How many Readers are out there? - Page 7

allovertheglobe · 12-29-2006, 01:16 PM

Got mine at the end of November from a Borders store, but haven't had much time to play around with it other than read a bit until now...

TheMadBrewer · 12-29-2006, 05:36 PM

OK, just went down to Boarders and bought one (charging as we speak).

I was interested when I first read about it but then discarded the idea because:

1) I thought only work with memory sticks. Everything else I own takes SD cards and after living through the SmartMedia disaster, I'm not about to go with another format. Especially one from Sony.

2) It wasn't clear to me that I could use it to read other formats -- I have a bunch of books from Baen and others that I bought or downloaded for my Garmin iQue and I would want to read them on any new device. I also didn't want to be tied to Sony, because from the blurb I read it sounded like you could only get content from Sony.

After reading here I realized that these weren't true.

The big test will be next month when I make a trip to London (lots of reading time

)

L1Wulf · 12-30-2006, 12:30 AM

And add me to the list...

Got mine last night for my birthday today. After using a bit of my $50 credit, playing with it, and wondering what communities exist for owners, I arrived here and started reading. Sadly (or fortunately?), I have most likely spent more time browsing the MobileRead forums than on my new Reader.

As I read about what everyone else has already figured out, I have progressively been adding more and more content (old ebooks, etc.), have discovered many useful apps, and have learned a lot about ebooks in general, in addition to the Sony Reader.

Rest assured, my Reader has not been neglected, and the more I play with and read about it, the more excited I get about what is now, without a doubt, the coolest gadget I own.

Aprilbeginnings · 12-30-2006, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by L1Wulf

And add me to the list...
I arrived here and started reading. Sadly (or fortunately?), I have most likely spent more time browsing the MobileRead forums than on my new Reader.

That is what I have been doing, end up spending more time online still than reading.... plus now I am trying to figure out how I found this forum... maybe it was listed in the instructions? I just don't remember LOL..

HarryT · 12-30-2006, 11:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMadBrewer

OK, just went down to Boarders and bought one (charging as we speak).

1) I thought only work with memory sticks. Everything else I own takes SD cards and after living through the SmartMedia disaster, I'm not about to go with another format. Especially one from Sony.

To be honest, you really don't need a memory card at all. Reader compresses books in main memory, and in the 90-odd MB of main memory you can store several hundred books. The "flat" file system is such that you really won't want more than that on it, anyway, I promise you

. The only real reason for using a memory card would be if you were a non PC-user, and had to load content directly onto the card, rather than using the Connect software, or if you want to put MP3 files onto the Reader, but I really wouldn't recommend using it as an MP3 player.

Quote:

2) It wasn't clear to me that I could use it to read other formats -- I have a bunch of books from Baen and others that I bought or downloaded for my Garmin iQue and I would want to read them on any new device. I also didn't want to be tied to Sony, because from the blurb I read it sounded like you could only get content from Sony.

You're right - the web site is very confusing - last time I looked at it it said that Sony "Supplied software to convert other formats to the Sony e-Book format" or some such nonsense. The situation, as you know, is that the Reader handles formats such as text, RTF, and PDF "natively". There's no conversion.

Congratulations on buying a Reader - I don't think you'll regret it!

L1Wulf · 12-31-2006, 02:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

To be honest, you really don't need a memory card at all. Reader compresses books in main memory, and in the 90-odd MB of main memory you can store several hundred books. The "flat" file system is such that you really won't want more than that on it, anyway, I promise you

. The only real reason for using a memory card would be if you were a non PC-user, and had to load content directly onto the card, rather than using the Connect software, or if you want to put MP3 files onto the Reader, but I really wouldn't recommend using it as an MP3 player.

Actually, I was talking about the Reader with my boss and while discussing how many books could be loaded, etc. He pointed the same thing out. My response was setting up collections to keep things organized. I have yet to try this out, but it may be a reasonable way to keep a fairly large collection.

You also forget one genre which could really use the extra storage--manga and graphic novels (being 10+ megs typically).

As an aside, check out page 80 in the owner's manual (both the PDF and the one actually on my Reader show this...), user available memory is written in at approximately 64megs. Maybe they changed their mind pre-production?

