Sony or iRiver? - Page 3

Mike_73 · 04-23-2010, 03:05 AM

I guess we all know that ereaders are not real books

But still, they get close enough (at least for me). I love that my Sony doesn't smell like some 2nd hand books. Also I love just laying my reader down without having the book closing itself and forgetting to put a bookmark before. You probably know these occasions: "Daddy, can you come to my room and have look on this or that...", or the doorbell or phone rings....

So yes, I think it really doesn't matter and everyone can find the device he needs, even if it is the old school pbook.

ChrisC333 · 04-23-2010, 03:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike_73

So yes, I think it really doesn't matter and everyone can find the device he needs, even if it is the old school pbook.

That's spot on.

I enjoy using all our reading gadgets, but there's no way I'm ever going to throw out all our pbooks.

I don't really think they'll stop making them any time soon either....

Mike_73 · 04-23-2010, 03:22 AM

I'll get rid of a box of old paperbacks some time soon to get some more space in the cellar. But I'll have to sift through first. There are a couple of novels I want to keep (just because I really like them) and I certainly keep my books I used during my studies. I haven't seen maths and physics change over the last decades, so I think these books will do for the future, too.

ChrisC333 · 04-23-2010, 03:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike_73

I'll get rid of a box of old paperbacks some time soon to get some more space in the cellar.

Everybody should have a cellar for storing all the stuff you can't quite bear to part with yet..

Mike_73 · 04-23-2010, 03:34 AM

I agree, but my cellar is really tiny. So I keep stuff for a while and once I stuff more into it, I have to get rid of some older stuff I thought I need to keep. At least this leaves some time to decide what to get rid off. And actually, if you have something in your cellar or attic and haven't touched it for years....

Ebooks are a lot different here. With hdd storage being so cheap, I sometimes lose track of what I have and what not. You may know such thoughts like "Uh, I didn't know I ever bought that music. What did I think?"

Traye · 04-25-2010, 12:54 PM

The Sony is winning the Sony/Iriver battle in my house.

I LOVE the Sony. I find it nicer to read from, I like the button placement. The page turn buttons fit where my thumb sits perfectly. The menu has a bit more to it.
It's a bit heavier than the iriver, but not so heavy as to bother me at all. Holding the iriver after the 505 makes the iriver seem too light.

Mike_73 · 04-25-2010, 03:30 PM

I've been looking at the irex800 (with whatever extension). If they get the firmware right, this may be something. An 8" screen and only slightly larger than the 505 or 600.

MacEachaidh · 04-27-2010, 11:22 AM

Okay, I jumped into the pond!!

Dipped my toe in the water (right up to my armpit, it feels like), and went and bought an iRiver Story today. Now I'm kinda hovering over my USB charger plug, waiting for it to get a full charge. (Haven't connected it to my PC yet -- I know that'll charge it too, but a couple of months back I bought an iRiver B30 -- an MP3 player with a DAB+ digital radio included -- and found that if I connected it to my PC and tried to enable USB connectivity before it had a full charge, it just threw a sulk and shut itself down in the middle of file transfers. So I'm trying to be very patient, and do this absolutely one step at a time.)

Reasons for buying the iRiver: I know people have commented on how much better they feel the Sony YaddaYadda is, but Sony isn't sold in this country, and these days I'm just not game to buy electronic stuff that doesn't have local representation. I've been bitten a few too many times doing that. Besides, I'm a child of completely unreasonable expectations and superstitions: Panasonic is generally my manufacturer of choice when it comes to electronics, and I have a wholly unjustifiable dislike of Sony. Makes no sense, but what can you do? (Just like, after a fair bit of time in professional theatre, I won't say the name "Macbeth" in a theatre or rehearsal space. There are things you just don't do, like buy Sony.)

Anyway, it's done.

One little tip for Aussies:
If you're thinking of buying it at Harvey Norman, like I did (apart from anything else, it was the only place I could find where I could easily walk in off the street and actually put my hands on a working, powered demo model), then see if they'll do price matching. I did a bit of internet checking first, and found out Ryda is selling it online for $328, whereas Harvey Norman had it in-store for $399. So I just casually wondered out loud, in talking to the sales assistant on the floor, if she knew why there was such a difference in the two prices, and said I'd rather buy it there and then, but the $71 really made a considerable difference. (And really, it is a big difference!) She looked up the Ryda website, confirmed the price there, and matched it on the spot without turning a hair. Which I was really happy for, but sheesh -- what a mark-up HN must have on these things!! So if you're going to buy at HN, check out other websites first -- either through ryda.com.au (in this case), or through a really useful metasite shopbot.com.au -- and go prepared with a comparison to ask for a better price.

