Sony, kindle or kobo?

bcgirl · 12-15-2011, 02:01 AM

I love reading on iPad because of backlight, and also layout but it's heavy to carry around. Thats really the only reason I consider now a Sony (found out today that Sony pocket model is discontinued?)Kobo Touch or Kindle. I prefer books from Amazon (cheaper than Kobo) also I find that layout, locations etc is nicer than Kobo. What do you recommend? How are Sony ereaders? I buy books from iBooks, amazon kindle and sometimes Kobo. Not really into borrowing library books.

ATDrake · 12-15-2011, 02:08 AM

If you find the actual reading experience to be more pleasant for you with a Kindle, then I'd advise going with that. It's easy enough to strip and convert should you get books from a non-Amazon source*.

Your infobox says you're in Vancouver, so you've probably a decent chance of being able to lay your hands on various models in-store to try out, and some of the public libraries (West Vancouver and New Westminster, IIRC) have e-readers you can try out as demos right in the local library branch.

If you've some free time upcoming, why not take advantage of those and see if there's anything that really bugs or attracts you about a particular model and go from there?

* Except for iBooks, because if someone's managed to "liberate" those, they're not sharing their tools.

ProfCrash · 12-15-2011, 09:28 AM

ibooks can only be read on the IProducts. No one has cracked the DRM yet. Amazon and Kobo can both have the DRM removed and the books converted to the appropriate format.

If you buy mainly from Amazon, I would go with the Kindle. It will save yourself some time. The Kindle Touch is a nice reader. You can pick up the basic model for $79 (non-touch, no keyboard) or the Touch version for $99 (More memory, speakers, touch screen).

The Sony T1 is a nice reader. It appears that the firmware fix has taken care of most of the major bugs.

I don't know much about the Kobo. People seem to like it but I think it is missing some of the features that the Kindle and Sony has. I am thinking collections but I could be wrong about that.

JSWolf · 12-15-2011, 09:53 AM

I recommend the T1. Now that the new firmware is out, it's a very nice reader. If you continue to buy eBooks from Apple, you will be stuck with them only ever being able to read them using iBooks. If you go with a Sony, you can get ePub from just about anyplace and it's very easy to strip the DRM from ePub (except Apple). Just look for Apprentice Alf in Google.

Also, on your iPad, you can use BlueFire Reader to borrow library eBooks. Also the T1 will allow you to borrow library eBooks without the need for a computer.

bcgirl · 12-15-2011, 10:29 AM

Somehow, every time I hold a Kobo it does not feel right. Dont know why. The screen flickers, plasticky. A year ago I was looking for an ereader and was about to purchase the Sony pocket reader, then i got an ipad2 that I needed for other reasons and decided to read my ebooks on it as well. Now I find it too heavy to carry with me I'm back in the market. I said I buy iBooks as well but honestly there is not a lot of choice and they are expensive too. So that's not important. Like I said,I do like amazon ebooks, so for that reason you would think to get a Kindle? Yes I live in Vancouver, Canada and Staples sell Kindles here. But what about Sony? Is it that I only can purchase books from Sony store? I borrowed books with Overdrive on my iPad, but it is long pages text and don't like the layout, so I dont intend to borrow ebooks anymore.

JSWolf · 12-15-2011, 10:40 AM

Where the eBooks from Overdrive PDF or ePub?

You can buy eBooks from any place that sells ePub except Apple. Well, that's not strictly true. You can't by from B&N unless you can strip the DRM. But you can buy from Sony, Kobo, BooksOnBoard, eBooks.com, Diesel eBooks, BAEN, Smashwords, Lulu, and others.

faithbw · 12-15-2011, 10:50 AM

I would agree with ProfCrash. I would look at where you buy the majority of your e-books and in which format. If the majority of your e-books are from Amazon and you mostly buy from Amazon, I would get the Kindle. If you mostly buy e-pubs, I would go for the Sony. It's easy to convert Amazon e-books to e-pub once you remove the DRM. I have a Sony 350 which I love so I'm probably going to be a bit biased. I would tell you to go for a Sony but I think you ultimately have to look at your e-book library and also where you like to buy e-books.

jojoba · 12-15-2011, 11:16 AM

I second those who say go for Kindle, if you buy the majority of your books from Amazon.

