08-18-2009, 03:43 PM | #1 |
Exwyzeeologist
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Sony PSP Digital Reader Service
Just saw this and thought it might be of interest to some of you. Starting in December, you'll be able to download comics to your PSP. Now, what's interesting to me is the end of the article: "The company further teased that the Digital Reader functionality will eventually extend beyond comics. Nothing else was said, but digital books seem rather obvious." I could imagine some people using their PSPs as ebook readers. After all, the screen is fairly comparable to an iPhone resolution-wise. And integration with the Sony eBookstore would make perfect sense. Also IIRC, there were some mentions from Sony last month that they were shuffling around some divisions, and that they were aiming for better integration between the Vaio, Playstation, and Reader lines. This looks like it's one of the first steps in making that integration a reality.
Sony via ShackNews Last edited by Nate the great; 08-18-2009 at 08:06 PM. Reason: added a second source |
08-18-2009, 03:54 PM | #2 |
Wizard
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Anything to get people reading more. Unfortunately, I don't think this will fare well.
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08-18-2009, 04:00 PM | #3 |
Resident Curmudgeon
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Now we know what will happen to all those old LRX eBooks.
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08-18-2009, 05:09 PM | #4 |
eReader
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Actually, the PSP isn't a bad eReader. A former co-worker of mine had one and it worked quite well.
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08-18-2009, 07:41 PM | #5 | |
Wizard
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Quote:
using the Homebrew Application Bookr or using one of the many txt to jpg programs, and just reading the images on it. (and now you can use the web browser in offline mode and read a file on the memory card) |
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08-18-2009, 08:03 PM | #6 |
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Assuming it features support for ePUB and not LRX, I'm all for it.
Prior to getting an iPhone, I used Bookr for reading PDF files. I've found the PSP's screen to be nicer to read on than the iPhone. However, while Bookr's interface is pretty polished, it just wasn't designed with library management in mind. I've got a ton of ebooks and fanfics on my memory stick and it's hard to choose reading material since you don't get the additional metadata and covers you would with Stanza. Not to mention it was much more time-consuming to prepare material for Bookr. I have a Firefox Portable and CutePDF installation dedicated to printing HTML to PDF. Yes, the built-in browser can handle native HTML but I've tested various methods of reading on the PSP and so far, Bookr suits me the most. A custom-made PDF just looks so much nicer than plain text files. Not to mention navigation in Bookr is much easier than scrolling with the Netfront browser. |
08-18-2009, 08:18 PM | #7 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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I'm hoping the fact that Sony is calling it _Digital_Reader_ is a sign that it will be a real ebook reader (epub, anyone?).
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08-18-2009, 08:25 PM | #8 |
Exwyzeeologist
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Nate, thanks for the proper Sony link up there.
And something else to keep in mind is that this "Reader" will launch at about the same time that Sony transfers the eBookstore over to ePub. So it wouldn't surprise me that at some point after that transition they add ePub support (and ADE?) to the PSP, and give you the ability to purchase books straight from the PSP over WiFi. Of course, that's purely my own speculation on the situation, and I've been known to be way off base before. But still, it would be pretty cool. |
08-18-2009, 08:35 PM | #9 |
Sir Penguin of Edinburgh
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Well, shoot.
The ebook reader people we know at Sony don't have any information. I was hoping for Epub, and that's not a good sign, IMO. |
08-18-2009, 11:32 PM | #10 | |
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Quote:
http://blog.laptopmag.com/sony-promi...support-coming This may be one of the first signs of this new collaboration. |
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08-18-2009, 11:32 PM | #11 |
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Well since the PSP can buy from the PSN store then I see no reason why the PSN store on the PSP would'nt have an ebook area, makes sense for sony to extend sales to as many devices as possible. And PSP's are a different niche so it should'nt cut into Reader sales.
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08-19-2009, 05:49 AM | #12 | |
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Quote:
Mark |
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08-19-2009, 09:43 AM | #13 |
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I'm not really a video game player, so my perspective on this is probably not very typical, but all in all, the PSP I got was a real disappointment for me. It's hard to find cheap and fun simple games that I can just pick up and play, the battery life is not great, the user interface is not real pleasant, the screen is pretty small for video games, the controller doesn't always react consistently, and the disk is constantly spinning even within a single game so there's a lot of waiting.
However, if I can read for at least a few hours a day on a PSP (which is probably the most I will have time to read now even on a day of heavy reading), and if the screen doesn't cause too much eye strain, it might be fun to read on the device. For true gamers that carry around a PSP, it might be really nice to be able to read on it. The screen has to be much better for reading than almost any phone. But eventually, I'd like to see e-book reading as a default generic function included with any mobile electronic device with a screen. Just like cell phones always have an alarm clock and a camera now by default. |
08-19-2009, 11:17 AM | #14 |
Wizard
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PSP screen too small? It has one of the largest screens of all mobile gaming devices, past and present.
However, a PSP only interests me for media, and not gaming, but for that I already have my N800. |
08-19-2009, 11:23 AM | #15 |
Chocolate Grasshopper ...
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seems like a useful addition, with a colour screen it could even be an easier way for me to read pdf files !
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