Anyway, it's done. Soon as it's finished charging I'll check if the firmware needs upgrading, and start loading books. Ooof, I really hope I don't regret it!!

Wish me luck ...

Mike_73 · 04-27-2010, 11:54 AM

Can't wait to hear about your first experiences. Likes and dislikes, well everyone has some. I bought my Sony because I couldn't get my hands on the Iriver in a store. Here it is (maybe was) only sold online at the time I bought my Sony. I haven't had any bad experience with Sony so far, so I didn't have a dislike about it.

And I love your thing about the price matching. I did this in the US, and it worked there, too. Here in Germany, I wasn't that lucky. I got told that the next store selling the same TV for 200 Euros less was too far away (about 30 km) so that they couldn't match the price. Well, for me it was 15 km either way. So guess what....

Traye · 04-27-2010, 12:08 PM

Congrats, MacEachaidh.

I like my Iriver story as it was my first reader. It's very easy to use. I just prefer the Sony.
I updated my firmware as soon as I got it too. Good luck and enjoy!

tofubean · 04-27-2010, 10:33 PM

Good luck with your iriver. Should be easy to like your first ebook reader unless you really have high expectations.

ChrisC333 · 04-27-2010, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

One little tip for Aussies:
I did a bit of internet checking first, and found out Ryda is selling it online for $328, whereas Harvey Norman had it in-store for $399. So I just casually wondered out loud, in talking to the sales assistant on the floor, if she knew why there was such a difference in the two prices, and said I'd rather buy it there and then, but the $71 really made a considerable difference.

Nice one!

I'm torn between genuine enthusiasm for your successful score, and feeling just ever so slightly miffed that I only managed to get $33 off.

Enjoy your reading.

MacEachaidh · 04-28-2010, 06:37 AM

Thanks, folks!

I've put some books on there to try it out, so am about to settle down and have my first read (once Spicks and Specks is over, of course!)

One other thing I forgot to mention for prospective buyers: be *really* careful what claims you take on as factual from the salesperson. The one who sold me my Story, friendly and bright as she was, was convinced that the Story had Wi-Fi connectivity (I was wondering for a minute if that might be true, because I've read there has been a Wi-Fi-enabled model of Story tested in the Korean market, and the latest firmware -- version 1.71 -- has allegedly been decompiled to show the software routines for Wi-Fi are already part of the new firmware bundle, and are just awaiting completion of the hardware ... but it was not to be) and she also told me that it would *only* read books bought from Amazon. She would not be dissuaded from her claims, so I'm glad I'd researched the hardware carefully ahead of time, or I would have been seriously grumpy on getting the thing home.

But I've bought enough PCs and components in my time to know that I need to take a salesperson in a generalist electronics department store with quite a few grains of salt.

A few strange shortcomings I've already discovered in the Story, and would like to see addressed through firmware upgrades (if possible):

Firstly, there's no way on the device itself to initiate a USB connection. When you plug it by USB into a powered-up PC, it recognises the link and asks if you want to connect, but if you're not quick enough moving the cursor down to the connect option and saying yes, that possibility goes away ... and can't be recalled, by either a menu option or a hardware button. The only way to bring it back is to unplug the device and plug it back in and wait for it to recognise the PC again. USB connections are prone to damage and degradation of data throughput rates by frequent plugging and unplugging, so this is not an ideal arrangement.

More significant, I think, is the so-so support for memory card expansion. The card has to be formatted (in FAT-32) before it can be used in the Story, but unlike iRiver's other memory-card-enabled devices, the Story doesn't have the capacity to format the memory card itself. The company's suggestion is that you buy an external memory card reader for that purpose. Completely unrealistic, methinks.

Third issue (for a device I haven't actually used yet!) may seem a small one, but in one word it's: folders. On my PC I like to store my e.books in folders according to genre, and then within that folder by author. It's my file-management equivalent of the Dewey system. But the Story doesn't do folders. You have one folder on the device -- prosaically titled "Books" -- into which all your e.books get loaded, and then the Story will sort them alphabetically for the menu. To sort them by any other method requires any genre coding or keyword to be included in the title of the file itself; but if you include the genre and author in the file name, the actual name of the book likely disappears off the right-hand end of the menu item, never to be seen again. A little primitive, I'm thinking, especially in a device dedicated to making books accessible.

