

Right. Amazon has a free email account, too, which you can use to download the converted docs to your computer and put on your Kindle via USB (or SD card on the K1). You can also convert documents yourself via BookDesigner or some other program. That way you can make some nice looking ebooks that you didn't have to get through Amazon.

To get to ebooks quickly, you can use the numbers to go the page you want just like on the Sony. I really don't think Sony has much of an advantage here.

[Patricia]

You can get loads of legal free ebooks in mobi/prc format. The kindle will read this with no problem. We have thousands of them in our ebook section (click on ebooks on the blue bar towards the top of this page). Also Feedbooks, Manybooks and Munsey's have them. So you may be able to get away without doing many conversions at all.

[detacht69]

Originally Posted by Patricia

You can get loads of legal free ebooks in mobi/prc format. The kindle will read this with no problem. We have thousands of them in our ebook section (click on ebooks on the blue bar towards the top of this page). Also Feedbooks, Manybooks and Munsey's have them. So you may be able to get away without doing many conversions at all.

Oh... Well if this is true, then that's what I wasn't aware of... It's been years since I've messed eBooks.. Mostly because it's not fun, easy, or convenient to read from your computer... Anyway, since free content is not an issue with this as I originally thought it was.. Why on earth would anyone NOT choose the K2 over the sony??

Thanks for the tip!

Also, spidermatt.. I was talking about a book sorting system such as category, title, author, etc... I didn't see anything about this on amazon.. do you know if it's a feature?

OH and one more thing.. I wonder if I will be able to use Calibre (I pronounce it ca-LEE-bre) to create "books" from rss feeds that the K2 will be able to read so I can take advantage of free subscriptions.. or can I do it direct from the K2?

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by detacht69

Let me get this straight... If I'm to understand correctly,
not only does the K2 NOT have an organizer like this:

If I have even 100 books on it, how can I get to the one I want quickly?

Yes, the Kindle DOES have a way to list your Home page (as they call it) by Title / Author / Date. Also, you can use the search button to find books. Also, if you are sorted by Title or by Author you can press a letter key on the key board to jump to that letter in the list.

Originally Posted by detacht69

Is there no way to transfer FREE ebooks back and forth? I mean.. .lit files, lrf's... I understand it "converts" pdf and docs but surely I wouldn't get charged the .10 cents if I used the USB cable, right?

The Kindle has a USB port just as the Sony Reader does. Most free books will have a mobipocket (.prc/.mobi) version which the Kindle reads. Or, you can convert stuff to the mobi format using various tools.

BOb

[RickyMaveety]

Originally Posted by detacht69

Oh... Well if this is true, then that's what I wasn't aware of... It's been years since I've messed eBooks.. Mostly because it's not fun, easy, or convenient to read from your computer... Anyway, since free content is not an issue with this as I originally thought it was.. Why on earth would anyone NOT choose the K2 over the sony??

Thanks for the tip!

Also, spidermatt.. I was talking about a book sorting system such as category, title, author, etc... I didn't see anything about this on amazon.. do you know if it's a feature?

You can also use the "search" feature on the Kindle to search for books, and you can list books by author name or by title or by most recent (so that the book you are reading currently stays on the top of the list).

Since I hate paging through my books (and I have a TON of books), I use search a lot. I just type the title into search and it pops up.

As to why someone might choose a Sony over a K2 ... some people would do it because they HATE Amazon (that's the JSWolf method of reader shopping). Some might do it because they already have a large collection of DRM protected books from the Sony store that they cannot port over to the Kindle (and I wouldn't blame them for a minute for that decision). Some are still going to prefer how a Sony looks next to a K2. After all, you can get the Sony in red, and yes ... to some people that is important.

Then, you have people like me who will stick with my K1 until Amazon decides to make a reader that I think is better. The K2 is not that device. For me, it's several steps backward in an attempt to pander to the lowest common denominator in marketing. And, since that's what they decided to do, I hope it works for them. If they'd have come out with the K2 first, I probably would have bought something else altogether (although, probably not a Sony, since I think their customer service borders on non-existent).

[daffy4u]

Originally Posted by detacht69

Also, spidermatt.. I was talking about a book sorting system such as category, title, author, etc... I didn't see anything about this on amazon.. do you know if it's a feature?