Now that the initial issues with the T1 are hopefully over, I prefer it to my Kindle (but it's not quite a fair comparison since I don't have a Kindle touch), but then I also need to be able to buy books from a variety of sources to be able to read in my first language. If I only ordered from amazon, I'd go with the Kindle.

ProfCrash · 12-15-2011, 11:18 AM

It is easy enough to convert books from EPub to Mobi and vice versa. The bookstore and format argument is pretty much irrelevent if you are willing to remove DRM and convert.

The convience factor is something very different. I remove DRM from all of my books but I don't see the need to get a Sony or Nook or Kobo for any reason. I like the feel of my Kindle and am fine keeping the DRMed versions on my Kindle. It is easier for me that way. I don't buy from other bookstores because I find Amazon has what I want at a price point that I am happy with or at least that is the same as the other book stores.

ATDrake · 12-15-2011, 12:30 PM

Future Shop/Best Buy sells Sony Readers and most of their stores usually have a few of the models on display to try out. And there's a number of those "Sony Style" stores in some of the bigger shopping centres.

But it really sounds like the Kindle would be the most convenient and nicest-reading-experience model for you (if you've already tried one out and decided you liked the way it worked vs. just liking the functionality in the K4iPad app which may end up being different on a hardware Kindle device).

Mind you, if you find you like some feature of the Sony more, then it's fairly easy to convert your books from Amazon, and you also can buy from any outlet that sells DRM-free or uses ADE-DRM on its ePub/PDFs (i.e. Kobo).

ApK · 12-15-2011, 12:42 PM

If you said you liked buying at Amazon but HATED the layout of the Kindle, I'd say get the reader you like best and learn to liberate the books.
But since you say you like the Kindle device, too, it's really a no-brainer.
Get the Kindle.
I personally think the Kindle Keyboard is the best of the current crop, but YMMV of course.

JSWolf · 12-15-2011, 02:19 PM

But the KK is very likely to become obsolete soon once KF8 is out. Do you want to know you recommended a reader that may not even be good for even a year before it is outdated?

ApK · 12-15-2011, 02:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JSWolf

But the KK is very likely to become obsolete soon once KF8 is out. Do you want to know you recommended a reader that may not even be good for even a year before it is outdated?

I learned a while ago that your definition obsolete is not one that is shared by the rest of the English speaking world. The KK will not be obsolete as long as it keeps doing what we want it to do. Plenty of K1s are still not obsolete. Just because something is no longer sold, or there is something newer, does not make it obsolete.
And if history is a guide, Amazon will keep the KK not only usable and viable, but supportable for years.

(and IMO, it's not even outdated, as I find it superior to anything else currently available.)

ProfCrash · 12-15-2011, 02:30 PM

Ahhh and he is back again.

We have no idea what is going to happen with the format change. We don't know how Amazon is going to handle it. I doubt Amazon is continuing to sell the K3 knowing that it is going to be "obsolete" when they introduce the new format.

More likely then not, Amazon has a plan in place to deal with this problem since they know that there are millions of K1, K2, and K3's out in the world that people are using.

JSWolf · 12-15-2011, 02:36 PM

We can tell from the what Amazon said about KF8 that it won't be usable on the K1, K2, and the DX models.

And given that the K4's are all different enough under the hood, it's possible that the K3/KK will no have KF8 support. But since we really don't know for sure, it would be silly to buy a KK instead of a K4 Touch because if it's true that the KK won't have KF8, then that would make it obsolete.

