Sony Reader Store closing down - to transfer to Kobo Store or not? Please discuss!

[drdtyc]

With the Sony Reader Store in North America closing by end of March 2014, my account will be automatically transferred to Kobo Store. I have to manually opt out of the transfer.

To transfer or not transfer; that is the question.

What do you as a Sony eReader owner choose to do?

What are the pros and cons to transfer to Kobo?

Please share your thoughts.

[sharphamster]

Definitely taking the transfer, here. While I like the Sony store's interface much more than Kobo's, prices are often equal or better at Kobo with the coupons they always seem to have going. I put a preview in my Kobo library before I buy, having been burned by a few that had no Adobe epub DL option.

I was store-agnostic in the past, using ADE 1.7 to DL my books from both sites. I have both site's desktop software installed, but I only use it to snag a backup copy.

Will have to see what happens with ADE and the desktop 'ware going forward. Calibre is doing everything I need right now, and hopefully in the future.

[4691mls]

Yes, I plan to go with the transfer. It appears that Kobo will then have all my purchase records and most of the books I bought from Sony will likely be redownloadable via Kobo should the need arise. Of course, I already have copies of all the books on my PC and my reader, but it's good to know I could potentially redownload them.

I checked prices of many of my Sony wishlist books at Kobo. Some of them were the same price at Kobo, some were about 50 cents cheaper, and a few were as much as $2.00 cheaper. I did not see any that cost more at Kobo.

Thanks to sharphamster for the tip about previewing books to make sure they are in the correct format. Can you tell us where on the site to find the preview option? I didn't see it.

[Shopaholic]

Frankly not taking the option is just downright stupid. What other choice do you have? Do you want access to your books? If so, then you really have no other choice. Opting out gets you what? Nothing as far as I can tell.

I'm sure some will be lost in the transition from Sony to Kobo but Sony to nothing gets you bupkiss. Why would anyone opt out? Again, and sorry to be blunt but that's just stupid.

[4691mls]

Yeah, I don't really see the point in opting out; at least by accepting the transfer you get to keep access to your books. There's no obligation to buy future books from Kobo if you don't like their store.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

Unless you don't want your personal information shared with Kobo (and why wouldn't you as you've already given it to Sony) then I don't see any reason to opt out. There's really no downside. If you have a hard drive crash and lose all your books then you'll still be able to re-download from Kobo. I have a feeling that most Sony owners probably get more of their purchased Epubs from Kobo rather than Sony anyways due to Sony's ridiculous store prices and Kobo's ubiquitous discount coupons. Besides, if you're a dyed in the wool epub person then when your Sony Reader eventually dies you'll probably be making a switch to a Kobo reader anyways so it would be nice to have all your purchases automatically sync with Kobo's cloud.

[Canuck_in_Japan]

In regards to whether or not books are Adobe Epubs or not or kepubs, perhaps the English store is different (as no one has mentioned otherwise) but on the Japanese store it tells you exactly what type of file the book is on the webpage before you go to the actual book's link. You can see the two books in the photo, one is DRM free and the other is Adobe DRM.

[robko]

Originally Posted by Canuck_in_Japan

In regards to whether or not books are Adobe Epubs or not or kepubs, perhaps the English store is different (as no one has mentioned otherwise) but on the Japanese store it tells you exactly what type of file the book is on the webpage before you go to the actual book's link. You can see the two books in the photo, one is DRM free and the other is Adobe DRM.

Alas. in the English stores it no longer shows what the format is (as it still appears to have on the Japanese store), so you can't easily identify which books have an epub download option vs those that only have a kepub option.

[Bookworm_Girl]

A positive is that Kobo has better mobile apps than Sony, and you can read your books on multiple iOS devices for example and keep them in sync. Another pro is that when you decide to get a replacement reader for your Sony in the future the Kobo models will likely be on your list of options and you'll have books in their bookstore already.

[Lynx-lynx]

I think that people need to remember that Sony Reader for PC is an excellent way to download all epub books, irrespective of where they're purchased, DRM and DRM free.

All my epub purchases go into Reader for PC and then immediately into Calibre.

So by accepting the Sony books going over to Kobo then make sure that you only download the epub version of the book into Reader for PC.

I'm going to assume (?) that Kobo will provide the kepub version of the Sony purchased (and transferred) ebook, so you'll end up with 2 versions of the same book (as those of us who buy at Kobo do now).

The Kobo kepubs automatically download into Kobo Desktop for PC.

Another pointer re Reader for PC - I don't have my 650 synced with Reader. I sideload via Calibre any books that I want to read on the 650.

This may be the way ahead for the US and Canadian people - that is - once you've bought your last Sony book, unsync the reader from Reader Store.

I hope this isn't sounding too confusing?

Also I suggest that if you change your country to the UK, Aus or NZ (Edit/Preferences) then it will still be business as usual with your Sony Store account.

[Shopaholic]

You're making the assumption that Reader for PC will still exist or be supported. I seriously doubt that will be the case after they close the store. If they're closing their largest markets - the US & Canada it's only a matter of time before the much smaller other markets close as well.

I doubt very much that anything is going to be business as usual for the Sony store account. They're closing down. They're done.

[Lynx-lynx]

@Shopaholic from what I gather Reader for PC will still be able to be used until and unless everyone is compelled to use ADE3.

I don't intend to upgrade Reader for PC, so it will stay on ADE2 authorised and I can continue to download ADE3 and ADE2 epubs.

Reader for PC software sits wholly on my PC - it does require an internet connection for downloads because it auto authorises Adobe, so as I say, provided I don't upgrade it I should be good to continue using it until it no longer authorises ADE2 ebooks.

I'm far from clear on all this ... these are just my thoughts ....

Edit
That's why I've suggested to others that they open an Aus or GB or wherever Sony Reader for PC account and continue to use it. One doesn't have to enter their payment details in order to open the account.

[Bookworm_Girl]

Originally Posted by Shopaholic

You're making the assumption that Reader for PC will still exist or be supported. I seriously doubt that will be the case after they close the store. If they're closing their largest markets - the US & Canada it's only a matter of time before the much smaller other markets close as well.

I doubt very much that anything is going to be business as usual for the Sony store account. They're closing down. They're done.

I expected no support. However according to the Sony FAQs they are going to release one last update to make the Reader desktop and some eink models directly compatible with the Kobo store. I was surprised!

In late March, we will release an update to the Reader for PC/Mac® software that will enable you to directly connect to the Kobo Store for future purchases. You can use the software then to also transfer the titles via USB to any of your Reader models from Sony .

In late May 2014, Kobo will launch a version of its eBook Store that you will be able to access directly from your Wi-Fi Reader (PRS-T1, PRS-T2, and PRS-T3) from Sony .

The Reader PRS-900 and PRS-950 devices will no longer have direct access to an eBook store after Reader Store closes. However, any eBooks purchased from Kobo can still be loaded onto your device via USB transfer.

[luvduchovny]

I don't plan to opt out, but I guess I might have to see if Kobo or Sony will find a way to merge the two accounts (because I have bought books from Kobo in the past and even did the direct load from the kobo bookstore on my T1 via the reader.

It's good to know they will do software update that acknowledges the T3 (which is what I am using now). But then again Sony is abandoning both the US and Canada in the Reader bookstore.

[Dr. Drib]

Where is the option link to transfer the books?

Although, I stopped buying books from Sony years ago (when I owned a number of Sony Readers), I still have some titles that I would need to access and then load into calibre.

Thanks.