Kindle or Sony help me choose

slainte · 03-13-2010, 09:53 AM

I currently have the Sony PR 505 and have been very happy with it. A friend has purchased the Kindle which is now available to buy in Europe. I liked the idea of the whispernet feature on it. My question is - if I was to upgrade should I get the Kindle? If i get the kindle can I convert my books from the sony reader to work on the Kindle as I have a couple of thousand books and don't want the hassle of going looking for them again. Or is there another device out there. I like the idea of a wireless connectivity to download from if I was away.

Any advice appreciated.

banjobama · 03-13-2010, 10:45 AM

If you use Calibre you should be able to convert your Sony books to a format the Kindle can read.

I have a Sony so I'm biased, I'm going to say get another Sony. Personally I didn't like the idea of having to have an Amazon account linked to my reading device. I've heard horror stories about people having problems with Amazon, and Amazon cancels their account, then their Kindle is useless.

Tons of people on these boards have and love both Kindles and Sonys.

wallcraft · 03-13-2010, 10:53 AM

You can convert your DRM-free ebooks for a Kindle using Calibre (has its own forum here). If they have DRM (encryption), as many commercial ebooks from major publishers do, then you would first have to remove the DRM and then use Calibre. See Adobe ADEPT DRM for EPUB circumvented.

If you want wireless access to stores and to keep your existing ePub ebooks "as is", then your best bet is the BeBook Neo (or the identical Onyx Boox 60). The PocketBook 302 may also be an option, but it is brand new. Both come with WiFi, rather than 3G.

Bremen Cole · 03-13-2010, 01:56 PM

Plus one to the Pocketbook 302... Kindle is the only reader with a proprietary format, all the other current readers can read epub....

HarryT · 03-13-2010, 01:57 PM

I'd certainly recommend the Neo. Excellent machine.

=X= · 03-13-2010, 02:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slainte

I currently have the Sony PR 505 and have been very happy with it. A friend has purchased the Kindle which is now available to buy in Europe. I liked the idea of the whispernet feature on it. My question is - if I was to upgrade should I get the Kindle? If i get the kindle can I convert my books from the sony reader to work on the Kindle as I have a couple of thousand books and don't want the hassle of going looking for them again. Or is there another device out there. I like the idea of a wireless connectivity to download from if I was away.

Any advice appreciated.

I went from a 505 to a Kindle, I had no real complains about my 505, loved the device. But truthfully I like the Kindle much more. It has all of the features I really wanted. Note taking, highlight, easy syncing, dictionary, and Text-to-Speech. I thought 3G access was a novel idea and rarely used it but now I'm starting to see the value in it.

The other day I was using the wireless access to read a blog at the coffee shop, also downloading books from feedbooks is a real treat.

Conversion should be strait forward so long as the books you have are ePUB/PDF. If they are LRF you will have a bit of an issue.

Tools like Calibre and MobiReader can convert most formats to MOBI quite easily. Both are easy to use, calibre is easier to transfer your books on your kindle. MobiReader/MobiCreator convert PDF to MOBI better.

If you have some know how on you can also setup calibre as a web server and download your books on the PC to the kindle from anywhere in the world.

=X=

=X= · 03-13-2010, 02:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by banjobama

If you use Calibre you should be able to convert your Sony books to a format the Kindle can read.

I have a Sony so I'm biased, I'm going to say get another Sony. Personally I didn't like the idea of having to have an Amazon account linked to my reading device. I've heard horror stories about people having problems with Amazon, and Amazon cancels their account, then their Kindle is useless.

Tons of people on these boards have and love both Kindles and Sonys.

I've had the SONY for two years and only bought 2 books from them (both on the first month of owning the device)--this is also before they converted over to ePUB.

I've also have read many books on my kindle, none of which are purchased from the Kindle store. After owning the device for 3 mo I've only made one purchase.

The point is NO device is tied to any store.

=X=

Marcy · 03-14-2010, 12:03 AM

I love Sony devices. I owned a Kindle 1 and 2, but gave them both away.

They are much more solidly built than Kindles. Kindles don't support epub, or any format except mobi. But the big stumbling block is the lack of a folders or collections feature. I have over 1000 books on my reader and if I couldn't sort them into collections they would be unmanageable. I particularly like that the Sony allows the same book to be in multiple collections.

