Kindle, Nook or Sony.

[jocampo]

Originally Posted by boswd

totally correct, people don't have to take my word on it or yours. People go to their local best buy and view them side by side. And I guantree you no one will walk away saying the kindle is 50% better. NO ONE.

also it was only the first two updates that focused more on bug fixes, it's last three firmware upgrades on the nook have all been performance and feature enhancements. From faster page turning to the ability to create shelves etc. Darker text

the Kindle hardware is YEARS beyond. What you are referring to is their software. The Sony uses a full touch screen navigation tech, the nook fuses together touch screen lcd tech and eink tech.
The kindle uses outdated push button navigation controls. Akin to tech of the 1990's. There is nothing I mean NOTHING techinally advanced about the kindle's hardware.

Please enlighten me and tell me exactly what does the pearl sceen bring to the advanced technological table besides a better contrast ratio I would to hear it. I mean nook was able to achieve almost the same contrast by a simple upgrade. Again people can go judge for themselves in person.

So whatever your hatred is towards Barnes and Noble at least be honest in your posts.

Sir,

E Ink Pearl provides a higher contrast than Vizplex thanks to the its new engineering design. When you measure the black (for the letters) vs the background, using a colorimeter, the difference is way much higher on the Pearl. Such difference is noticeable to our eyes as well. Human vision depends of that while reading, hence, is better and easier to read on Pearl screens with natural or adequate ambient light. Because is a hardware enhancement (the way the electrons are stimulated or not stimulated to provide the background "white") there is no way on the Nook to increase that delta via programming or code, in other words, you cannot tell the screen to do something was not design to. All this new and revamped technology also allows the Kindle 3 to uses less energy, keeping a single charge for up to 1 month!

Kindle 3 CPU is also faster than Nook 1st gen.

I don't know who told you or why you keep saying Nook 1st gen has better hardware than Kindle 3.

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by jocampo

Sir,

E Ink Pearl provides a higher contrast than Vizplex thanks to the its new engineering design. When you measure the black (for the letters) vs the background, using a colorimeter, the difference is way much higher on the Pearl. Such difference is noticeable to our eyes as well. Human vision depends of that while reading, hence, is better and easier to read on Pearl screens with natural or adequate ambient light. Because is a hardware enhancement (the way the electrons are stimulated or not stimulated to provide the background "white") there is no way on the Nook to increase that delta via programming or code, in other words, you cannot tell the screen to do something was not design to.

Absolutely right. Here's the Press Release from eInk, should anyone still doubt:

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--E Ink® Corporation, the leading developer and marketer of electronic paper display technology, today announced the Q2 release of its next generation display technology, Pearl. With Pearl, E Ink expands the capabilities of reflective displays, bringing electronic paper performance to the next level. With the whitest reflective displays in the industry, and a contrast ratio now approximately 50 percent greater than today's products, text on Pearl "pops" from the page, enabling a reading experience most similar to reading text on printed paper.
...

http://www.eink.com/press_releases/e...orm_070110.pdf

(PDF document)

[boswd]

You guys can cite marketing press releases all you want. What really matters is real world application. Again anyone can go look at the nook and kindle 3 side by side at your local best buy. The screens are on par with each other. You wont find one honest person who would look at theses side byside and say the kindle is 50% better. Wont happen press releases or no press release

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

Oh yeah, I read somewhere that, and i quote, "actually loading books onto the Pocket Reader is a giant pain". end of quote. I hope this isn't an issue with the prs-650 too.

Don't worry, it is a breeze! There is a programm called Reader Library that starts the moment you connect your Sony to your computer and it will lead you to the Sony store (where I buy my books with my Borderlinx address and circumvent the georestrictions thus) and it will make loading up books very simple. Even when you buy at other stores you can use the Reader Library to transport the books to your Sony. You download them via RL and transfer to your device. If you wanna do other things than just simple buying and loading, like changing formats or "enhance" books, there is Calibre.

[Poppaea]

Originally Posted by boswd

You guys can cite marketing press releases all you want. What really matters is real world application. Again anyone can go look at the nook and kindle 3 side by side at your local best buy. The screens are on par with each other. You wont find one honest person who would look at theses side byside and say the kindle is 50% better. Wont happen press releases or no press release

I had an Italica, which is like the Cybook Gen3, and when I had it side-by-side with my Sony, the Sony looked better but no way 50%. Just better. I think it is something your eyes can discern, but not as much as you can measure with instruments.