12-15-2011, 02:01 AM	#1
bcgirl Groupie Posts: 197 Karma: 996872 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC,Canada Device: iPad2-64gb, Sony PRS-T1, KOBO mini	Sony, kindle or kobo? I love reading on iPad because of backlight, and also layout but it's heavy to carry around. Thats really the only reason I consider now a Sony (found out today that Sony pocket model is discontinued?)Kobo Touch or Kindle. I prefer books from Amazon (cheaper than Kobo) also I find that layout, locations etc is nicer than Kobo. What do you recommend? How are Sony ereaders? I buy books from iBooks, amazon kindle and sometimes Kobo. Not really into borrowing library books.

12-15-2011, 12:42 PM	#11
ApK Award-Winning Participant Posts: 7,384 Karma: 68329346 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: NJ, USA Device: Kindle	If you said you liked buying at Amazon but HATED the layout of the Kindle, I'd say get the reader you like best and learn to liberate the books. But since you say you like the Kindle device, too, it's really a no-brainer. Get the Kindle. I personally think the Kindle Keyboard is the best of the current crop, but YMMV of course. Last edited by ApK; 12-15-2011 at 12:44 PM.

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12-15-2011, 02:08 AM	#2
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	If you find the actual reading experience to be more pleasant for you with a Kindle, then I'd advise going with that. It's easy enough to strip and convert should you get books from a non-Amazon source. Your infobox says you're in Vancouver, so you've probably a decent chance of being able to lay your hands on various models in-store to try out, and some of the public libraries (West Vancouver and New Westminster, IIRC) have e-readers you can try out as demos right in the local library branch. If you've some free time upcoming, why not take advantage of those and see if there's anything that really bugs or attracts you about a particular model and go from there? Except for iBooks, because if someone's managed to "liberate" those, they're not sharing their tools.

12-15-2011, 09:28 AM	#3
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	ibooks can only be read on the IProducts. No one has cracked the DRM yet. Amazon and Kobo can both have the DRM removed and the books converted to the appropriate format. If you buy mainly from Amazon, I would go with the Kindle. It will save yourself some time. The Kindle Touch is a nice reader. You can pick up the basic model for $79 (non-touch, no keyboard) or the Touch version for $99 (More memory, speakers, touch screen). The Sony T1 is a nice reader. It appears that the firmware fix has taken care of most of the major bugs. I don't know much about the Kobo. People seem to like it but I think it is missing some of the features that the Kindle and Sony has. I am thinking collections but I could be wrong about that.

12-15-2011, 09:53 AM	#4
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,403 Karma: 145491800 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	I recommend the T1. Now that the new firmware is out, it's a very nice reader. If you continue to buy eBooks from Apple, you will be stuck with them only ever being able to read them using iBooks. If you go with a Sony, you can get ePub from just about anyplace and it's very easy to strip the DRM from ePub (except Apple). Just look for Apprentice Alf in Google. Also, on your iPad, you can use BlueFire Reader to borrow library eBooks. Also the T1 will allow you to borrow library eBooks without the need for a computer.

12-15-2011, 10:29 AM	#5
bcgirl Groupie Posts: 197 Karma: 996872 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Vancouver, BC,Canada Device: iPad2-64gb, Sony PRS-T1, KOBO mini	Somehow, every time I hold a Kobo it does not feel right. Dont know why. The screen flickers, plasticky. A year ago I was looking for an ereader and was about to purchase the Sony pocket reader, then i got an ipad2 that I needed for other reasons and decided to read my ebooks on it as well. Now I find it too heavy to carry with me I'm back in the market. I said I buy iBooks as well but honestly there is not a lot of choice and they are expensive too. So that's not important. Like I said,I do like amazon ebooks, so for that reason you would think to get a Kindle? Yes I live in Vancouver, Canada and Staples sell Kindles here. But what about Sony? Is it that I only can purchase books from Sony store? I borrowed books with Overdrive on my iPad, but it is long pages text and don't like the layout, so I dont intend to borrow ebooks anymore.

12-15-2011, 10:40 AM	#6
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,403 Karma: 145491800 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	Where the eBooks from Overdrive PDF or ePub? You can buy eBooks from any place that sells ePub except Apple. Well, that's not strictly true. You can't by from B&N unless you can strip the DRM. But you can buy from Sony, Kobo, BooksOnBoard, eBooks.com, Diesel eBooks, BAEN, Smashwords, Lulu, and others.

