Sony thinks quality will win out (for them)

[mikij]

Originally Posted by Harmon

I think you are too quick to discount wifi. It appears to me that Amazon sees it as essential - otherwise, why not just have a low-budget tethered EBR? But with wifi, the customer can, with a little effort, connect to the EB store away from home, or hop on the computer or iphone & buy/send a book directly to the EBR.

Wireless connectivity is a critical factor for EBRs, I think.

I fill my reader up once a month (put all the titles I think i"ll read a given month), then forget my reader's connection to computer, unless I need to charge the battery. How often do you download ebooks to your reader (not to your PC)?

For me, wi fi is really not necessary. Actually, it is a buzzword, it is attractive, but for downloading ebooks I don't find it essential.

Concerning the Sony store, it is not a disaster, but is quite bad (the choice of eboks is poor).

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by bevdeforges

While I have nowhere near 400 books on my reader, I certainly have more than enough "to be read" for the foreseeable future.

One of the lovely things about the wireless is I don't have to buy books ahead of time to be read later. I often change my mind and end up interested in something else at the moment I've finished one book and am choosing the next. It's not a horrible fate to not have the exact book I want right now. I dealt with that for many years reading paper books, but it sure is nice to have such flexibility. It certainly keeps me from buying books I don't end up finishing.

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by mikij

I fill my reader up once a month (put all the titles I think i"ll read a given month), then forget my reader's connection to computer, unless I need to charge the battery. How often do you download ebooks to your reader (not to your PC)?

For me, wi fi is really not necessary. Actually, it is a buzzword, it is attractive, but for downloading ebooks I don't find it essential.

Concerning the Sony store, it is not a disaster, but is quite bad (the choice of eboks is poor).

I fill my reader up with samples. Then when I finish a sample I like, I download the rest of the book. I don't have to worry about being near a computer when that happens. It doesn't matter if I'm on the train or at the park, I can get the rest of the book. This way I don't buy books I don't end up finishing. I don't buy a book without reading the sample. I don't buy a book ahead of time thinking I'll want it in two weeks. I used to buy that way when I bought paper and I was frequently wrong. I bought a lot of books that I didn't end up finishing back then. I don't have that problem now.

I didn't think the wireless was a big deal when I bought my Kindle but I soon saw it totally changed the way I buy books for the better.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by Zapped

I am a Sony PRS-505 owner since last summer, but whenever someone notices my ebook reader and asks for a recommendation, I recommend they get a Kindle.

If more libraries had Overdrive or other ePub lending facilities, then I'd gladly pay more for a non-Amazon reader and use it for library check-in/check-out.

Ha. I'm a Kindle owner and usually recommend that people buy the Sony precisely because of the ePub/library book access.

I love my Kindle for all of the reasons you listed and then some, but I really wish I could use the ebook collection from my local library (without being a DRM-stripping criminal, of course).

[WT Sharpe]

Sometimes while reading I'll come across words and concepts that demand a fuller explanation than a typical dictionary can offer. That's when the wireless really shines. It's nice to be able to look up a entry on Wikipedia, then return to reading where you left off.

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by mikij

I fill my reader up once a month (put all the titles I think i"ll read a given month), then forget my reader's connection to computer, unless I need to charge the battery. How often do you download ebooks to your reader (not to your PC)?

For me, wi fi is really not necessary. Actually, it is a buzzword, it is attractive, but for downloading ebooks I don't find it essential.

Concerning the Sony store, it is not a disaster, but is quite bad (the choice of eboks is poor).

Wireless has three components for me:

1. The obvious one, which is downloading books.

2. A little less obvious, which is syncing books across devices, being iPad, iPhone, & when it arrives, K3.

3. And finally, sampling.

I was in Borders today. I found several interesting books, one of which I bought in hardcover because I plan to keep it. But 3 others are now on my iPad & iPhone as samples. If I like them, I will buy 2 as ebooks & will consider the other as a pbook.

Among the factors I considered in my purchase planning which tilted me toward the ebooks is that my sons can also download them to read, and that the ebooks lend themselves to mobile reading. The hardback purchase will be read at home in my easy chair, & my sons are not likely to be interested in that book for a while (it's about aging in Shakespeare.)

For me, mobile reading consists of travel situations (iPad or K3) or commuting (K3 or iPhone.) Connectivity allows me to make purchases at any point, and to sync what I reading in whatever context.

