Kindle bias on MobileRead?

[Lilly]

Originally Posted by 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.

That is correct. I'm glad I chose the Sony PRs-505 as my 1st reader. By the time I bought the kindle, I was already buying Lit books and Mobi books and shopping at multiple e-bookstores. Thanks to Caliber, owning a Sony has been a joy! When I got the Kindle on November 1st of last year, I was thrill to be able to shop at the Amazon store and make a copy to load on my Sony. I think I'm getting all I can get out of both of my readers because I can shop at most e-bookstore with no hesitation. The Sony has made me more technical. Anyway, I no longer have a Kindle since I sold it and bought the Kindle 2, which I think looks great. I love having both readers and can't wait to be a Kindle owner once more (March 2nd can't come soon enough)!

[Valloric]

Originally Posted by 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

Originally Posted by 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.

What happened to tolerance to other people's opinions? Or basic civility?

I see absolutely nothing in JSWolf's post that would warrant such an extreme response. Everything he said was true, and nothing was "anti-Kindle". There was even a shred of hope that Amazon may open up it's format to other devices.

This is an example of a post that "bothers" you enough to ignore the person completely? That's ridiculous. And stating this so publicly (and enticing others to ignore as well) is at the very least, unkind.

First the "religious bias" thread, and now this? What in Hell's blazes in happening to this forum? When did people here become so... I don't know...

Maybe it's all in my head...

[The Skwerl]

Well my take on this is simple. Kindle thats nice if you don't mind spending a fortune with some limitations. The Sony 505 has tons of things going on ..700 its still a little quiet. Me why is it I hardly see anything on the 500 or other off the wall readers. For instance...my psp I read books on it listen to music on it and watch movies on it look at pictures on it..surf the web on it , though there is not a lot on it.. Now mind you I am finding ways as to use my DS lite for doing all the same stuff as the PSP but it just seems to me that other items are being pushed off for the Kindle and the Sony 505/700 and a couple of other ebook machines out there. But thats just me..." CHITTER....CHITTER!!"

[The Skwerl]

Originally Posted by Valloric

What happened to tolerance to other people's opinions? Or basic civility?

I see absolutely nothing in JSWolf's post that would warrant such an extreme response. Everything he said was true, and nothing was "anti-Kindle". There was even a shred of hope that Amazon may open up it's format to other devices.

This is an example of a post that "bothers" you enough to ignore the person completely? That's ridiculous. And stating this so publicly (and enticing others to ignore as well) is at the very least, unkind.

First the "religious bias" thread, and now this? What in Hell's blazes in happening to this forum? When did people here become so... I don't know...

Maybe it's all in my head...

As to ignoring people on here for their ideas and opinions that's a little over dramatic. Good grief everyone has an idea,thought, or opinion on life. This is the place to talk and have fun and learn from one another about there taste in books and machines. I may not like something in a machine or a story in a book, but I don't go all ignoring over it..I learn from it and try to understand it. That's me that's life and much love to you all.
Love from your friendly neighborhood Skwerlman.

[desertgrandma]

Originally Posted by Valloric

What happened to tolerance to other people's opinions? Or basic civility?

I see absolutely nothing in JSWolf's post that would warrant such an extreme response. Everything he said was true, and nothing was "anti-Kindle". There was even a shred of hope that Amazon may open up it's format to other devices.

This is an example of a post that "bothers" you enough to ignore the person completely? That's ridiculous. And stating this so publicly (and enticing others to ignore as well) is at the very least, unkind.

First the "religious bias" thread, and now this? What in Hell's blazes in happening to this forum? When did people here become so... I don't know...

Maybe it's all in my head...

Nope. I'm noticing a lot of stupid arguments that belong more on the Kindle discussion forums than here, and it started when the Kindle 2 came out.

[Valloric]

Originally Posted by desertgrandma

I'm noticing a lot of stupid arguments that belong more on the Kindle discussion forums than here

I'd say they don't belong on mobileread at all. I'm all for exuberant and heated debate, but within the boundaries of common sense and civility.

Or at least civility.

[slayda]

Personally, I love my EZ Reader with OpenInkPot. Both Sony & Amazon force you to buy their reader in order to read their DRMed special formats & Amazon won't even sell non-Kindle owners their books even when they're just Mobipocket. That's a real limitation to Amazon. And they are throwing their weight around securing exclusive or restrictive rights to many new books, not allowing non-Kindle owners to purchase those books or in some cases just not at a semi-reasonable price of $9.99 which is still too high. Baen sells at a reasonable price, without DRM, and in multiple formats and once you buy, you can DL your book in any of their formats.

[gmvasco]

And with all his might and wisdom, Man could not foresee or stop what was about to happen. The Kindle Wars pitted brother against brother, father against son and raged the entire planet for a generation and a half. The end of the Kindle Wars is celebrated as the beginning of the Digital Age, and is historically viewed as the most important landmark in modern date nomenclature systems, as it marks our first year (Year 0 Galactic Standard).

[TadW]

Here is the thing: I mentioned the ignore feature since obviously some people do not prefer to participate in a discussion whether Amazon is evil or not. They are here to learn new things and how to improve their e-book reading experience. Others may disagree, for a good reason, and willingly jump in to have discussions about DRM, evilness, and all these things.

We should agree that each one of us has a different background and different motives for being part of this community. There is no reason why we cannot learn to coexist (if necessary, even the hard way, by using the ignore feature).

[RSaunders]

I think we've mixed two kinds of issues in this thread.