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

You're right - the web site is very confusing - last time I looked at it it said that Sony "Supplied software to convert other formats to the Sony e-Book format" or some such nonsense. The situation, as you know, is that the Reader handles formats such as text, RTF, and PDF "natively". There's no conversion.

Congratulations on buying a Reader - I don't think you'll regret it!

Well, technically Connect Reader can convert MS Word (DOC) files to RTF for reading. That still really doesn't qualify in my mind as "converting other formats"...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aprilbeginnings

That is what I have been doing, end up spending more time online still than reading.... plus now I am trying to figure out how I found this forum... maybe it was listed in the instructions? I just don't remember LOL..

Haha, I actually found this place earlier in the day prior to purchase. I was trying to find out what the actual users were saying about the Reader. Of course, once I bought mine, this is where I returned.

I worked earlier today, and upon returning home I decided I was going to get intimate with Book Designer--the learning curve is a bit steep (well, maybe it would have been better if I actually read the help pages). I must say, I'm impressed. It's a bit rough edges here and there, but for a free product (thanks VVV!) doing such a specialized job, it really is tremendously useful.

Ok, I'm now way off topic, so I'll stop here and lurk around in some other posts.

UncleDuke · 01-02-2007, 09:53 AM

Viewed for a while. Picked up a Sony yesterday. Joined here today.

lumi · 01-02-2007, 11:23 AM

*waves*

I got mine for christmas and have barely put it down since - needless to say, I'm very pleased.

I actually found these forums back in november when I first heard about the reader and was looking for reviews. There's so much useful info here! So anyway, I thought I'd join in the discussions.

erasure25 · 01-03-2007, 04:18 AM

X-mas gift

Almost done with my first book, Eragon, moving onto Eldest next, most likely.

VP_ · 01-05-2007, 01:12 PM

We're 260
#260 - It`s me

hobbyistx · 01-08-2007, 06:35 PM

eReader here in Philly! (Already pushed my pin in on the map, too!)

LOVE it!

Any good sources for books out there besides sony.connect?

NatCh · 01-08-2007, 06:39 PM

Baen,manybooks.net , Project Gutenberg, and a whole bunch more.

Basically, if it's in RTF or can be converted to RTF, or is in LRF, you're good to go.

Aerlock · 01-10-2007, 02:20 PM

# 269 here.

I've had my Reader less than a week and I'm halfway through one book almost finished with another and sorely disappointed in the handling of .pdf's.

All around though, I love the thing and I see great strides going on here in the development forums with regards to overcoming some of the deficiencies in the sony softwares handling of .pdf's. I'm looking forward to firmware version 2.0 (whether its sony provided or community provided) and all the new features there in.

Aerlock

mikem · 02-09-2007, 11:28 AM

#284

After reading the reviews and feedback here I got mine shipped over from the US for my birthday - there wasn't a chance of buying one in Ireland. I was a tad worried that the display wouldn't be as good as people said. Its a pity Sony Conect is only for US residents.

I've been keeping my eye on e-ink tech for the last few years. I've really wanted a proper ebook reader for a long while. PDA just wasn't cutting it.

rhosey · 02-19-2007, 12:59 AM

#292

I picked up my Sony Reader at Borders right after Christmas. I love it!

This site has been a great help already.

Disappointed in the pdf support - God bless PDFrasterFarian

View Poll Results: Wanting to keep a running count of Readers in the field.
I have a Reader!	375	97.66%
I don't have a Reader, but I want to see the Results	9	2.34%
Voters: 384. You may not vote on this poll

02-19-2007, 12:59 AM	#105
rhosey Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 12 Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: China Grove, NC Device: Sony Reader	Love it! #292 I picked up my Sony Reader at Borders right after Christmas. I love it! This site has been a great help already. Disappointed in the pdf support - God bless PDFrasterFarian

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12-29-2006, 01:16 PM	#91
allovertheglobe Grumpy Old Man Posts: 267 Karma: 30194 Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: L.A., Euro ex-pat Device: Kobo, Nook Classic,Color,ST/Glow, iRex DR1000, Sony 505, REB1100&1200	Got mine at the end of November from a Borders store, but haven't had much time to play around with it other than read a bit until now...