[mobilewilier]

Sony - wake up... integrate all your downloadable content into the Playstation Store (and call it something else if needed - SonyStore). Make it EASY to buy stuff. Exploit existing user base to nurture brand loyalty across multiple devices (PS3, PSP, PRS readers)... why does the PSP have a comic book reader but not a book reader?

just copy Apple or Amazon... they make money because its effortless to buy items quickly!!

[Connallmac]

Originally Posted by Alisa

One of the lovely things about the wireless is I don't have to buy books ahead of time to be read later. I often change my mind and end up interested in something else at the moment I've finished one book and am choosing the next. It's not a horrible fate to not have the exact book I want right now. I dealt with that for many years reading paper books, but it sure is nice to have such flexibility. It certainly keeps me from buying books I don't end up finishing.

The flexibility is awfully nice. While picking up a snack for the ride in an airport shop I happened to see copies of Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island. It looked interesting so I set it back down and went back to the waiting area, switched on my KDX, saw some good reviews and purchased it to read on the flight. It's not vitally essential, but damn awful convenient. Especially when you factor in the number of times that I have used it to get directions and other info while on the road, without having to pay a ridiculous amount of money every month for a data plan!

[Harmon]

Originally Posted by Connallmac

The flexibility is awfully nice. While picking up a snack for the ride in an airport shop I happened to see copies of Dennis Lehane's Shutter Island. It looked interesting so I set it back down and went back to the waiting area, switched on my KDX, saw some good reviews and purchased it to read on the flight. It's not vitally essential, but damn awful convenient. Especially when you factor in the number of times that I have used it to get directions and other info while on the road, without having to pay a ridiculous amount of money every month for a data plan!

The Amazon reviews are useful. I usually take a look at them before buying a book, cd, or dvd in any format. I've done exactly as you did on plane rides, premising my purchase on the relative costs, length of the book, and taking into account that I get 20 extra minutes of reading time with a pbook because of the nonsensical bias of airlines against using nonconnected electronic devices before & after takeoff.

[davidspitzer]

Originally Posted by Harmon

The Amazon reviews are useful. I usually take a look at them before buying a book, cd, or dvd in any format. I've done exactly as you did on plane rides, premising my purchase on the relative costs, length of the book, and taking into account that I get 20 extra minutes of reading time with a pbook because of the nonsensical bias of airlines against using nonconnected electronic devices before & after takeoff.

really blow the stewardesses mind and say your ereader is off you are just reading the bistable remnants on the screen and that you will turn it back on after take off to turn the page

[JSWolf]

It all depends on what Sony does for the next reader model(s).

[davidspitzer]

Originally Posted by JSWolf

It all depends on what Sony does for the next reader model(s).

unless they have something in the works to released soon I am thinking it may be a little too late for Sony - If they do it better knock everyones socks off

[Alisa]

Originally Posted by davidspitzer

unless they have something in the works to released soon I am thinking it may be a little too late for Sony - If they do it better knock everyones socks off

Yep. To be viable at this point, they would need to get people to switch from other readers. I don't think there's a huge, untapped market of people who want stand alone reading devices that haven't already purchased. And as many have pointed out, they have to sell at a higher price because they can't rely on a content business to subsidize the hardware.

Even if it's phenomenal, the main customers they need to poach are Kindle owners and many of them won't be comfortable liberating and converting their books if they even realize it's an option.

[Maggie Leung]

Originally Posted by Alisa

Yep. To be viable at this point, they would need to get people to switch from other readers. I don't think there's a huge, untapped market of people who want stand alone reading devices that haven't already purchased. And as many have pointed out, they have to sell at a higher price because they can't rely on a content business to subsidize the hardware.

Even if it's phenomenal, the main customers they need to poach are Kindle owners and many of them won't be comfortable liberating and converting their books if they even realize it's an option.

At this point, I wouldn't bother with even a free Sony e-reader. Without the convenience of an Amazon-like user experience, even the nicest hardware is worthless to me.

[porkupan]

Originally Posted by Maggie Leung

At this point, I wouldn't bother with even a free Sony e-reader. Without the convenience of an Amazon-like user experience, even the nicest hardware is worthless to me.

I am really trying, but I still cannot see how is Amazon-like experience on Sony PRS-900 so much less convenient for you than the Amazon-like experience on your Kindle or iPad?