Should I switch to Kindle from Sony?

[gdaydigger]

Hi

I have a Sony PRS 600, my first e-reader. Firstly, let me say that I will never go back to paper-based books -- I am a devout convert. Whilst I am pretty happy with my Sony I have a couple of grievances, namely screen glare and contrast, and the inability to upload books that can only be found on Amazon's US site (not on Kobo/BoB/darknet etc). So, I am considering changing to a Kindle but I have a few questions/concerns that hopefully you can help me with:

1. I live in Asia and so potentially face the problem of geographic restrictions. With Borders and several other sites there are work arounds (gift certificates/proxy servers etc) that enable me to get the required books on to my Sony but I would be pretty cheesed off if I switched to a Kindle in order to access Amazon-only books but find I am blocked from doing so because I am outside of the US. Any thoughts/advice (if necessary please PM me)?

2. I buy all my books using my Mac/USB upload and do not envisage ever buying books on a Kindle through the device itself or browsing the internet on it (why why why ??? -- that's what an iphone/smart phone is for) and so whispernet/3g/wifi is meaningless to me. For those, who have used other devices before switching to a Kindle, is the better screen contrast/lack of glare a sufficient reason in itself to make the switch?

3. I occasionally obtain books from the darknet or Burgomeister etc -- can these be uploaded to the Kindle via USB? Would I need to convert them using Calibre? What is the best format?

4. I have no use for the keyboard on the Kindle other than to occasionally search a book for previous references to names etc. With my Sony I often hold the reader along the bottom. I assume that this is not possible on the Kindle and that the only place to hold it is along its vertical sides (making sure you don't hit the page turn button by mistake) -- correct?

5. Whilst Sony's Reader Library is pretty limited in functions etc it does nevertheless provide a fairly decent place to store my ebooks, and files them all neatly under Documents-MyBooks-ReaderLibrary on my Mac. Is there a default place where Kindle books, once downloaded to my Mac from Amazon, are kept? How, where and in what application do you recommend I combine my existing ebook collection with Amazon purchases? I don't want to end up with ebooks scattered all over my Mac.

Sorry for the "beginner's" questions but I want to make sure I am doing the right thing before migrating from my pretty decent first ereader. Any thoughts/comments from others who have already made the switch would be much appreciated.

Many thanks

[carld]

Hope I can answer some of your questions, and welcome to MR.

1. Depends on where in Asia. Check this page and click where it says "Live Outside the US?" and see what it says for your country.

2. For me $139 would be well worth the switch. I paid $399 for my Kindle and haven't regretted it at all. The screen and adjustable font sizes make all the difference for me.

3. No answer there, I don't download books from the darknet.

4. The keyboard is inactive while reading so there's no problem holding the Kindle from the bottom.

5. The books just download to your default download directory. Calibre is the best ebook management option that I'm aware of.

[tovare]

My assesment of the situation is having both.

I see some weaknesses and a couple of strengths with the kindle compared to the PRS-600.

I convinced myself of getting a kindle due to: (1) Improved screen (2) A claim of 1 month battery time. (3) It was cheap enough for an impulse pre-order.

Btw. I don't see the point in working around any geo-restrictions (the publishers don't want to sell you those books) ... just tune out of your current hype-stream and buy other books from other authors ... also, none of the books in the bestseller list are likely to become classics, trust hard evidence instead and read the true (out of copyright) classics for free :-)

[bjones6416]

My K2 has much better contrast than my Sony. And the upcoming Kindle 3? It's supposed to have even better contrast. I really like the size of the Sony Pocket Reader, but it looks like the new Kindle is getting rid of a lot of wasted bezel space so I think the size of it will be pretty comfortable. I say go for the Kindle! :-)

[kevinp]

I really don't care about buying books directly from my device either, but I'm considering getting one of the new Kindles simply for the 'WhisperNet'. I can't always bring my reader with me, but I usually have my Android phone and I'd like to be able to sync the page I'm on. Although I hear the Whispernet thing isn't working correctly right now.

[corona]

Keep the Sony, or get a Kobo or similar. Sounds like you don't want most of the Kindle's features.

[JSWolf]

Wait and see what Sony has to offer later this year and then decide what it is you want.

[eric11210]

Hi,

I have a PRS 600 as well, but having been around the various sites a lot, I think I can answer most of your questions:

1. There are workarounds to get books from the Kindle store. You need to have an American address listed. I get books from them all the time (though I'm an expat American and have a legit American address and credit card, however I imagine others who don't have those things don't have much trouble).

