Glad to see Amazon Kindles gradually overtake Sony Readers

db100 · 11-30-2010, 03:54 PM

When Kindle was first introduced in 2007, Kindle forum only has 50 or so people daily, while Sony Reader forum always crowded with more than 200. But now, everything is reversed: Sony around 50, and Kindle forum owns more than 200.

Why? The reasons are so obvious:

1) Sony's price is very wrong: $249 daily edition just for half month's promotion? Now everyone has to pay $300 for that?

2) Too slow, and too little: How difficulty to add international fonts and let Russian out of hacker job? How difficulty to open SDK to everyone? How difficulty to export handwriting notes?

It looks like people sitting at Sony Plaza are totally isolated from the real world: They have no idea of what other people are doing, and what do we need.

rkomar · 11-30-2010, 04:23 PM

A lot of the forum action seems to be about problems with the devices. Maybe people who bought the Sony devices are having fewer problems? That could account for some of the reversal. But, yeah, much of the public thinks that all e-readers are Kindles.

edbro · 11-30-2010, 04:28 PM

Trolls are not welcome.

elcreative · 11-30-2010, 04:31 PM

So... impressive thoughts of real concern...

Yep, trolls waste space...

Quote:

Originally Posted by db100

When Kindle was first introduced in 2007, Kindle forum only has 50 or so people daily, while Sony Reader forum always crowded with more than 200. But now, everything is reversed: Sony around 50, and Kindle forum owns more than 200.

Why? The reasons are so obvious:

1) Sony's price is very wrong: $249 daily edition just for half month's promotion? Now everyone has to pay $300 for that?

2) Too slow, and too little: How difficulty to add international fonts and let Russian out of hacker job? How difficulty to open SDK to everyone? How difficulty to export handwriting notes?

It looks like people sitting at Sony Plaza are totally isolated from the real world: They have no idea of what other people are doing, and what do we need.

SkyDream · 11-30-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by db100

When Kindle was first introduced in 2007, Kindle forum only has 50 or so people daily, while Sony Reader forum always crowded with more than 200. But now, everything is reversed: Sony around 50, and Kindle forum owns more than 200.

Why? The reasons are so obvious:

There's no relationship as you mentioned.
Maybe people's interest changed, they are reading more books and spent less time visiting the forum....

Can't see any relationship mentioned by you...

Penforhire · 11-30-2010, 04:49 PM

Ha ha. That totally explains why I bought a new Sony instead of a Kindle doesn't it?

gardenstate · 11-30-2010, 04:58 PM

some of my thoughts (from a long-time Sony ebook user - 500, 505, and now 950):

Kindles seemed to be priced like printers. Priced low for purchase and the companies make money from ink sales. With low Kindle ereader prices, sales are expected from the Amazon.com bookstore.

Sony ebooks have a greater access to more format types (esp. EPUB from the library).

The Sony forum is very lucky to have some incredibly talented members - starting with Kovid (creator of Calibre) and MANY others that wrote firmware mods and solved problems with the Sony devices.

The Sony units are built VERY well when compared to the Kindle. Kindle - mostly plastic vs. a Sony with aluminum frame.

JSWolf · 11-30-2010, 05:38 PM

This is the wrong forum for this dreck. Take it elsewhere. get a mod to delete the thread.

doreenjoy · 11-30-2010, 07:43 PM

As long as you're happy, OP, that's all that matters....

rkomar · 11-30-2010, 08:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

This is the wrong forum for this dreck. Take it elsewhere. get a mod to delete the thread.

I disagree. His tone was mocking, but I think it's an interesting topic even if it was brought up by a troll. His first point about price is probably valid, and likely accounts for most of the difference in traffic. As far as the second, I'm not sure if the kindle is any better. One way it is better, though, is that Amazon do release updates for their firmware that improve features. I only wish Sony would do the same. It seems to be _the_ major source of disappointment from Sony e-reader owners in this forum, and may have caused many to jump ship to other companies' readers.

I expect to see a massive increase in traffic in both forums after

makes his rounds, though.

SCION · 11-30-2010, 08:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkomar

...One way it is better, though, is that Amazon do release updates for their firmware that improve features. I only wish Sony would do the same. It seems to be _the_ major source of disappointment from Sony e-reader owners in this forum, and may have caused many to jump ship to other companies' readers...

perversity · 11-30-2010, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SCION

This is my biggest, ad pretty much only complaint about my reader

Crowl · 11-30-2010, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rkomar

One way it is better, though, is that Amazon do release updates for their firmware that improve features. I only wish Sony would do the same. It seems to be _the_ major source of disappointment from Sony e-reader owners in this forum, and may have caused many to jump ship to other companies' readers.

It may not even be a case of causing people to jump ship, but with no updates to discuss then people will tend to have less things to talk about.

elcreative · 11-30-2010, 09:27 PM

No updates does seem to be a major point of contention on the forum but I also think it is a matter of expectations. Before I bought an eReader, I took the time to research the detailed specifications of the prospective purchase with the result that my Sonys do exactly what I expected them to do... the only upgrade I really appreciated came when Sony moved from lrf to ePub and that improved my 505 quite nicely.