Am I asking too much? I often do, but perhaps most e.Readers have similar issues.

ChrisC333 · 04-28-2010, 10:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacEachaidh

One other thing I forgot to mention for prospective buyers: be *really* careful what claims you take on as factual from the salesperson. The one who sold me my Story, friendly and bright as she was, was convinced that the Story had Wi-Fi connectivity

You got the version with no Wifi?!

That explains the $71 off then..... (nah, just kidding.

)

You're spot on with the summary of the salesepeople at Hardly Normal's. Every single thing the first guy told me about the Story was incorrect. Then the second time I went for a look the guy assured me he knew about the machine, but then undermined his claim by having to ask somebody else how to turn it on. It always pays to do your own research.

Quote:

The only way to bring it back is to unplug the device and plug it back in and wait for it to recognise the PC again. USB connections are prone to damage and degradation of data throughput rates by frequent plugging and unplugging, so this is not an ideal arrangement.

My work around for that (which is handy for all the gear I have) is to use a short USB cable that stays permanently plugged into a USB port on the desktop machine. All the frequent use stuff gets used on that cable - thumb drives, cameras, the Story, etc. If the socket ever gets dodgy it will only mean replacing a few bucks worth of cable, not losing the use of a port on the machine.

Quote:

Third issue (for a device I haven't actually used yet!) may seem a small one, but in one word it's: folders. On my PC I like to store my e.books in folders according to genre, and then within that folder by author. It's my file-management equivalent of the Dewey system. But the Story doesn't do folders. You have one folder on the device -- prosaically titled "Books" -- into which all your e.books get loaded, and then the Story will sort them alphabetically for the menu. To sort them by any other method requires any genre coding or keyword to be included in the title of the file itself; but if you include the genre and author in the file name, the actual name of the book likely disappears off the right-hand end of the menu item, never to be seen again. A little primitive, I'm thinking, especially in a device dedicated to making books accessible.

That bugged me initially, but now it seems like a reasonable prompt to limit the number of books on there at any one time to 5 or 10, which is more than enough for my needs. I find it much better to do all the cataloguing, sorting and storing on the computer - it's just faster, clearer, more versatile, and generally better at the job than the readers I've seen.

Cheers,

Chris

And Myf's team won tonight too....

Mike_73 · 04-28-2010, 12:29 PM

Well, putting books by folders doesn't work on the Sonys either (you either need a Firmware hack or use the "collections" which work somewhat like folders but which are actually just tags).

Connecting to the PC with the Sonys works quite well, allthough I find there are some hiccups, too. If you connect the reader, Sonys software always pops up. The windows file dialog does, too. As the 600 uses a separate partition of the readers memory for the software installation files (instead of a bundled CD), 2 windows file dialogs pop up. So if you "securely" disconnect (not just unplugging from the PC), you have to close 2 drives. I tried to prevent the startup of the Sony software with the effect that my reader wasn't recognized by the PC anymore, even after allowing the start up of the program again. I had to reset the reader.

So there are glitches with all readers right now, I assume. Maybe in a couple of reader generations, all of them will perform the "basic" stuff just really right.

But let's know how the reader handles, how the files get displayed.... You know, all the stuff that is interesting for us others not having an Iriver.

