Hello from Richmond VA

[taylork1]

I did it! I bought the Sony Reader 505 today! It wont be here until Monday, but I've already downloaded the software and found a few free books from Google. I bought the Red one because it was $10 cheaper at BHPhoto.com. Sadly, I missed the $199 offer at Borders. I also missed the $30 off ($269) at Sony.com because I was waiting to win an auction on eBay and save some cash. The devices hold their value as evidenced by the high number of bidders and sales prices - almost as high as buying new from Sony. I finally found one at BHPhoto.com for $259 with no shipping and no tax.

My last eBook was from GemStar. Remember them? The hardware was primitive, the software was basic, but the concept was revolutionary. They went out of business which rendered the device virtually useless, but I'm still a believer. People in my world couldn't understand why I would lug around an electronic device and insisted the paper book format was better. Now, my Mom has a Kindle and everyone in the family is a believer. She'll be so competitive about Kindle vs Sony. The eBooks on Amazon are cheaper when you compare the best sellers, but I don't think she has an equivalent of a Google Classic library.

So I'll wait until the mail comes on Monday, read through these forums, and act like a kid at Christmas. I've been a lurker in this forum for a while now and it feels good to finally come out of the shadows and introduce myself.

hello friends.

[desertgrandma]

welcome to mobileread, taylork1

Before you download any more books, checkout the free ones available here. I doubt you'll find any better formatting anywhere.

Enjoy the forums.

[kazbates]

Welcome to MobileRead, taylork1!

You made a good choice with your Sony! I have a Sony 700 and love it. Don't be shy about asking questions. We've all been newbies with our devices and need lots of TLC to get through it! If you are looking for software to help with your reader, be sure to check out Calibre. It's free and the developer, Kovid Goyal is incredibly helpful.

Enjoy!

[MickeyC]

Hi taylork1 and welcome to MobileRead. be sure and let us know how you like your Sony once it arrives

[dreams]

Welcome to MR, taylork1, and congratulations on your new Sony.

There are thousands of free ebooks for your Sony (well, to be fair, ...for your mom's Kindle also) right here on MR. Just look up at the blue bar, click the arrow next to ebooks, and on the dropdown menu click Sony BBeB (lrf) or ePub.

There are more Sony versions than ePub right now but, members are quickly adding to the ePub library.

IMO, the ebooks on MR are much better formatted (they are beautifully hand-formatted by the dedicated members of MR and, they take pride in doing it well)

You can also "borrow" ebooks from your public library with the Sony..

Enjoy your new Sony and let us know how that Sony vs Kindle with mom goes

[rlparker]

Hi taylork1. Welcome to MR. I've gotten probably 90% of the books I've read on my Kindle since last September from right here on MR!

[Lady Blue]

Hello taylork1, and to Mobileread.



I have a 505 also and simply love it. Congratulations on your Sony.

[taylork1]

Thanks to all who replied to my introduction and welcomed me to this forum. My new Reader is here - arrived a few days early, imagine that!! I love it already and the red color is really nice.

I bought my first book from the Sony store. I wanted to test the process and set up an account. It was good until I tried to drag/drop the eBook to my Reader. After a dialog box told me I had to register at the Sony site, I got the message that, "Oops the page can't be displayed, try again later..." or something similar. Luckily for me, this problem has been reported and solved on this forum. I shut everything down, started the reader again and went directly to the Sony store. After logging it, the site detected my Reader and asked if I wanted to register it. I did, and the problem was solved (as far as I know!!).

I also used the free Google library to download a book - and it worked as advertised - wonderful! My next step is to download a book from this forum. At this point, I just want to make sure I understand the technology, both hardware and software. I'll check out Calibra and the others that members pointed me to.

Again, thanks again for the support and enthusiasm.

[Lady Blue]

Originally Posted by taylork1

Thanks to all who replied to my introduction and welcomed me to this forum. My new Reader is here - arrived a few days early, imagine that!! I love it already and the red color is really nice.

I bought my first book from the Sony store. I wanted to test the process and set up an account. It was good until I tried to drag/drop the eBook to my Reader. After a dialog box told me I had to register at the Sony site, I got the message that, "Oops the page can't be displayed, try again later..." or something similar. Luckily for me, this problem has been reported and solved on this forum. I shut everything down, started the reader again and went directly to the Sony store. After logging it, the site detected my Reader and asked if I wanted to register it. I did, and the problem was solved (as far as I know!!).

I also used the free Google library to download a book - and it worked as advertised - wonderful! My next step is to download a book from this forum. At this point, I just want to make sure I understand the technology, both hardware and software. I'll check out Calibra and the others that members pointed me to.

Again, thanks again for the support and enthusiasm.

Glad to hear you got your reader before the weekend so you'll have some uninterupted time to play with it. Sounds like you're already well on your way and having fun. I know I've enjoyed mine immensely these past few years. Enjoy.

[Falbe Publishing]

Enjoy your new Sony 505!