Reading DRM files

syke87 · 10-10-2010, 10:45 PM

I have a Kindle which I love, but I'm looking for advice for readers for family members. They will be buying DRM'd titles from places other than Amazon, so I know the kindle isn't for them. Which readers are likely to be able to read a DRM'd book from sites not associated with an e-book store? I'm in Canada, so the Kobo is easy to get, but near a border, so readers available in Canada or the US are both options.

ATDrake · 10-10-2010, 11:10 PM

Kobo, Nook, and Sony will probably be the easiest for you to get your hands upon, and possibly also for non-tech-savvy family members to use.

All will read Adobe DRM-ed ePub and PDF formats, which is what nearly all the other major e-booksellers and the library e-book systems will use. The Nook will also read ePub and eReader books in B&N's DRM scheme in addition to the Adobe stuff.

But while B&N are technically willing to sell to Canadians in their bookstore, in practice a lot of e-books that are available to Canadians in the other stores are labeled with "only ships to US addresses" at B&N, so that makes buying an inconvenience for which one would have to enter a US billing/shipping address (not necessarily an accurate one, though).

Also, their Customer Service kind of sucks, as they won't handle issues via e-mail and will make you phone up their tech support, which may possibly incur long-distance expenses if anything goes wrong.

As a Canadian myself, I say go with Kobo or Sony, depending on how many extra features your family members want. Both will sell e-books to Canadians openly, you can check the models out in-store if you live in an area with a Chapters or a Sony Store, and they probably won't make your family jump through too many hoops for decent customer support should they need it.

Also, you probably already know this, but just in case you don't; if you have a Kobo or Sony you're not just limited to buying e-books via their corresponding stores, but can freely shop at any Adobe DRM supporting place. This means that your family can buy books from the Sony Reader Store and load them up onto a Kobo and vice versa.

Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

syke87 · 10-10-2010, 11:22 PM

Thank you! That's a great help. My dad will likely only buy from Baen, so his doesn't matter so much, but my sister is looking at using hers for textbooks, so I know she'll need to read DRM files, possibly from a wide assortment of vendors.

polly · 10-11-2010, 07:14 PM

If she's looking at textbooks, she also needs to consider screen size and reflow ability. Textbooks don't always work well on the 6"screen.

10-10-2010, 10:45 PM	#1
syke87 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle	Reading DRM files I have a Kindle which I love, but I'm looking for advice for readers for family members. They will be buying DRM'd titles from places other than Amazon, so I know the kindle isn't for them. Which readers are likely to be able to read a DRM'd book from sites not associated with an e-book store? I'm in Canada, so the Kobo is easy to get, but near a border, so readers available in Canada or the US are both options.

10-10-2010, 11:22 PM	#3
syke87 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: Oct 2010 Device: Kindle	Thanks! Thank you! That's a great help. My dad will likely only buy from Baen, so his doesn't matter so much, but my sister is looking at using hers for textbooks, so I know she'll need to read DRM files, possibly from a wide assortment of vendors.

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10-10-2010, 11:10 PM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Kobo, Nook, and Sony will probably be the easiest for you to get your hands upon, and possibly also for non-tech-savvy family members to use. All will read Adobe DRM-ed ePub and PDF formats, which is what nearly all the other major e-booksellers and the library e-book systems will use. The Nook will also read ePub and eReader books in B&N's DRM scheme in addition to the Adobe stuff. But while B&N are technically willing to sell to Canadians in their bookstore, in practice a lot of e-books that are available to Canadians in the other stores are labeled with "only ships to US addresses" at B&N, so that makes buying an inconvenience for which one would have to enter a US billing/shipping address (not necessarily an accurate one, though). Also, their Customer Service kind of sucks, as they won't handle issues via e-mail and will make you phone up their tech support, which may possibly incur long-distance expenses if anything goes wrong. As a Canadian myself, I say go with Kobo or Sony, depending on how many extra features your family members want. Both will sell e-books to Canadians openly, you can check the models out in-store if you live in an area with a Chapters or a Sony Store, and they probably won't make your family jump through too many hoops for decent customer support should they need it. Also, you probably already know this, but just in case you don't; if you have a Kobo or Sony you're not just limited to buying e-books via their corresponding stores, but can freely shop at any Adobe DRM supporting place. This means that your family can buy books from the Sony Reader Store and load them up onto a Kobo and vice versa. Hope this helps, and welcome to MobileRead!

10-11-2010, 07:14 PM	#4
polly Evangelist Posts: 454 Karma: 270240 Join Date: Aug 2009 Device: Sony PRS 650, PocketBook 360, Astak PocketPro (RIP), Tungsten T3	If she's looking at textbooks, she also needs to consider screen size and reflow ability. Textbooks don't always work well on the 6"screen.

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