Take care

04-27-2010, 11:22 AM	#38
MacEachaidh Browser Posts: 745 Karma: 578294 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura HD	Okay, I jumped into the pond!! Dipped my toe in the water (right up to my armpit, it feels like), and went and bought an iRiver Story today. Now I'm kinda hovering over my USB charger plug, waiting for it to get a full charge. (Haven't connected it to my PC yet -- I know that'll charge it too, but a couple of months back I bought an iRiver B30 -- an MP3 player with a DAB+ digital radio included -- and found that if I connected it to my PC and tried to enable USB connectivity before it had a full charge, it just threw a sulk and shut itself down in the middle of file transfers. So I'm trying to be very patient, and do this absolutely one step at a time.) Reasons for buying the iRiver: I know people have commented on how much better they feel the Sony YaddaYadda is, but Sony isn't sold in this country, and these days I'm just not game to buy electronic stuff that doesn't have local representation. I've been bitten a few too many times doing that. Besides, I'm a child of completely unreasonable expectations and superstitions: Panasonic is generally my manufacturer of choice when it comes to electronics, and I have a wholly unjustifiable dislike of Sony. Makes no sense, but what can you do? (Just like, after a fair bit of time in professional theatre, I won't say the name "Macbeth" in a theatre or rehearsal space. There are things you just don't do, like buy Sony.) Anyway, it's done. One little tip for Aussies: If you're thinking of buying it at Harvey Norman, like I did (apart from anything else, it was the only place I could find where I could easily walk in off the street and actually put my hands on a working, powered demo model), then see if they'll do price matching. I did a bit of internet checking first, and found out Ryda is selling it online for $328, whereas Harvey Norman had it in-store for $399. So I just casually wondered out loud, in talking to the sales assistant on the floor, if she knew why there was such a difference in the two prices, and said I'd rather buy it there and then, but the $71 really made a considerable difference. (And really, it is a big difference!) She looked up the Ryda website, confirmed the price there, and matched it on the spot without turning a hair. Which I was really happy for, but sheesh -- what a mark-up HN must have on these things!! So if you're going to buy at HN, check out other websites first -- either through ryda.com.au (in this case), or through a really useful metasite shopbot.com.au -- and go prepared with a comparison to ask for a better price. Anyway, it's done. Soon as it's finished charging I'll check if the firmware needs upgrading, and start loading books. Ooof, I really hope I don't regret it!! Wish me luck ... Last edited by MacEachaidh; 04-27-2010 at 11:26 AM.

04-28-2010, 06:37 AM	#43
MacEachaidh Browser Posts: 745 Karma: 578294 Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Australia Device: Kobo Touch, Kobo Aura HD	Thanks, folks! I've put some books on there to try it out, so am about to settle down and have my first read (once Spicks and Specks is over, of course!) One other thing I forgot to mention for prospective buyers: be really careful what claims you take on as factual from the salesperson. The one who sold me my Story, friendly and bright as she was, was convinced that the Story had Wi-Fi connectivity (I was wondering for a minute if that might be true, because I've read there has been a Wi-Fi-enabled model of Story tested in the Korean market, and the latest firmware -- version 1.71 -- has allegedly been decompiled to show the software routines for Wi-Fi are already part of the new firmware bundle, and are just awaiting completion of the hardware ... but it was not to be) and she also told me that it would only read books bought from Amazon. She would not be dissuaded from her claims, so I'm glad I'd researched the hardware carefully ahead of time, or I would have been seriously grumpy on getting the thing home. But I've bought enough PCs and components in my time to know that I need to take a salesperson in a generalist electronics department store with quite a few grains of salt. A few strange shortcomings I've already discovered in the Story, and would like to see addressed through firmware upgrades (if possible): Firstly, there's no way on the device itself to initiate a USB connection. When you plug it by USB into a powered-up PC, it recognises the link and asks if you want to connect, but if you're not quick enough moving the cursor down to the connect option and saying yes, that possibility goes away ... and can't be recalled, by either a menu option or a hardware button. The only way to bring it back is to unplug the device and plug it back in and wait for it to recognise the PC again. USB connections are prone to damage and degradation of data throughput rates by frequent plugging and unplugging, so this is not an ideal arrangement. More significant, I think, is the so-so support for memory card expansion. The card has to be formatted (in FAT-32) before it can be used in the Story, but unlike iRiver's other memory-card-enabled devices, the Story doesn't have the capacity to format the memory card itself. The company's suggestion is that you buy an external memory card reader for that purpose. Completely unrealistic, methinks. Third issue (for a device I haven't actually used yet!) may seem a small one, but in one word it's: folders. On my PC I like to store my e.books in folders according to genre, and then within that folder by author. It's my file-management equivalent of the Dewey system. But the Story doesn't do folders. You have one folder on the device -- prosaically titled "Books" -- into which all your e.books get loaded, and then the Story will sort them alphabetically for the menu. To sort them by any other method requires any genre coding or keyword to be included in the title of the file itself; but if you include the genre and author in the file name, the actual name of the book likely disappears off the right-hand end of the menu item, never to be seen again. A little primitive, I'm thinking, especially in a device dedicated to making books accessible. Am I asking too much? I often do, but perhaps most e.Readers have similar issues. Last edited by MacEachaidh; 04-28-2010 at 06:45 AM.