2. Can't answer. I don't own one myself. However, if I see something on sale for around $75 or so, I plan to grab a second reader specifically to load newspapers onto. And if the glare really bothers you, $139 isn't all that much money. For me, I'm think of a 300 as a second reader just for newspapers and magazines (and for guests). But I'm waiting until I see one for a super cheap sale price before I spend the money for it.

3. Kindle uses a proprietary format (well, that's a bit strong. They use mobipocket format, but with their own special flavor of DRM). Therefore all your books need to be converted to work on their reader. However, that said, I do understand that you can (at least in theory) sideload via USB once you do convert. Again, I don't own one myself, but so I've heard. I believe you need to convert to Mobipocket format and that those should work fine, but don't quote me on it. However, that books can be converted is definitely the case.

4. Don't know -- I don't own one.

5. I believe that Amazon uses "cloud management." The idea being that if you ever need a book again, you can just reload it from their site. However, if you install Kindle for the Mac, I imagine that they would store copies of your books there as well. I know that Kindle for the PC does store my books in a specific location.

Just as an aside, there is the option (legal in some countries for private use -- you need to check the laws in your country) if you want some books available only from Amazon of stripping DRM from books and then converting them to use on your reader. I don't buy books from Amazon, but if I get a book for free from them I'll do that so I can load it on my reader. It is illegal in the USA, but I'm no longer in the USA and since I do it purely for personal use and don't actually go around sending the books off to 5,000 of my closest "friends" via the darknet, I don't see it as a problem. The rules here on MR say we can't offer instructions on how to do it, but it's not hard to find the info elsewhere.

Eric

[Grumpster]

Too many people buy ereaders for the store they can get books from. I don't worry about that. Amazon, B&N and others have PC readers as well. I just use that to purchase the book, strip the DRM and put the book of what ever device I want to read on at the time. At home, I use my ereader, while when I'm out and about I use my PDA. I just don't like the idea of being told that I don't own the book I purchased and that it's only a lease that they can revoke when ever they feel like.

Like eric11210 I don't send copies of the book to 5000 of my closest friends so I don't see it as a problem. I do however occasionally loan a copy of the book to my mom, but then again, I do the same with paper backs as well.

As far as being outside the US, it's unfortunate that you guys so often have restrictions that you shouldn't really have like that. Only thing I can suggest is a proxy server. That's a old standby and has been successfully use for years.

[queentess]

Originally Posted by gdaydigger

Hi
4. I have no use for the keyboard on the Kindle other than to occasionally search a book for previous references to names etc. With my Sony I often hold the reader along the bottom. I assume that this is not possible on the Kindle and that the only place to hold it is along its vertical sides (making sure you don't hit the page turn button by mistake) -- correct?

Originally Posted by carld

4. The keyboard is inactive while reading so there's no problem holding the Kindle from the bottom.

On the Kindle 2 the keyboard is active while you read, That's how you are able to search the book while you're reading. However, I hold mine by the keyboard sometimes and have no issues. Occasionally I'll actually press the key (though this is rare because the device isn't that heavy), and all it does is pop up a search box at the bottom of the screen. As long as you don't press the Enter key as well, you'll have no issues.

And yes, you can hold it along the side as well, which is where I usually hold it. I find it easiest to support it with my fingers along the back and a thumb on the front to steady the device, then just click the Next Page button with my thumb.

[carld]

Originally Posted by queentess

On the Kindle 2 the keyboard is active while you read, That's how you are able to search the book while you're reading. However, I hold mine by the keyboard sometimes and have no issues. Occasionally I'll actually press the key (though this is rare because the device isn't that heavy), and all it does is pop up a search box at the bottom of the screen. As long as you don't press the Enter key as well, you'll have no issues.

Yes, the Home and Search keys are active on my K1, but the rest of the keys aren't. I've never pressed either one while reading so it didn't really occur to me.

[bjones6416]

Originally Posted by queentess

And yes, you can hold it along the side as well, which is where I usually hold it. I find it easiest to support it with my fingers along the back and a thumb on the front to steady the device, then just click the Next Page button with my thumb.

And although I was initially a little turned off by the amount of bezel around the screen, it turns out that it makes it much easier to hold it along the side without putting your fingers on the screen, which is a pet peeve of mine. I hate reading through fingerprints. That's how I usually hold it too.

[SkyDream]

After having a look at the PocketBook announcment i would rather think about switching to PocketBook than Kindle.

[spyfish]

The kindle is nice, and a bit better than sony.

[SkyDream]

Originally Posted by spyfish

The kindle is nice, and a bit better than sony.

Hmm...depends.
There are things better done by Amazon and others better done by Sony.