Kindle bias on MobileRead?

[lilac_jive]

I like to pick on Kindle owners But they're still good devices. I just like my Sony better

There are a lot more 505 owners on here anyway.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by mtravellerh

Again: That is a new feature on the forum (so it couldn't be there before.)

Having news on the frontpage of the forum is not a new feature.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

Having news on the frontpage of the forum is not a new feature.

I think the new feature being referred to is the "Notices" area above the thread on each page.

There have been plenty of Sony Reader stories promoted to the front page!

BOb

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

I disagree. The k2 isn't a major upgrade. It has almost no new abilities. The one major change was aesthetic.

If you want a pair of Sony products that share a relationship like that of the Kindles, then consider the PRS-500 and PRS-505.When the 505 first came out it was only an incremental improvement over the 500. (The EPUB support came later.)

One other major change to the K2 is the amount of internal ram.

The 500 used the 1st generation eink screen. The 505 used the new(then) Vizplex screen. That to me was a major upgrade. That's why I purchased my 505 and sold my 500.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

I think the new feature being referred to is the "Notices" area above the thread on each page.

There have been plenty of Sony Reader stories promoted to the front page!

BOb

Ah right. Yes, the notices is a new feature. My misread. Sorry.

[The Alternative]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

The threads mainly stay where they are created. If a thread is in the wrong place, it was likely started by a forum member, not a moderator.

Funny how many wrong Kindle threads wind up on the Sony page though...

[cjschmidt]

The Sony Reader is an amazing device, but the Kindle and Amazon is really what's pushing ebooks into the mainstream.

Sony didn't market the device enough (the Kindle is on Oprah, Newsweek, and on the Amazon homepage), the Connect software is atrocious (the Kindle doesn't need any), and the bookstore is big and cheap(ish).

I'd say the 505 and Kindle, as electronic devices, are dead even, but Amazon and the Kindle are what's stirring the pot and deserve the attention.

That being said... I see no bias on MR one way or the other.

[JSWolf]

Originally Posted by cjschmidt

The Sony Reader is an amazing device, but the Kindle and Amazon is really what's pushing ebooks into the mainstream.

Sony didn't market the device enough (the Kindle is on Oprah, Newsweek, and on the Amazon homepage), the Connect software is atrocious (the Kindle doesn't need any), and the bookstore is big and cheap(ish).

I'd say the 505 and Kindle, as electronic devices, are dead even, but Amazon and the Kindle are what's stirring the pot and deserve the attention.

That being said... I see no bias on MR one way or the other.

The 505 was on the Ellen Degeneres Show. eBook Library is not bad at It works as it should and does it well.

I don't think Amazon is pushing eBooks into the mainstream. How is it the mainstream to keep eBooks locked to just one device? Amazon's Kindle eBooks are the only eBooks that can only be viewed on one device. Every other format has a viewer for the computer (even if just Windows). But if the rumors are true of Amazon opening up their eBooks for other platforms even if only cell phone type devices, then this will be a good thing for Kindle eBooks. I think that if Kindle eBooks are available for non-Kindle owners, it may help in getting the prices lowered for other eBooks.

[Ervserver]

The Sony's are in Target, Wal Mart, and Sam's Club..seems like some marketing to me

Originally Posted by cjschmidt

The Sony Reader is an amazing device, but the Kindle and Amazon is really what's pushing ebooks into the mainstream.

Sony didn't market the device enough (the Kindle is on Oprah, Newsweek, and on the Amazon homepage), the Connect software is atrocious (the Kindle doesn't need any), and the bookstore is big and cheap(ish).

I'd say the 505 and Kindle, as electronic devices, are dead even, but Amazon and the Kindle are what's stirring the pot and deserve the attention.

That being said... I see no bias on MR one way or the other.

[cjschmidt]

I'm not saying the Kindle is better (I have a 505 and love it), I'm just saying it's more interesting to report on. I don't remember seeing a Reader outside of a Sony Style store until the Kindle hit, and all the "normals" think my Reader is a Kindle because that's the only ebook reader they know anything about. They took a big chance on wispernet and have leveraged their position as an online book retailer successfully.

Sony is doing a good enough job, but Amazon is making the Kindle one of their companies top priorities - something Sony would never do.

[kovidgoyal]

Lets sum it up like this:

In the normal course of events there is far more activity around the Sony Reader on the mobileread forums. However, whenever the Kindle makes a big media splash mobileread tends to get stirred upnfar more than for the corresponding Sont reder media splashes.

The reasons for this are also fairly straightforward:

1) The Sony is a device that appeals more to the technically oriented, who make up a disproportionate part of the mobileread user base, hence the higher "normal" level of activity around the Sony reader
2) mobileread is also filled with ebook evangelists and since the Kindle has managed to position itself (whether justifiably or not) as the ebooks great white hope, people here are unusually susceptible to its hype.

[MonaLS]

Originally Posted by daffy4u

Funny, as a Kindle owner, I feel that on an ongoing daily basis there is a lot of anti-Kindle and anti-Amazon sentiment here. It gets really frustrating.

Agreed. That's why I don't hang out here as much. I feel like I have defend myself for having purchased a Kindle.

[TadW]

Mona, but you see that this anti-resentment comes from only a very few people (like, scroll up to post #53). I love Kindle people, and I think we all do here. I mentioned it in the other thread - there is a nifty forum feature that allows you to ignore a person's posts completely. Here is the link:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/pro...?do=ignorelist

[MonaLS]

Yes, it is a very small but vocal number of people. I may have to use that ignore function for the first time ever on any board.

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

You think Amazon's influence on e-book prices and publishers joining the e-book frenzy will have no effect on the e-book movement in Europe?

Well, not "no effect", but I'd go with "no significant effect" for the next couple of years, until Amazon start selling other eBook formats or selling Kindles to the non-North American market.
I'd not argue against it being a motivator to publishing houses to get into the market, but I suspect that they'll attempt to just sell to the US Kindle market via Amazon, rather than selling multi-format world-wide & I expect any 'trickle-down' to be minimal.

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

The prize of this particular contest is the Kindle, and as much as we regret it, Amazon does not sell the Kindle to customers outside the US.

True, but it wouldn't it be legitimate to have MR or some other US-based entity buy it, then gift it to the winner? I can understand that Amazon or their PR group might put restrictions on it if they were funding the purchase, but your announcement states it's MR, not Amazon behind it...