I use PRS+ on both 505 and 600 but I use them for the additional functionality they provide... I didn't expect my Sony readers to provide this because I already knew exactly what they offered. I agree that Sony could do more but I purchased knowing what they did... and that was what I required, a pocket full of books to read in an easy and comfortable fashion...

viviena · 11-30-2010, 10:12 PM

I'm not so glad to see Amazon's Kindle overtake in terms of market share just about every other ereader out there. I have a suspicion of monopolies and vendor lock-ins. I chose my Sony Reader because it supported a more universal format with no vendor lock-in (we don't get a Sony Reader Store here), but I would rather go Pocketbook or Kobo than buy a Kindle. I'm happy to recommend the Kindles to others if I think it's suitable (and it often is the case), but I have my own hang-ups I like to humour. Of course, if someday it comes clear that Amazon has locked down the ebook market as tightly as Microsoft used to for PC software, well, resistance is futile.

(Before somebody jumps in to say that they can also sideload books from other vendors and can load their own MOBIs on the Kindle, etc., Amazon would still rather have people buying from their store. Not even the fact that it doesn't support EPUB, but rather that the Kindles don't support reading DRM-protected MOBIs also suggests to me this.)

11-30-2010, 03:54 PM	#1
db100 Member Posts: 19 Karma: 52 Join Date: Dec 2006	Glad to see Amazon Kindles gradually overtake Sony Readers When Kindle was first introduced in 2007, Kindle forum only has 50 or so people daily, while Sony Reader forum always crowded with more than 200. But now, everything is reversed: Sony around 50, and Kindle forum owns more than 200. Why? The reasons are so obvious: 1) Sony's price is very wrong: $249 daily edition just for half month's promotion? Now everyone has to pay $300 for that? 2) Too slow, and too little: How difficulty to add international fonts and let Russian out of hacker job? How difficulty to open SDK to everyone? How difficulty to export handwriting notes? It looks like people sitting at Sony Plaza are totally isolated from the real world: They have no idea of what other people are doing, and what do we need.

11-30-2010, 10:12 PM	#15
viviena Evangelist Posts: 412 Karma: 520610 Join Date: May 2010 Location: Canberra, Australia Device: Currently Kobo Clara HD and Aura One, iPad	I'm not so glad to see Amazon's Kindle overtake in terms of market share just about every other ereader out there. I have a suspicion of monopolies and vendor lock-ins. I chose my Sony Reader because it supported a more universal format with no vendor lock-in (we don't get a Sony Reader Store here), but I would rather go Pocketbook or Kobo than buy a Kindle. I'm happy to recommend the Kindles to others if I think it's suitable (and it often is the case), but I have my own hang-ups I like to humour. Of course, if someday it comes clear that Amazon has locked down the ebook market as tightly as Microsoft used to for PC software, well, resistance is futile. (Before somebody jumps in to say that they can also sideload books from other vendors and can load their own MOBIs on the Kindle, etc., Amazon would still rather have people buying from their store. Not even the fact that it doesn't support EPUB, but rather that the Kindles don't support reading DRM-protected MOBIs also suggests to me this.) Last edited by viviena; 11-30-2010 at 10:14 PM.

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11-30-2010, 04:23 PM	#2
rkomar Wizard Posts: 2,986 Karma: 18343081 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Sudbury, ON, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1, PB 623, PB 840, PB 633	A lot of the forum action seems to be about problems with the devices. Maybe people who bought the Sony devices are having fewer problems? That could account for some of the reversal. But, yeah, much of the public thinks that all e-readers are Kindles.

11-30-2010, 04:28 PM	#3
edbro Banned Posts: 640 Karma: 4911 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Grapevine, TX Device: iPad4	Trolls are not welcome.

11-30-2010, 04:49 PM	#6
Penforhire Wizard Posts: 2,230 Karma: 7145404 Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Southern California Device: Kindle Voyage & iPhone 7+	Ha ha. That totally explains why I bought a new Sony instead of a Kindle doesn't it?

11-30-2010, 04:58 PM	#7
gardenstate Groupie Posts: 195 Karma: 1069472 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago,IL USA suburb Device: Sony PRS-T1 and PRS-950	some of my thoughts (from a long-time Sony ebook user - 500, 505, and now 950): Kindles seemed to be priced like printers. Priced low for purchase and the companies make money from ink sales. With low Kindle ereader prices, sales are expected from the Amazon.com bookstore. Sony ebooks have a greater access to more format types (esp. EPUB from the library). The Sony forum is very lucky to have some incredibly talented members - starting with Kovid (creator of Calibre) and MANY others that wrote firmware mods and solved problems with the Sony devices. The Sony units are built VERY well when compared to the Kindle. Kindle - mostly plastic vs. a Sony with aluminum frame.

11-30-2010, 05:38 PM	#8
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 74,015 Karma: 129333114 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	This is the wrong forum for this dreck. Take it elsewhere. get a mod to delete the thread.

11-30-2010, 07:43 PM	#9
doreenjoy 01000100 01001010 Posts: 1,889 Karma: 2400000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Device: Polyamorous	As long as you're happy, OP, that's all that matters....

11-30-2010, 09:27 PM	#14
elcreative Wizard Posts: 2,888 Karma: 5875940 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: PRS505, 600, 350, 650, Nexus 7, Note III, iPad 4 etc	No updates does seem to be a major point of contention on the forum but I also think it is a matter of expectations. Before I bought an eReader, I took the time to research the detailed specifications of the prospective purchase with the result that my Sonys do exactly what I expected them to do... the only upgrade I really appreciated came when Sony moved from lrf to ePub and that improved my 505 quite nicely. I use PRS+ on both 505 and 600 but I use them for the additional functionality they provide... I didn't expect my Sony readers to provide this because I already knew exactly what they offered. I agree that Sony could do more but I purchased knowing what they did... and that was what I required, a pocket full of books to read in an easy and comfortable fashion...

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