Sony PRS-700 Reader launch in New York City

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Boston

I can't imagine why the brick-and-mortar stores would partner with Sony unless some POS feature where in the works.

Finding out about continuing engagement with the retailer is one of the things I want to do.

But Sony sells devices through retailers, so partnering with them on the Reader is a natural step. However, the Reader is a one time sale. What brings the customer back next time?

So I concur, some sort of setup to sell ebooks for the reader as well as the reader itself seems indicated. I jost don't yet know what Son'ys plans are in that area.
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Dennis

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

Dennis:

Nice reporting, and SUPER to hear that you'll be doing some follow-up. I'd like to flog three ideas that you may wish to raise with the Sony folks.
[*]Baen's ebook model. I know you're well aware of it; I hope you can make sure that Sony is well aware of it.

I'm sure Sony is aware of the Baen model, but it's not clear it's applicable to them.

Baen is a publisher. They can choose to offer electronic books by their authors in their choice for formats, DRM or not, and pricing, as long as their contract with the author permits them to do so.

Sony is not a publisher. In terms of providing content for the reader, they are a distributor or retailer, and what they can offer and under what terms will be governed by the agreement with the publishers whose books they offer.

[*]My suggestions for Mac/Linux/etc. support "on the cheap." See the thread here for information.

What is the problem with the current site that requires Windows to access content? I don't run Mac OS/X or Linux, so I don't know what the issue is.

I agree that web standards are a good thing and should be adhered to. I'll ask if the site redesign will be usable by Mac users.

[*]The one missing feature that would let us power users have convenient support for thousands of books on the reader. It's written up in post three of the above thread.

Yes, that would be nice.

Personally, I also think Sony ought to take a leaf from Mobipocket, and offer an LRF Creator application to make it easier for folks to develop Sony compatible content. ePub and Adobe DE support is all very well, but not everybody has (or is willing to shell out for) InDesign.

Good luck following up with Sony. I'm waiting with bated breath to hear what you learn.

Xenophon

I'll see what I can do.

I don't expect to get everything covered, but I'm making a list. In some cases, it may be a case of "Okay, you're not the guy who can tell me that. Can you point at the one who is?" Like, I don't expect Steve, as the President of the whole Division, to have technical details at his fingertips. I'll be happy if you passes me on to the folks who do.
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Dennis

[bbusybookworm]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

What is the problem with the current site that requires Windows to access content? I don't run Mac OS/X or Linux, so I don't know what the issue is.
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Dennis

I believe that the problem is that currently to buy books from sony you need the Ebook library software installed, and it is only available for windows.
Similarly Adobe DE for Mac cannot authorise the reader without the software, so you can't buy protected files from other sources as well.

That's one of the strengths of the Mobi / eReader format that they don't require a program to be installed to buy and load books on a device. If Sony could implement such a system, it would probably silence a large part of the complaints.

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by bbusybookworm

I believe that the problem is that currently to buy books from sony you need the Ebook library software installed, and it is only available for windows.
Similarly Adobe DE for Mac cannot authorise the reader without the software, so you can't buy protected files from other sources as well.

<blink>

Oh. Right.

I recall hearing about that, but since I'm not a Sony ebook purchaser, I hadn't experienced it directly.

Thanks!

That's one of the strengths of the Mobi / eReader format that they don't require a program to be installed to buy and load books on a device. If Sony could implement such a system, it would probably silence a large part of the complaints.

Agreed.
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Dennis

[gwynevans]

Originally Posted by Zaragon

I personally like reading Science Fiction which is not the sort of book you find in a lot of retailers though Borders and Waterstones generally have a reasonable selection.

Just to check, are you aware of Baen, who have a 'Free library' where you can get a free introduction to many of their Authors and even for the commercial books, are available in multiple DRM-free formats (including Sony LRF)?

As a keen SF reader, that's where the majority of my eBook reading's come from!

[LexHall]

Hello
Is there any video of this new reader?

[Dave Berk]

Originally Posted by LexHall

Hello
Is there any video of this new reader?

Not yet. I hope we'll see one soon.

[Xenophon]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'm sure Sony is aware of the Baen model, but it's not clear it's applicable to them.

Baen is a publisher. They can choose to offer electronic books by their authors in their choice for formats, DRM or not, and pricing, as long as their contract with the author permits them to do so.