12-29-2006, 05:36 PM	#92
TheMadBrewer Connoisseur Posts: 50 Karma: 145210 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Los Angeles Device: Kobo Aura Limited Edition, Kindle Voyager.	OK, just went down to Boarders and bought one (charging as we speak). I was interested when I first read about it but then discarded the idea because: 1) I thought only work with memory sticks. Everything else I own takes SD cards and after living through the SmartMedia disaster, I'm not about to go with another format. Especially one from Sony. 2) It wasn't clear to me that I could use it to read other formats -- I have a bunch of books from Baen and others that I bought or downloaded for my Garmin iQue and I would want to read them on any new device. I also didn't want to be tied to Sony, because from the blurb I read it sounded like you could only get content from Sony. After reading here I realized that these weren't true. The big test will be next month when I make a trip to London (lots of reading time )

12-30-2006, 12:30 AM	#93
L1Wulf Enthusiast Posts: 49 Karma: 27 Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Denver, CO Device: nook	And add me to the list... Got mine last night for my birthday today. After using a bit of my $50 credit, playing with it, and wondering what communities exist for owners, I arrived here and started reading. Sadly (or fortunately?), I have most likely spent more time browsing the MobileRead forums than on my new Reader. As I read about what everyone else has already figured out, I have progressively been adding more and more content (old ebooks, etc.), have discovered many useful apps, and have learned a lot about ebooks in general, in addition to the Sony Reader. Rest assured, my Reader has not been neglected, and the more I play with and read about it, the more excited I get about what is now, without a doubt, the coolest gadget I own.

01-02-2007, 09:53 AM	#97
UncleDuke books & doughnuts Posts: 882 Karma: 37857 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: usa Device: sony reader, kindle2	Viewed for a while. Picked up a Sony yesterday. Joined here today.

01-02-2007, 11:23 AM	#98
lumi Member Posts: 19 Karma: 46 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Sony Reader	waves I got mine for christmas and have barely put it down since - needless to say, I'm very pleased. I actually found these forums back in november when I first heard about the reader and was looking for reviews. There's so much useful info here! So anyway, I thought I'd join in the discussions.

01-03-2007, 04:18 AM	#99
erasure25 Connoisseur Posts: 63 Karma: 601321 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Sony PRS-950; PRS-505	X-mas gift Almost done with my first book, Eragon, moving onto Eldest next, most likely.

01-05-2007, 01:12 PM	#100
VP_ Junior Member Posts: 3 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Kiev, Ukraine Device: REB1100, Sony PRS-500, Eten G500+	We're 260 #260 - It`s me

01-08-2007, 06:35 PM	#101
hobbyistx Junior Member Posts: 1 Karma: 12 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Sony eReader	eReader here in Philly! (Already pushed my pin in on the map, too!) LOVE it! Any good sources for books out there besides sony.connect?

01-08-2007, 06:39 PM	#102
NatCh Gizmologist Posts: 11,615 Karma: 929550 Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Republic of Texas Embassy at Jackson, TN Device: Pocketbook Touch HD3	Baen,manybooks.net , Project Gutenberg, and a whole bunch more. Basically, if it's in RTF or can be converted to RTF, or is in LRF, you're good to go.

01-10-2007, 02:20 PM	#103
Aerlock Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jan 2007 Device: Sony PRS-500	# 269 here. I've had my Reader less than a week and I'm halfway through one book almost finished with another and sorely disappointed in the handling of .pdf's. All around though, I love the thing and I see great strides going on here in the development forums with regards to overcoming some of the deficiencies in the sony softwares handling of .pdf's. I'm looking forward to firmware version 2.0 (whether its sony provided or community provided) and all the new features there in. Aerlock

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02-09-2007, 11:28 AM	#104
mikem Junior Member Posts: 7 Karma: 24 Join Date: Feb 2007 Device: Sony Reader PRS-500	#284 After reading the reviews and feedback here I got mine shipped over from the US for my birthday - there wasn't a chance of buying one in Ireland. I was a tad worried that the display wouldn't be as good as people said. Its a pity Sony Conect is only for US residents. I've been keeping my eye on e-ink tech for the last few years. I've really wanted a proper ebook reader for a long while. PDA just wasn't cutting it.