12-15-2011, 10:50 AM	#7
faithbw Guru Posts: 618 Karma: 1526148 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: A place where the sun always shines Device: Kindle Oasis, iPad Mini 2	I would agree with ProfCrash. I would look at where you buy the majority of your e-books and in which format. If the majority of your e-books are from Amazon and you mostly buy from Amazon, I would get the Kindle. If you mostly buy e-pubs, I would go for the Sony. It's easy to convert Amazon e-books to e-pub once you remove the DRM. I have a Sony 350 which I love so I'm probably going to be a bit biased. I would tell you to go for a Sony but I think you ultimately have to look at your e-book library and also where you like to buy e-books.

12-15-2011, 11:16 AM	#8
jojoba Addict Posts: 277 Karma: 1039638 Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Europe Device: Kindle Paperwhite, iPad 3gen, Cybook Odyssey FL HD	I second those who say go for Kindle, if you buy the majority of your books from Amazon. Now that the initial issues with the T1 are hopefully over, I prefer it to my Kindle (but it's not quite a fair comparison since I don't have a Kindle touch), but then I also need to be able to buy books from a variety of sources to be able to read in my first language. If I only ordered from amazon, I'd go with the Kindle.

12-15-2011, 11:18 AM	#9
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	It is easy enough to convert books from EPub to Mobi and vice versa. The bookstore and format argument is pretty much irrelevent if you are willing to remove DRM and convert. The convience factor is something very different. I remove DRM from all of my books but I don't see the need to get a Sony or Nook or Kobo for any reason. I like the feel of my Kindle and am fine keeping the DRMed versions on my Kindle. It is easier for me that way. I don't buy from other bookstores because I find Amazon has what I want at a price point that I am happy with or at least that is the same as the other book stores.

12-15-2011, 12:30 PM	#10
ATDrake Wizzard Posts: 11,517 Karma: 33048258 Join Date: Mar 2010 Location: Roundworld Device: Kindle 2 International, Sony PRS-T1, BlackBerry PlayBook, Acer Iconia	Future Shop/Best Buy sells Sony Readers and most of their stores usually have a few of the models on display to try out. And there's a number of those "Sony Style" stores in some of the bigger shopping centres. But it really sounds like the Kindle would be the most convenient and nicest-reading-experience model for you (if you've already tried one out and decided you liked the way it worked vs. just liking the functionality in the K4iPad app which may end up being different on a hardware Kindle device). Mind you, if you find you like some feature of the Sony more, then it's fairly easy to convert your books from Amazon, and you also can buy from any outlet that sells DRM-free or uses ADE-DRM on its ePub/PDFs (i.e. Kobo).

12-15-2011, 02:19 PM	#12
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,403 Karma: 145491800 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	But the KK is very likely to become obsolete soon once KF8 is out. Do you want to know you recommended a reader that may not even be good for even a year before it is outdated?

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12-15-2011, 02:30 PM	#14
ProfCrash Tea Enthusiast Posts: 8,554 Karma: 75384937 Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Somewhere in the USA Device: Kindle1, Kindle DX Graphite, K3 3G, IPad 3, PW2	Ahhh and he is back again. We have no idea what is going to happen with the format change. We don't know how Amazon is going to handle it. I doubt Amazon is continuing to sell the K3 knowing that it is going to be "obsolete" when they introduce the new format. More likely then not, Amazon has a plan in place to deal with this problem since they know that there are millions of K1, K2, and K3's out in the world that people are using.

12-15-2011, 02:36 PM	#15
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 79,403 Karma: 145491800 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	We can tell from the what Amazon said about KF8 that it won't be usable on the K1, K2, and the DX models. And given that the K4's are all different enough under the hood, it's possible that the K3/KK will no have KF8 support. But since we really don't know for sure, it would be silly to buy a KK instead of a K4 Touch because if it's true that the KK won't have KF8, then that would make it obsolete.