thoughts on the kindle...i read a lot and wonder

libra10

It looks like Sony has the edge then?

Dreamnine

Yes, unless you want to buy ebooks from Amazon.

Dreamnine

23n1th wrote: »

You have the ability of note taking/annotation on the Kindle 3. You dont have to buy books from amazon.

I'm still unsure what you mean by proprietary. As far as I know the sony reader has it own software that is proprietary ie not opensource.

But I don't need to use the Sony software and don't. Deleted it straightaway.

A bit hard to annotate by using buttons.

Dreamnine

Fair enough.. and the Kindle (or some of them) are about half the price of the Sony.

Newer Sonys are coming out, too, but I'm holding on to mine until it breaks. I like that it plays audiobooks too.

Syman

there are of course more readers to choose from than the sony and the kindle!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

Steve-o

23n1th wrote: »

I'm not saying the sonys are bad just more expensive and bigger than they need to be.

The Sony Readers with similar screen sizes are smaller than the Kindles (all of them), with only the larger screened model being 1cm longer.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sony_Reader
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amazon_Kindle

The Sony Readers are more expensive than the Kindles, except for the £99 offer that WH Smith is running. They will probably always be more expensive, because Amazon uses the Kindle to get users buying from the Amazon store. Sony had the same idea by setting up its own store, except for the fact that it was crap and Sony are greedier than Amazon. Luckily there are plenty of other ebook stores out there.

The higher price of the Sony models, and the ease of getting ebooks from the Amazon store, are probably the main two reasons that people go for the Kindle. Both are excellent e-readers.

Steve-o

Syman wrote: »

there are of course more readers to choose from than the sony and the kindle!!!!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Comparison_of_e-book_readers

Only a limited number are available in the UK though. There are more devices than just e-readers to read ebooks on, even though the e-ink displays of e-readers are the best to read text on.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50

Steve-o

libra10 wrote: »

It looks like Sony has the edge then?

I would say that it depends on how you wish to use your e-reader, and how you wish to get books, as you which one has the edge.

The Sony Readers are classed as a 'premium' product: they have brushed aluminium cases (in a few colours), are stylish and slim, have the Sony branding, and it is easy to get books for and on them (either purchased, or free).

The Amazon Kindle is designed to be a less expensive reader: the Kindle is plastic, to keep the production costs down; the low price point is aimed at getting owners buying their e-books from the Amazon store. The Amazon store is the main selling point for the Kindle, because it is so easy to buy books from there on the Kindle: browse, buy, book is almost instantly downloaded to your reader.

Both the Sony and Kindle models can use books downloaded from non-commercial websites, and also from other commercial websites. There might be some file conversions to do though: the Sony cannot use the Kindles native ebook format, but can read the widely used EPUB format; the Kindle cannot use EPUBS. The software is out there to convert the files into different formats though, so neither reader is greatly handicapped.

Syman

Steve-o wrote: »

Only a limited number are available in the UK though. There are more devices than just e-readers to read ebooks on, even though the e-ink displays of e-readers are the best to read text on.

http://www.mobileread.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=50

I am aware that the link has several units that are not available in the uk. However, the point i'm making is that Sony and Kindle are not the only contenders. I have a SOVOS SVEBK5, bought from Play.com. Cheaper than most, but does more (displays photos, plays videos) and am very happy with it.

Like most things, do your research. I think that the KINDLE is a good item of it's kind. The reason i went for the SOVOS is the extra functionality (in case i did not like the "Ebook experience")

Sy..

Steve-o

23n1th wrote: »

I meant thicker and heavier (might be the brushed aluminium) when I said bigger. I also think the Kindle looks better not being a fan on metal casing but thats just personal preference.

The black Kindles certainly look better than the white models, imo. Everything I've owned in white plastic always seemed to discolour over the years (UV degradation?).

The Sony's are a 'premium' product, with their aluminium cases, but I wonder how much cheaper they would be if Sony did not have that to justify the higher costs. :think: