Sony E-Reader

[michchick98]

Does anyone own one of these? What do you think of it if you do? I just bought one last night and (obviously) I'm still learning to use it, but it seems to accept all formats (.pdf, .rtf, .doc, etc) with no problems.

I have the Pocket edition that ran about $200.

Does anyone own a similar device such as a Kindle or another brand?

What (if any) drawbacks do you see with these devices?

IMO, since the e-book industry seems to be expanding, these things are handy in the fact that you can download an e-book and not have to sit in front of your computer (or laptop) to read it.

I like that I can carry around a bunch of books in a device no larger than a single book, but weighs slightly more. I like that when I turn it off on the page I was reading, then turn it back on, it's on the same page, right where I left off. I like that I can read more than one story at a time if I so desire and bookmark each page I left off on.

I don't like the fact that many of the print books I have are not available in e-book format, but that's a minor issue. It's still nice to be able to hold a book in my hand and turn the pages, but the e-book reader is nice too.

Pages on an e-book won't ever rip or become so worn you can't read the text. The reader itself, if properly taken care of, will last for a very long time, and each "book" cover will still look as new as it did the day you bought the e-book.

So anyway, if you own an e-reader, what do you think of it? Are you regretting your purchase or are you recommending one to all of your friends and family?

 

[O2]

I got a Sony for Christmas, not the pocket but the larger version. I do like it and I'm on my second book.

If I had room for a large library I would stick with hardbound books, this is a good alternative. If I were a more voracious reader I'd just check them out of my local library.

 

[The_Fool]

I haven't bought an e-reader yet. Still trying to figure out how that it is going to shake out with the technical references I want to put on it. At the same time I am struggling with the fact that the e-books I am interested in are still two thirds the cost of a hardbound book. This is going to be a significant investment that I am scared to make so far.

 

[Pure]

my sister in law has one. it's fine but the problem is that there are three major and several minor competitors (Amazon with Kindle; Barnes and Nobel with Nook, and others). they are working to corner the market though having ebooks that are incompatible. kind of like iPod vs. Zune.

Sony seems like a good bet, but who knows who will survive? Oh, i might add that the Apple iPad is just released and may prove VERY successful, and of course Apple will try to keep customers with Apple's own exclusive format.


The other issue that's arisen with Kindle is that when you 'buy' a book, you do not really own it. e.g. you can't lend it--transfer the file to someone else. the seller continue to own it, and has some rights of control. in fact, in one case Amazon simply deleted a book from all the Kindles of owners who had 'bought' the book, so they thought! (copyright probs). IOW, to 'buy' a book, at some places, amounts to buying a right to look at it, only (like a long-range lease of a right--like having a long-term hotel room).

if you do some googling you can find some forums of various groups of users, who share stuff, probs.

 

[glynndah]

When Amazon deleted Animal Farm without notice, it made me rethink about buying one. I don't like that someone can sneak into my library and steal one of my books just because they made a mistake. I do like the idea of being able to carry around lots of books in one little package, though.

 

[sxyoldguy]

At this point I struggle with the economics

A good one is around $300; That's a bit over 1 years worth of paperbacks for me.

A PB costs $5-7 and a fairly current E-book is in the 10.00 range I think. You can't share it (which we do in my family) and you can't give it away (which we also do).

The file formats are for the most part restrictive to the specific player.

So we're on the sidelines for now. maybe later when all the costs come down.

 

[michchick98]

When Amazon deleted Animal Farm without notice, it made me rethink about buying one. I don't like that someone can sneak into my library and steal one of my books just because they made a mistake. I do like the idea of being able to carry around lots of books in one little package, though.

As far as I can tell, the Sony doesn't connect wirelessly in order to buy and download books. I haven't seen where it has anyway and I've read through the documentation several times.

In order to get an e-book to the reader, it (the reader) has to be connected to your computer. Then you open the reader software and it gives you the option to shop from the reader's e-book store right from your computer. You buy the e-book(s) you want, add them to your library, then sync the software with your reader.

Over the years, I've purchased quite a few e-books and my biggest issue with them was sitting at the computer and reading. So I've only ever read about half of them. Now that I have the e-reader, I'll probably finish them then go back and read the e-books I'd already read once.

My own e-books are even on it. Haven't seen many downsides yet, but I've only owned it for a day. I've even put some of my stories from Lit on there which are still in .doc format.

 

[Emperor_Nero]

I'm intrigued by the idea, but at the current cost I just don't read enough to justify that kind of expense.

But what has surprised me the most is that there hasn't been a greater push to market college textbooks for the e-reader. There are some out there, but it is still a fairly limited market and it's hard to find what you need.

Still, it seems like the perfect market with students only needing most books for a period of a semester to a year -- lease the rights for 6-12 months and charge 50-70 percent of the price of a new book. The savings for most students in a bachelor's degree program would pay for a $300 reader in about a year, the savings for the student would continue over the rest of their collegiate career and they wouldn't break their backs carrying overloaded backpacks full of texts.

And they could still buy actual books for anything they wanted to keep or buy a permanent license for the book on the e-reader.

 

[michchick98]

Oh, and I don't know if one can do this on a Kindle, but on the e-reader, I can choose to have vertical or horizontal text. I know the Kindle has a magnifying feature, same as Sony and that helps when the text is too small. The horizontal setting on the Sony reader helps with the problem of the text still being too small even after magnifying it.

 

[lesbiaphrodite]

I have a Kindle reader, and I absolutely love it. There are some great new titles out there now, and a lot of really cool indie authors I've been discovering. Love the device. Love the access.