There are folks who are not enamored by certain business models. These are the folks who dislike DRM, advocate making books available in multiple formats, and support the third party suppliers of ebooks. Kindle owners should not see this as anti-Kindle any more than Sony owners should see this as anti-Sony. Both Amazon and Sony have business reasons that they think justify closed formats, draconian DRM, and single-store environments. Some folks don't agree. We should call these people anti-closed.

There are posts that are anti-Kindle; either claiming it is ugly or heavy or too big (not so much with K2). Some posts criticize the selection of Kindle features; the radio isn't worth the battery impact or my own comments about the lack of a password. However, there are also posts that criticize the selection of Sony features; the 700 screen is too glossy or the 505 cover mounting mechanism is flimsy.

I don't see a statistical justification for saying people are more anti-Kindle. Have you read the threads about how hard it is to get a good book light or a good hard case?? Actually, I get a lot out of the anti-Kindle and anti-Sony threads. These are lessons learned that I didn't have to learn myself.

I think the broad, statistically verifiable, bias of MRead is anti-closed. There are many more people and posts against DRM than for it. There are many more posts on how to work around format incompatibility than there are saying we should just buy more devices. As I said before, these opinions are neither anti-Kindle not anti-Sony.

[The Skwerl]

That's it !!! I finally figured it out. From now on I hate everything and everyone. So HA!!!!
I am now an equal opportunity hater. And because of this I am so going to H-ll !! LOL
Man I love it here !! I mean hate it ya that's right hate ...ggggrrrrrrrr

[spec2]

Originally Posted by MidknytOwl

So is it because I am a loyal Sony girl that it seems like there has been more for the Kindle than there was for the 700, or does it seem that way for anyone else too?

I think the difference is that the Sony Readers are just another product in the Sony stable. They don't really spend any money to market it at all. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if 90% of sales are due to word-of-mouth, displays in stores, or seeing on a site like Gizmodo or Engadget, etc.

OTOH the Kindle is the only product Amazon has with it's brand name on it. They can and are putting the entire resources of the company behind it's marketing. I mean can you imagine Howard Stringer holding a press conference for a Sony Reader!

I don't know why Kindle (1.0) owners are so evangelical about the reader, but, despite its motley appearance, Amazon has skillfully parlayed this into the hoopla that is now the Kindle 2.0 launch. It does puzzle me why Kindle owners act as if it's the first and only eReader on the market, but let them have their fun. If I wanted a Kindle 2.0 (and I did think about it briefly) I would buy one. But honestly, to me all eReaders are basically the same. I picked the Sony because it had good fit and finish and was more affordable than the others.

[lilac_jive]

Originally Posted by spec2

I think the difference is that the Sony Readers are just another product in the Sony stable. They don't really spend any money to market it at all. In fact I wouldn't be surprise if 90% of sales are due to word-of-mouth, displays in stores, or seeing on a site like Gizmodo or Engadget, etc.

OTOH the Kindle is the only product Amazon with it's brand name on it. They can and are putting the entire resources of the company behind it's marketing. I mean can you imagine Howard Stringer holding a press conference for a Sony Reader!

I don't know why Kindle (1.0) owners are so evangelical about the reader, but, despite its motley appearance, Amazon has skillfully parlayed this into the hoopla that is now the Kindle 2.0 launch. It does puzzle me why Kindle owners act as if it's the first and only eReader on the market, but let them have their fun. If I wanted a Kindle 2.0 (and I did think about it briefly) I would buy one. But honestly, to me all eReaders are basically the same. I picked the Sony because it had good fit and finish and was more affordable than the others.

They did promote it in large cities. I think they were going for word of mouth too, if the cards promoting the Reader that came in my Reader box were any indication.

Smart, word of mouth is good cheap marketing. I know I've gotten quite a few people to buy them. I'm sure they've gotten people to buy them too.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by RSaunders

I think we've mixed two kinds of issues in this thread.

There are folks who are not enamored by certain business models. These are the folks who dislike DRM, advocate making books available in multiple formats, and support the third party suppliers of ebooks. Kindle owners should not see this as anti-Kindle any more than Sony owners should see this as anti-Sony. Both Amazon and Sony have business reasons that they think justify closed formats, draconian DRM, and single-store environments. Some folks don't agree. We should call these people anti-closed.

There are posts that are anti-Kindle; either claiming it is ugly or heavy or too big (not so much with K2). Some posts criticize the selection of Kindle features; the radio isn't worth the battery impact or my own comments about the lack of a password. However, there are also posts that criticize the selection of Sony features; the 700 screen is too glossy or the 505 cover mounting mechanism is flimsy.

I don't see a statistical justification for saying people are more anti-Kindle. Have you read the threads about how hard it is to get a good book light or a good hard case?? Actually, I get a lot out of the anti-Kindle and anti-Sony threads. These are lessons learned that I didn't have to learn myself.

I think the broad, statistically verifiable, bias of MRead is anti-closed. There are many more people and posts against DRM than for it. There are many more posts on how to work around format incompatibility than there are saying we should just buy more devices. As I said before, these opinions are neither anti-Kindle not anti-Sony.

that is an excellent point and i think you are right.

[readingrocks!]

I found this site because I was looking for information about the Kindle...I was pretty convinced I wanted one. After reading tons of information and posts on mobileread, I'm now leaning toward the Sony 505, despite the release this week of the Kindle 2. I think individual owners have "biases" because they've found the products they like or love, which IMHO adds to the debate and discussions. Please keep sharing your biases with all of us!