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Old 08-17-2009, 01:25 PM   #1
ChicagoIrish
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OK: a REALLY basic question

I'm a newbie to portable readers and just started using my PRS-505. I've recommended it to a client (I'm a communications consultant) to give as gifts to senior management, but I failed to check on compatability. My question is: if one buys a book from Amazon, B&N, Borders, etc., will they usable on the Reader? PLEASE say yes....!

Thanks in advance.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:28 PM   #2
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Senior managers can afford to buy their own - why not give them to the working stiffs who'd actually appreciate them?

To answer the question, though, you need "epub" files for the Sony. Amazon don't sell these; many other bookstores do.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:30 PM   #3
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B&N: Yes
Amazon: No

They can download anything that is in LRF or ePub format, preferably ePub. Nothing from Amazon will work. Some things in PDF format will work, but they will have to figure that out for themselves.

I hope this helps.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:33 PM   #4
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Well, you can buy PDF format books from Amazon, and those work with the Sony Ereader, but you should probably stay away from the specific "Kindle" formatted ones.

The PRS-505 comes with a vaguely iTunes-like software that has access to the Sony store, so the owner will automatically be pointed to a place where he/she can buy properly formatted books.

Last edited by Armaced; 08-17-2009 at 01:36 PM.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:42 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DixieGal View Post
B&N: Yes
B&N only sells ebooks in their own eReader format, so it is B&N: No. Currently no EInk Reader supports the eReader format, but that may change by the end of the year.

With only slight simplification, there are only three ebook options for buying bestsellers for EInk Readers: a) Amazon for Kindle only, b) MobiPocket, c ) Adobe (PDF and ePub). Any single EInk reader will only support one of these. Last year MOBI looked like a good option, but today it is looking like an also-ran. So there are only two choices today a) Kindles or b) Adobe. Sony is the major player in the Adobe camp, but there are several other compatible EInk devices. Adobe ebooks are sold by many sites, and many lending libraries in the US have Adobe ebooks. Older Adobe ebooks are PDFs, but newer ones are ePub. Both work on the PRS-505 with the ePubs generally better when you have a choice.

Sony has its own ebook store with ~0.5M (1M?) free Google ebooks, and most bestsellers. Today bestsellers are in its own LRX ebook format, but all these ebooks are switching to Adobe ePub by the end of the year.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:43 PM   #6
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HELP. Is there such a thing as kindle for the novice? I'm decades and decades past puberty. Here's hoping!
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:52 PM   #7
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HELP. Is there such a thing as kindle for the novice? I'm decades and decades past puberty. Here's hoping!
I have not used a Kindle, but my understanding is that they are pretty user friendly. With a Kindle, you do not even need a computer. The device connects directly to Amazon. It should be fine for a novice.

A word of advice, however. Avoid paying for classics. Anything published before 1930-something should be free and is probably found somewhere on this site.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:54 PM   #8
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Many Thanks!

Thanks to you all. In all my posting on forums of any kind, I've never gotten such quick replies.

A few follow ups if I may:

Does it look at this point like epub might become the industry standard?
Any idea how many books for Kindle are also available for Sony (through eConnect, etc.)?
Are all Kindle books available in PDF?

Thanks again.
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Old 08-17-2009, 01:55 PM   #9
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Old 08-17-2009, 02:04 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ChicagoIrish View Post
Does it look at this point like epub might become the industry standard?
Any idea how many books for Kindle are also available for Sony (through eConnect, etc.)?
Are all Kindle books available in PDF?
ePub is already the "industry standard". B&N has anounced that they will be switching from eReader to ePub, but this will be B&N ePub not Adobe ePub. The only significant hold-out at the moment is Amazon.

The vast majority of bestsellers are available for Sony and Kindle, but there are many Kindle-only ebooks with the majority of these being low-volume titles.

So far as I know, none of Amazon's Kindle ebooks are also sold (by Amazon) as PDFs.

You have two "safe" choices for ebook readers as gifts in the US: Sony or Amazon. The Kindle is perhaps the safer choice, but with the Kindle essentially your only source for bestsellers is Amazon. The Sony has its own store but also many other options for buying ebooks. However, you can't buy ebooks for the Sony at Amazon.
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Old 08-17-2009, 02:15 PM   #11
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Originally Posted by wallcraft View Post
So far as I know, none of Amazon's Kindle ebooks are also sold (by Amazon) as PDFs.

It is not the standard, of course, but Amazon does sell some PDFs. For example:

http://www.amazon.com/Wellss-Herbert...0530270&sr=1-1

Of course, The Time Machine is in the Public Domain, so if you want a PDF of it, you should just download it at MobileRead Forums for free.
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Old 08-18-2009, 06:43 PM   #12
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Also, Border's ebook store is a rebadged Sony website. Borders sells sony readers, and their ebook store is managed by Sony, with borders getting a cut of each sale.
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Old 08-18-2009, 10:06 PM   #13
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I would've said if you were planning to give these devices to non technical people, the Kindle probably would be the best bet since Amazon offers many books for sale and it's a straight forward process of buying from the Kindle store and loading it into your Kindle without the worry about compatibility.

Otherwise, if it's the 505 and it's too late to switch, have them check out the Sony ebook store. Everything sold there should be properly formatted for the device and there will be no compatibility issues.

If you want to get more technical, there are plenty of online websites that sell ebooks. Just make sure it's either non DRMed ePub(highly unlikely) or Adobe ePub and it should work on the 505. Of course other formats should work on the Sony but it requires formatting and possibly the stripping of DRM which I doubt upper management would want to hassle with.

Last edited by MerLock; 08-18-2009 at 10:16 PM.
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Old 08-19-2009, 09:19 AM   #14
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I'm with Harry—why is senior management getting gifts? Are their meager salaries not enough for them?
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Old 08-19-2009, 09:33 AM   #15
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I'm with Harry—why is senior management getting gifts? Are their meager salaries not enough for them?
That's extremely common. Although usually the gifts come from other companies (basically butt kissing).
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