Okay, who still LOVES their Sony?

[auspex]

Originally Posted by Pinecone

But it is harder to get books .... Kobo is selling books in formats that do not work on the PRS series.

That's simply not true. If you are having a problem reading a Kobo book on a Sony PRS, talk to Kobo support. They not only DO all work on the PRS series, but Kobo is committed to it.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by auspex

That's simply not true. If you are having a problem reading a Kobo book on a Sony PRS, talk to Kobo support. They not only DO all work on the PRS series, but Kobo is committed to it.

Yes, Kobo is very committed to selling only books that have both EPUB and KEPUB formats.

[auspex]

What's that got to do with anything? You imply that Kobo's offerings are limited, and that may be true, but everything they DO sell should work on Sony readers. The Kepubs are for Kobo devices. The Epubs are for any device and readable on Sony PRS's. I had a Kobo before my Sony, so I had a significant library on Kobo before ever downloading to the Sony. Everything "Just Works" ™ – as long as you are updated to the latest Sony firmware that interacts properly with Kobo.

[Shopaholic]

NO Auspex I can sadly confirm that not all books sold on the Kobo website work on Sony readers - epub format or not. It's just a simple fact that they don't. Sorry. Some of the books they sell, including newly released ones, are ONLY in their crappy Kepub format which CANNOT be opened on your computer or read on a Sony reader. And the site doesn't say Kepub, it will only say epub so how is the user supposed to know?

I've bought 2 such books that was the case with. I had to deal with CS to get refunds and was advised to check the formats that the books come in *before* buying to save the aggravation. If it shows availability on Blackberry then it should work on the Sony. If it does not, don't count on it being able to be read there because it most likely cannot be.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by auspex

What's that got to do with anything? You imply that Kobo's offerings are limited, and that may be true, but everything they DO sell should work on Sony readers. The Kepubs are for Kobo devices. The Epubs are for any device and readable on Sony PRS's. I had a Kobo before my Sony, so I had a significant library on Kobo before ever downloading to the Sony. Everything "Just Works" ™ – as long as you are updated to the latest Sony firmware that interacts properly with Kobo.

You must have had absolutely no idea what I said. I guess you must not have known, but here it is -- a number of Kobo ebooks are sold exclusively as KEPUBs. The Sony cannot read KEPUBs. Thus you are 100% incorrect.

There have been several threads here ranting about it, specifically in relation to Sony, and more in relation to generically buying for the EPUBs, to use with Alf and calibre and third-party ereaders (and even Kindle).
MR members have spent long periods of time arguing with Kobo CS to return these useless (for their purposes) ebooks, and some have vowed to stick with Google even.

It has made a huge stink, especially when they removed the available formats info from the website so people don't know what they are getting into.



Sheeesh, I know this and I don't even own an EPUB reader.

[auspex]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

You must have had absolutely no idea what I said. I guess you must not have known, but here it is -- a number of Kobo ebooks are sold exclusively as KEPUBs. The Sony cannot read KEPUBs. Thus you are 100% incorrect.

No, I didn't have "absolutely no idea". Apparently what you said is not what you meant. Not My Problem.

What I said is to take it up with Kobo support, as they ARE committed to supporting Sony.

Also, they put the format information back on the site last week.

Finally, you DO know that a .kepub is just an epub, right? It just has some extra data for the Kobo readers. I confess, I have no idea if the Adobe DRM breaks if you rename the .kepub to .epub, but if it doesn't have DRM it should certainly open on the Sony. Now, if the Sony doesn't support epub3, that would be Sony's fault (and that's really my guess that is the problem, as I see people saying that this is only an issue with epub3s).

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by auspex

No, I didn't have "absolutely no idea". Apparently what you said is not what you meant. Not My Problem.

What I said is to take it up with Kobo support, as they ARE committed to supporting Sony.

Also, they put the format information back on the site last week.

Finally, you DO know that a .kepub is just an epub, right? It just has some extra data for the Kobo readers. I confess, I have no idea if the Adobe DRM breaks if you rename the .kepub to .epub, but if it doesn't have DRM it should certainly open on the Sony. Now, if the Sony doesn't support epub3, that would be Sony's fault (and that's really my guess that is the problem, as I see people saying that this is only an issue with epub3s).

I also know you cannot download a KEPUB with a Sony reader. So, fat lot of good renaming will do you.

So... like I said in the first place, Kobo sells books that are KEPUB exclusives.

Which of course harmonizes perfectly with your claim:

Originally Posted by auspex

That's simply not true. If you are having a problem reading a Kobo book on a Sony PRS, talk to Kobo support. They not only DO all work on the PRS series, but Kobo is committed to it.

It is simply not true that all Kobo books work on the PRS series. Not without knowledge that most people lack and which is inconvenient in the extreme for the people who do have it.