Sony is not a publisher. In terms of providing content for the reader, they are a distributor or retailer, and what they can offer and under what terms will be governed by the agreement with the publishers whose books they offer.

What Sony can do is jawbone the publishers on pricing, availability, and DRM (actually lack thereof). The Baen model is relevant as ammunition/evidence. I realize that Sony isn't the publisher themselves, and can't control the outcome. They can, however, provide some influence in the right direction. Especially since higher sales helps them as well as the publishers and the consumers.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

What is the problem with the current site that requires Windows to access content? I don't run Mac OS/X or Linux, so I don't know what the issue is.

I agree that web standards are a good thing and should be adhered to. I'll ask if the site redesign will be usable by Mac users.

The need for the Sony Library software is the problem. At a minimum, it should be possible to authorize a Sony reader by entering its serial number into a web site (presumably a site associated with Sony's store). Purchasing from the Sony store should NOT require use of their software. Likewise, there's no reason why one should need Windows do the secure Adobe thing, either.

With just a little thought, they should be able to be completely platform independent. I also note that Calibre is more useful than Sony's software in terms of available functionality... and it's mainly the work of one guy (with clever use of pre-existing open source libraries).

On the support for thousands of books, you wrote:

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Yes, that would be nice.

Indeed. I've given up using an SD card for the nonce, because I can't stand paging through the list of books to get to the one I want. One small feature (and one bug-fix: see the P.S. below) is all that stands in the way of letting the community fix the problem for them.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Personally, I also think Sony ought to take a leaf from Mobipocket, and offer an LRF Creator application to make it easier for folks to develop Sony compatible content. ePub and Adobe DE support is all very well, but not everybody has (or is willing to shell out for) InDesign.

If you have clean HTML (or ePub, or Lit, or Mobi, and probably some other formats as well), Calibre will give you quite a nice .lrf file. And ePub support is coming along.

If Sony really wanted to make some quick progress in the direction of an LRF Creator application, they could do like IBM (or Apple, or Google, or Sun, or ...) and assign one or more of their own software guys to contribute to the Calibre project. It's open source -- they can ship it too! There are plenty of other products that come with open source apps on the install CD; nothing wrong with it.

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

I'll see what I can do.

I don't expect to get everything covered, but I'm making a list. In some cases, it may be a case of "Okay, you're not the guy who can tell me that. Can you point at the one who is?" Like, I don't expect Steve, as the President of the whole Division, to have technical details at his fingertips. I'll be happy if [he] passes me on to the folks who do.
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Dennis

Getting these ideas to the people who actually know would be the second-best outcome we could hope for. The best outcome would be to get the ideas passed down the chain with a strong endorsement from "the President of the whole Division," as that tends to make things actually happen.

Xenophon

P.S. There's a small technical glitch with my idea for supporting thousands of books on the Sony Readers. The issue is that Sony's firmware exhibits worse-than-linear-time behavior when it scans memory (and SD cards) to identify content after you've changed what's there. I've seen reports of it taking over an hour to do the scan with ~4K books, and running out of battery before finishing the scan with ~8K books. (Those numbers may be off, but the idea is correct). There's obviously an underlying algorithmic problem that needs to be fixed; no reason it should be worse than O(n lg n), but it seems to be. This is another one of those pesky details that Steve won't be the right person to deal with, but...

[Mycropht]

Originally Posted by LexHall

Hello
Is there any video of this new reader?

I have found one:

http://vimeo.com/1890432

Also, I have started a thread for posting links to the PRS-700 videos:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=30201

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by Xenophon

What Sony can do is jawbone the publishers on pricing, availability, and DRM (actually lack thereof). The Baen model is relevant as ammunition/evidence. I realize that Sony isn't the publisher themselves, and can't control the outcome. They can, however, provide some influence in the right direction. Especially since higher sales helps them as well as the publishers and the consumers.

If in fact they are interested in doing so.

One of the questions I have as a followup is the process by which they obtain content, and the sort of relationships they build with publishers. Amazon is sort of the 800lb gorilla on the book industry. If they say "We want a Kindle edition", it might be hard for a publisher to say no. Sony hasn't got that degree of clout, and may have to tread more carefully.

The need for the Sony Library software is the problem. At a minimum, it should be possible to authorize a Sony reader by entering its serial number into a web site (presumably a site associated with Sony's store). Purchasing from the Sony store should NOT require use of their software. Likewise, there's no reason why one should need Windows do the secure Adobe thing, either.