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04-23-2010, 03:05 AM	#31
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	I guess we all know that ereaders are not real books But still, they get close enough (at least for me). I love that my Sony doesn't smell like some 2nd hand books. Also I love just laying my reader down without having the book closing itself and forgetting to put a bookmark before. You probably know these occasions: "Daddy, can you come to my room and have look on this or that...", or the doorbell or phone rings.... So yes, I think it really doesn't matter and everyone can find the device he needs, even if it is the old school pbook.

04-23-2010, 03:22 AM	#33
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	I'll get rid of a box of old paperbacks some time soon to get some more space in the cellar. But I'll have to sift through first. There are a couple of novels I want to keep (just because I really like them) and I certainly keep my books I used during my studies. I haven't seen maths and physics change over the last decades, so I think these books will do for the future, too.

04-23-2010, 03:34 AM	#35
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	I agree, but my cellar is really tiny. So I keep stuff for a while and once I stuff more into it, I have to get rid of some older stuff I thought I need to keep. At least this leaves some time to decide what to get rid off. And actually, if you have something in your cellar or attic and haven't touched it for years.... Ebooks are a lot different here. With hdd storage being so cheap, I sometimes lose track of what I have and what not. You may know such thoughts like "Uh, I didn't know I ever bought that music. What did I think?"

04-25-2010, 12:54 PM	#36
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	The Sony is winning the Sony/Iriver battle in my house. I LOVE the Sony. I find it nicer to read from, I like the button placement. The page turn buttons fit where my thumb sits perfectly. The menu has a bit more to it. It's a bit heavier than the iriver, but not so heavy as to bother me at all. Holding the iriver after the 505 makes the iriver seem too light.

04-25-2010, 03:30 PM	#37
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	I've been looking at the irex800 (with whatever extension). If they get the firmware right, this may be something. An 8" screen and only slightly larger than the 505 or 600.

04-27-2010, 11:54 AM	#39
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	Can't wait to hear about your first experiences. Likes and dislikes, well everyone has some. I bought my Sony because I couldn't get my hands on the Iriver in a store. Here it is (maybe was) only sold online at the time I bought my Sony. I haven't had any bad experience with Sony so far, so I didn't have a dislike about it. And I love your thing about the price matching. I did this in the US, and it worked there, too. Here in Germany, I wasn't that lucky. I got told that the next store selling the same TV for 200 Euros less was too far away (about 30 km) so that they couldn't match the price. Well, for me it was 15 km either way. So guess what....

04-27-2010, 12:08 PM	#40
Traye Zealot Posts: 146 Karma: 18288 Join Date: Apr 2010 Device: Kindle, Sony PRS505, Ipod touch, iPhone	Congrats, MacEachaidh. I like my Iriver story as it was my first reader. It's very easy to use. I just prefer the Sony. I updated my firmware as soon as I got it too. Good luck and enjoy!

04-27-2010, 10:33 PM	#41
tofubean Connoisseur Posts: 75 Karma: 64 Join Date: Feb 2010 Device: K3, iPad, PW	Good luck with your iriver. Should be easy to like your first ebook reader unless you really have high expectations.

04-28-2010, 12:29 PM	#45
Mike_73 Guru Posts: 750 Karma: 1323 Join Date: Dec 2009 Device: PRS-505, PRS-600, iPad 16GB Wifi, Kindle Voyage, Nexus 6, Razr HD	Well, putting books by folders doesn't work on the Sonys either (you either need a Firmware hack or use the "collections" which work somewhat like folders but which are actually just tags). Connecting to the PC with the Sonys works quite well, allthough I find there are some hiccups, too. If you connect the reader, Sonys software always pops up. The windows file dialog does, too. As the 600 uses a separate partition of the readers memory for the software installation files (instead of a bundled CD), 2 windows file dialogs pop up. So if you "securely" disconnect (not just unplugging from the PC), you have to close 2 drives. I tried to prevent the startup of the Sony software with the effect that my reader wasn't recognized by the PC anymore, even after allowing the start up of the program again. I had to reset the reader. So there are glitches with all readers right now, I assume. Maybe in a couple of reader generations, all of them will perform the "basic" stuff just really right. But let's know how the reader handles, how the files get displayed.... You know, all the stuff that is interesting for us others not having an Iriver. Take care

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