[Cpl Punishment]

Originally Posted by boswd

You guys can cite marketing press releases all you want. What really matters is real world application. Again anyone can go look at the nook and kindle 3 side by side at your local best buy. The screens are on par with each other. You wont find one honest person who would look at theses side byside and say the kindle is 50% better. Wont happen press releases or no press release

I have to dis-agree...When I was first in the market I checked bot the the Kindle(e) and the Sony 650 side by side at Best Buy....The Kindle most definitely had better contrast in the store..Still unsure, (mostly because I would prefer the Sony interface) I purchased them both to try them in my lighting at home and my hammock !!.. There were more Kindle fonts and they were darker...but I still preferred the Sony, so I asked on this forum (Sony) if there was a way to darken the font..I tried the different suggestions and ended up making my 650 a doorstop my Sony...I sadly returned the Sony because of the light contrast...I would buy the Sony again in a heartbeat if they updated their firmware to accomplish that..Not just my opinion but by most reviewers...

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by Poppaea

Don't worry, it is a breeze! There is a programm called Reader Library that starts the moment you connect your Sony to your computer and it will lead you to the Sony store (where I buy my books with my Borderlinx address and circumvent the georestrictions thus) and it will make loading up books very simple. Even when you buy at other stores you can use the Reader Library to transport the books to your Sony. You download them via RL and transfer to your device. If you wanna do other things than just simple buying and loading, like changing formats or "enhance" books, there is Calibre.

Well, I doubt I'll be doing much buying of books so I guess it's Calibre for me. From what I've read, Calibre seems to be quite user friendly. I'll be using a Windows 7 64-bit. I hope that doesn't change anything.

[drmathprog]

I use Calibre on a 64-bit Win 7 machine and it seems to run just fine.

[Latinandgreek]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

This is what I thought as well. I'm going for the 650. I'm getting someone to order it for me from the US and send it to me here. I just hope I'm not going to need any help from Sony's customer care. There are a couple of Sony shops here but I doubt they'll cover products bought out of Africa.


On a side note, I've noticed users on here aggressively defend their ereaders of choice. I think it's really healthy. If you don't absolutely love your device and think it's perfect for you, then there's no point buying it.


Oh yeah, I read somewhere that, and i quote, "actually loading books onto the Pocket Reader is a giant pain". end of quote. I hope this isn't an issue with the prs-650 too.

I like your attitude about loving your device
Don't worry about loading books onto your reader. I often just drag and drop them as I would on a USB stick if I'm feeling particularly lazy, otherwise I use Calibre. The Sony readers are great devices, I sincerely hope that you enjoy it.

[Fortissimo]

Originally Posted by Cpl Punishment

I have to dis-agree...When I was first in the market I checked bot the the Kindle(e) and the Sony 650 side by side at Best Buy....The Kindle most definitely had better contrast in the store..Still unsure, (mostly because I would prefer the Sony interface) I purchased them both to try them in my lighting at home and my hammock !!.. There were more Kindle fonts and they were darker...but I still preferred the Sony, so I asked on this forum (Sony) if there was a way to darken the font..I tried the different suggestions and ended up making my 650 a doorstop my Sony...I sadly returned the Sony because of the light contrast...I would buy the Sony again in a heartbeat if they updated their firmware to accomplish that..Not just my opinion but by most reviewers...

Oh no... I've just decided to buy the 650. Is the contrast really bad?

[boswd]

Originally Posted by Cpl Punishment

I have to dis-agree...When I was first in the market I checked bot the the Kindle(e) and the Sony 650 side by side at Best Buy....The Kindle most definitely had better contrast in the store..Still unsure, (mostly because I would prefer the Sony interface) I purchased them both to try them in my lighting at home and my hammock !!.. There were more Kindle fonts and they were darker...but I still preferred the Sony, so I asked on this forum (Sony) if there was a way to darken the font..I tried the different suggestions and ended up making my 650 a doorstop my Sony...I sadly returned the Sony because of the light contrast...I would buy the Sony again in a heartbeat if they updated their firmware to accomplish that..Not just my opinion but by most reviewers...

Are you sure it wasnt the sony 600 and not 650? The 600 did have a horrible screen. Thats not the case with 650

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by boswd

You guys can cite marketing press releases all you want. What really matters is real world application. Again anyone can go look at the nook and kindle 3 side by side at your local best buy. The screens are on par with each other. You wont find one honest person who would look at theses side byside and say the kindle is 50% better. Wont happen press releases or no press release

I take your point, but in fairness I must point out that the press release is from the company that makes the screen of both the nook and the Kindle, so they really are in a position to know the truth of the situation.

[Latinandgreek]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtrKo5UWpco

Here is a video of the Kindle vs. Sony, if you are very concerned. With non DRM books, you can change the font, I believe, but not directly on the reader, rather in the file before you load it to your Sony reader.

Here is the written review of the video I've linked.

http://blog.the-ebook-reader.com/201...-video-review/

[HarryT]

Originally Posted by Fortissimo

Oh no... I've just decided to buy the 650. Is the contrast really bad?

No, it isn't. The 650 has the exact same Pearl screen as the Kindle 3. I suspect that the good Cpl meant the 600, which had a greatly inferior screen.

[Poppaea]

DO NOT change your mind, please! Kindle has their own font which looks a tad darker, but you can see it only when they lie next to each other. The Sonys are wonderful! Please just believe me.