I concur. Saying "You are freezing out the Mac user by requiring a Windows program, and have you looked at how many Macs are being sold now?" might have a salutary effect.

With just a little thought, they should be able to be completely platform independent. I also note that Calibre is more useful than Sony's software in terms of available functionality... and it's mainly the work of one guy (with clever use of pre-existing open source libraries).

Calibre is suberb...if you are aware it exists and are the sort of person inclined to use it. But I think it would be worth Sony's while to encourage the creation of content for the reader by offering software to do it. Maybe Sony could push Calibre...

On the support for thousands of books, you wrote:

Indeed. I've given up using an SD card for the nonce, because I can't stand paging through the list of books to get to the one I want. One small feature (and one bug-fix: see the P.S. below) is all that stands in the way of letting the community fix the problem for them.

I have about 3,500 ebooks occupying about 1.7GB on SD cards in my PDA. 3,200 are in Pluicker format, and the most are mostly Mobi. Performance is acceptable. It can take Plucker a bit to open the library list, but updates when I've added new titles take perhaps a minute. Mobi is a lot quicker, since there are far fewer titles.

I wonder if things are any better if you use a memory stick instead of an SD card, though I suspect not.

If you have clean HTML (or ePub, or Lit, or Mobi, and probably some other formats as well), Calibre will give you quite a nice .lrf file. And ePub support is coming along.

If Sony really wanted to make some quick progress in the direction of an LRF Creator application, they could do like IBM (or Apple, or Google, or Sun, or ...) and assign one or more of their own software guys to contribute to the Calibre project. It's open source -- they can ship it too! There are plenty of other products that come with open source apps on the install CD; nothing wrong with it.

Yes, that would be nice. The big concern would be making installation and use as easy and bullet proof as possible.

Getting these ideas to the people who actually know would be the second-best outcome we could hope for. The best outcome would be to get the ideas passed down the chain with a strong endorsement from "the President of the whole Division," as that tends to make things actually happen.

Contacting a subordinate with the lead in "The President referred me to you on this one" should have a salutary effect. It indicates he's aware of the issue...

P.S. There's a small technical glitch with my idea for supporting thousands of books on the Sony Readers. The issue is that Sony's firmware exhibits worse-than-linear-time behavior when it scans memory (and SD cards) to identify content after you've changed what's there. I've seen reports of it taking over an hour to do the scan with ~4K books, and running out of battery before finishing the scan with ~8K books. (Those numbers may be off, but the idea is correct). There's obviously an underlying algorithmic problem that needs to be fixed; no reason it should be worse than O(n lg n), but it seems to be. This is another one of those pesky details that Steve won't be the right person to deal with, but...

I'd love to know what it's doing. As mentioned above, I don't see anything like that on my PDA.

Sony may simply be making some optimistically low assumptions about how many books users will have on their readers.
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Dennis

[JWLaRue]

Didn't someone report that the new Sony didn't have the typical inverse page paint before displaying the next/new page?

Unless I'm missing something (!), page turns look the same....

-Jeff

[DMcCunney]

Originally Posted by JWLaRue

Didn't someone report that the new Sony didn't have the typical inverse page paint before displaying the next/new page?

Unless I'm missing something (!), page turns look the same....

-Jeff

I recall it had the momentary inverse screen. See the video taken at the event that Microphyte posted a link to.
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Dennis

[JWLaRue]

....well, a "momentary inverse" is what we get now, yes...other than a bit faster....?

Seems to me that it might work better in terms of removing ghosting by first inverting just the text (to a white screen) and then displaying the new text.

-Jeff

[mattgb]

Originally Posted by DMcCunney

Paper books aren't going away. Pbooks and eBooks will co-exist for the foreseeable future. People go to bookstores now to buy the paper versions. If they have a reader, why shouldn't they be able to buy eBooks in the same trip?

Quote of the day; oldie but goodie!

"This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop".
- Alfred Hitchcock

[axel77]

Originally Posted by mattgb

Quote of the day; oldie but goodie!

"This paperback is very interesting, but I find it will never replace a hardcover book - it makes a very poor doorstop".
- Alfred Hitchcock

So you should get once of these with every eBook you buy:

http://www.diytools.co.uk/diy/Main/s...wedge-grey.asp

This might actually be a nice idea as package add on to eReader devices, a rubber doorstop with the writing on it: "I don't use paper to hold doors"