-Marcy

mgmueller · 03-14-2010, 08:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slainte

I currently have the Sony PR 505 and have been very happy with it. A friend has purchased the Kindle which is now available to buy in Europe. I liked the idea of the whispernet feature on it. My question is - if I was to upgrade should I get the Kindle? If i get the kindle can I convert my books from the sony reader to work on the Kindle as I have a couple of thousand books and don't want the hassle of going looking for them again. Or is there another device out there. I like the idea of a wireless connectivity to download from if I was away.

Any advice appreciated.

It depends, whether your Sony books are .lrx or .epub.
Many of the former .lrx in the meantime can be re-downloaded as .epub. But far from being complete.
You can strip .epub from DRM (copy protection) and convert to any other format. But you can't do so with Sony's .lrx.

slainte · 03-14-2010, 09:59 AM

Thank you to everyone for their posts - it certainly seems as if I could convert the books I have to work on the Kindle which is great. However some of the replies has raised a new issue giving me other device options which I was unaware of. Can anyone post a brief plus and minus of Kindle, Sony, Beebook Neo, Pocketbook 302 and Netbooks? I want to be able to read books on the device which I download from a number of areas, if I could connect to the net to download directly it would be great, if I could get emails on it it would be wonderful, play games an extra. I do not want something that is too heavy as that defeats the puspose of carrying it around with me. Many thanks

03-13-2010, 09:53 AM	#1
slainte Zealot Posts: 102 Karma: 1009872 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: none	Kindle or Sony help me choose I currently have the Sony PR 505 and have been very happy with it. A friend has purchased the Kindle which is now available to buy in Europe. I liked the idea of the whispernet feature on it. My question is - if I was to upgrade should I get the Kindle? If i get the kindle can I convert my books from the sony reader to work on the Kindle as I have a couple of thousand books and don't want the hassle of going looking for them again. Or is there another device out there. I like the idea of a wireless connectivity to download from if I was away. Any advice appreciated.

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03-13-2010, 10:45 AM	#2
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	If you use Calibre you should be able to convert your Sony books to a format the Kindle can read. I have a Sony so I'm biased, I'm going to say get another Sony. Personally I didn't like the idea of having to have an Amazon account linked to my reading device. I've heard horror stories about people having problems with Amazon, and Amazon cancels their account, then their Kindle is useless. Tons of people on these boards have and love both Kindles and Sonys.

03-13-2010, 10:53 AM	#3
wallcraft reader Posts: 6,975 Karma: 5183568 Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Mississippi, USA Device: Kindle 3, Kobo Glo HD	You can convert your DRM-free ebooks for a Kindle using Calibre (has its own forum here). If they have DRM (encryption), as many commercial ebooks from major publishers do, then you would first have to remove the DRM and then use Calibre. See Adobe ADEPT DRM for EPUB circumvented. If you want wireless access to stores and to keep your existing ePub ebooks "as is", then your best bet is the BeBook Neo (or the identical Onyx Boox 60). The PocketBook 302 may also be an option, but it is brand new. Both come with WiFi, rather than 3G.

03-13-2010, 01:56 PM	#4
Bremen Cole Wizard Posts: 1,115 Karma: 2718 Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Texas Device: iPad	Plus one to the Pocketbook 302... Kindle is the only reader with a proprietary format, all the other current readers can read epub....

03-13-2010, 01:57 PM	#5
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	I'd certainly recommend the Neo. Excellent machine.

03-14-2010, 12:03 AM	#8
Marcy Guru Posts: 893 Karma: 950683 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: Kobo Libra2	I love Sony devices. I owned a Kindle 1 and 2, but gave them both away. They are much more solidly built than Kindles. Kindles don't support epub, or any format except mobi. But the big stumbling block is the lack of a folders or collections feature. I have over 1000 books on my reader and if I couldn't sort them into collections they would be unmanageable. I particularly like that the Sony allows the same book to be in multiple collections. -Marcy

03-14-2010, 09:59 AM	#10
slainte Zealot Posts: 102 Karma: 1009872 Join Date: Apr 2008 Device: none	Thank you to everyone for their posts - it certainly seems as if I could convert the books I have to work on the Kindle which is great. However some of the replies has raised a new issue giving me other device options which I was unaware of. Can anyone post a brief plus and minus of Kindle, Sony, Beebook Neo, Pocketbook 302 and Netbooks? I want to be able to read books on the device which I download from a number of areas, if I could connect to the net to download directly it would be great, if I could get emails on it it would be wonderful, play games an extra. I do not want something that is too heavy as that defeats the puspose of carrying it around with me. Many thanks