And really, if a book is EPUB3-only, then it undermines the claim that Kobo supports the Sony for all their books.
It is not Sony's fault, they made sure to deliver EPUB2. Kobo took over the Sony line and later started selling EPUB3-only books. They should provide another firmware update.

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

It is simply not true that all Kobo books work on the PRS series. Not without knowledge that most people lack and which is inconvenient in the extreme for the people who do have it.

I look at it this way. KePub is basically "Kobo's AZW" format. What other non-Kindle eReaders can directly read AZW documents?

My problem is not so much with KePubs it is (or was, anyhow) the problem of not knowing which books are in KePub format.

Just curious, have you ever owned a Sony or a Kobo?

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by rcentros

I look at it this way. KePub is basically "Kobo's AZW" format. What other non-Kindle eReaders can directly read AZW documents?

My problem is not so much with KePubs it is (or was, anyhow) the problem of not knowing which books are in KePub format.

Just curious, have you ever owned a Sony or a Kobo?

Nope. But I expect if a vendor supports a reader, they have an obligation to make sure all their books work on it, without requiring any third-party circumvention schemes.

Amazon supports the Kindle ereader line, all of which can read any book in the Kindle Store.

If Amazon supported a non-Kindle ereader, I would demand they either make sure that ereader can read AZW3/MOBI, or that Amazon start sending EPUB to those ereaders.

Additionally I would be highly upset if I bought a book thinking in good faith that it did work, and then it turned out it wouldn't.

Kobo was doing both, and still is doing one. At least they fixed the worse offense, but I still think they have an obligation to make sure they have EPUB2 to send to readers that they officially support but which only read EPUB2. That or provide a firmware update that enables KEPUB support They never should've accepted to support the bookstore on the Sony if they cannot actually provide it with the books they list in the storefront.

[speakingtohe]

Originally Posted by Kaysclie

Where did you find the refurbished T3s please? I am looking for a T3 and cannot find one.

factorydirect.ca
Currently 69.95 but good chance of lower price again

Helen

[rcentros]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

Kobo was doing both, and still is doing one. At least they fixed the worse offense, but I still think they have an obligation to make sure they have EPUB2 to send to readers that they officially support ...

Don't you think Sony (and Kobo) eReader users realize this? After all, this is not a hypothetical issue for those of us who actually own Sony Readers and use the Kobo Market. What gets old is every thread being hijacked and turned into a "Kindle does it this way" evangelization attempt. Especially when folks are specifically asking about ePub Readers.

When I was in college there was a kid who was almost immediately given the nick-name "The Prawn" by an Australian student. I wasn't from Australia but I got the gist of what he meant pretty quickly. I remember the first class the "Prawn" and I shared. The teacher says something and asks, "what do you guys think?" Of course the "Prawn" immediately starts answering (he loved the sound of his own voice). Then the teacher asks, "what do you girls think?" And, of course, the "Prawn" immediately starts answering the question.

Which brings us to the title of this thread, which is, "Okay, who still LOVES their Sony?" ...

I don't dislike Kindles -- as a matter of fact most of my eBook business is done through Amazon and the majority of my reading is done on one of my two Kindles. But I do really get tired of every non-Kindle thread being hijacked into a Kindle vs. Sony, or Kobo, or Nook ... or "whatever" thread. Kobo's Market issues with Sony Reader is one thing ... Kindle's way of doing things is a totally different subject. Some folks are solidly in the ePub format fold, they're not going to move to Kindle just because it comes up in every Kobo/Sony/??? thread on MobileRead.

[eschwartz]

Well, then, please tell me exactly how you think I was proselytizing Kindles? In fact, I seem to recall you being the one who first compared Kobo to Amazon...

[Ripplinger]

Originally Posted by eschwartz

I suggest you get the OverDrive Link plugin for calibre, and use it to search for books by authors you have in calibre. It can search Amazon Prime and Kindle Unlimited, among others.

Any Kindle device-specific questions? Ask away.

Btw, that plugin you recommended is great, thanks for that. Still not certain if I should keep the Paperwhite or not. I'd probably like it better if I could at least fiddle with it installing fixes, etc., but not possible after the update.

[eschwartz]

Originally Posted by Ripplinger

Btw, that plugin you recommended is great, thanks for that. Still not certain if I should keep the Paperwhite or not. I'd probably like it better if I could at least fiddle with it installing fixes, etc., but not possible after the update.

Has it already updated? The Jailbreak update which preserves the ability to Do Things was just released today.

[Ripplinger]

My Kindle has firmware 5.6.1 on it. Unless there's new threads I missed about new hacks for it, I thought I was SOL.

From your response about it in the Kindle forum:

Originally Posted by eschwartz

You can always hold onto it in the hope that a jailbreak is soon discovered. Or that it "breaks" under warranty and you can try again.