We're just learning about the sort options of Kindle 2 but you can check out the Kindle 2 User Guide says starting on page 29 of the pdf.

It looks like there are 2 levels of sorting.

Level 1

• Personal Docs
• Subscriptions
• Books
• All My Items

Level 2

• Most Recent
• Title
• Author

You still have the option of using the keyboard to search and find a particular book or document (or phrase within a book or document).

Check out the links in my sig for the Kindle Myths and Partial Truths for more information on the "10 cent charge".

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by detacht69

OH and one more thing.. I wonder if I will be able to use Calibre (I pronounce it ca-LEE-bre) to create "books" from rss feeds that the K2 will be able to read so I can take advantage of free subscriptions.. or can I do it direct from the K2?

Pronounce it any way you like; Calibre will turn out a very good-quality book conversion to prc/mobi. And, yes, it can handle feeds.

(it will also make a fine conversion to the Sony LRF format and allow Sony users to download newspapers etc. Truly it is a versatile program.)

You can also download our own uploaded prc books directly onto your kindle, using the mobi download guide (click on our ebooks tab on the blue bar above and download it.) This has an index and link to all our prc/mobi books and you can freely download them directly to your Kindle.

[GlennD]

Go easy on the OP.....I was in the same situation a few months ago, trying to decide which device I liked more. I'd seen and used the original Sony reader for a little bit, and the 700s had just come out.

I'm an IT guy, have been reading ebooks since I had a Palm III, most recently on a Windows mobile device, I'm familiar with file formats and converting files....and I STILL had the impression that the Kindle was more limited than it is with file formats. Amazon hypes the estore so much that they forget to emphasize that you can ALSO transfer books via USB. It took an instruction sheet on the Baen site to make me realize I was mistaken. Blame the marketing people, don't blame the potential customers for a lot of the myths.

The Sony readers and the Kindles are all great devices. I like the size of the Sonys, the light was a big selling point, it supports ePub (which might become one of the ebook standards) and best of all it's available NOW (and wasn't on a waiting list several months ago). The 8 shade greyscale was also a selling point at the time (vs the 4 on the Kindle 1) as I like to read comic books on it. The Kindle 2 went to 16 shades.....but lost the SD port which becomes an issue if you want to move largish comic collections to it.

The Kindle 1 has the form factor going for it. I've never understood why people hate on the looks so much - those big fat page turning bars are awesome, IMO. I read a lot at lunch with a fork in one hand and my book in the other. The Kindle really lends itself to being held and usable in one hand. I'm not sure about the K2, as I haven't held one but from the pictures I think the new form factor may be less attractive to me, personally. And I'm one of those that thinks that removing the SD slot is a mistake. Given the choice between the K1 and K2, I'd lean towards the K1.

In the end, I went with the Sony 700 and it's been a great device. If I'd ordered a Kindle, I'd still be waiting for it and wouldn't be able to tell you what I think. And I'd probably be irate about the change from the device I thought I was getting to ending up with a K2.

[detacht69]

Originally Posted by RickyMaveety

As to why someone might choose a Sony over a K2 ... some people would do it because they HATE Amazon (that's the JSWolf method of reader shopping). Some might do it because they already have a large collection of DRM protected books from the Sony store that they cannot port over to the Kindle (and I wouldn't blame them for a minute for that decision). Some are still going to prefer how a Sony looks next to a K2. After all, you can get the Sony in red, and yes ... to some people that is important.

Not trying to argue with you, just sharing my thoughts but... I don't hate amazon and don't really know what anyone COULD hate about them. I'm not sure of the ebooks I have, but I doubt they're DRM protected.. I personally wouldn't collect "books" or any other type of media I couldn't share. and yes.. the Sony is sooo much sleeker looking but the functionality of the Kindle FAR outweighs the 505 and 700 combined...


The "steps back" you mentioned being the lack of expandable memory, rubber grip, and removable battery, correct? Me personally, I could probably overlook these traits. My theory is they removed these characteristics to decrease its thickness by half.


I DO want a reader but if what you're saying is true perhaps I should hold off until the next generation of readers. Or at the least wait till this is released and see the reviews

PEACE!

[Patricia]

Originally Posted by detacht69

I'm not sure of the ebooks I have, but I doubt they're DRM protected.. .
PEACE!

If you've been buying from Amazon or the Sony ebook store then your books are almost certainly DRM'd.