Hardware Kindle vs Sony vs Cool-er eBook Readers

I love my books and there's nothing better than sitting down with a drink/coffee/hot chocolate and a good book. It's what I call quality relaxing.

That and that I'm not willing to pay as much for a file as for a "proper" book.

 

I've already gone on record as saying that paper books will remain popular at least until they invent a machine that feels and reads like a book.

 

And the rest, I have a Sony PRS 505 which only has half that. Still got 200+ books on there and it's about a third full. Granted mine are .lrf not .epub, so that probably makes a difference.

 

I'm glad I am not the only one who noticed this. I gave up reading after a while as its all over the place.

As it stands currently I will use my Ipod touch (with free ebook reader app) to read certain books whilst reading others in physical form. To me there is something about reading a book that a digital format can't match.

 

I spend so much time reading off a screen (all day at work, and then at home), I don't see any problem with reading a ebook rather than a dead tree.
My take is that in 20 odd years only us old weirdos will still be buying real books.

 

when i started driving a lot, i switched from hard copy to audiobooks (mostly mp3 on the laptop) out of convenience.

2 years ago, when i got an old tablet from work i discovered MS Reader, and it pretty much changed my life. While i think ebooks are bloody brilliant, i am not sure i could spend money on a dedicated machine for reading them. my IBM x41t has a backlit screen, wifi, and ya - it's a real computer. If i read something that piques my interest, just minimize reader and open firefox and wiki it.

sure, it's heavier than a kindle or nook or whatever, and the battery life isnt so great. but honestly. 99% of my reading is done on the couch or in the bed. there happen to be outlets close to both. if my tablet were to suffer a sudden catastrophic death (like it almost did whem my 3 year old spilled a quart of icewater in it) i would probably be looking for a new tablet, not a dedicated reader.

 

ebooks will take off the moment piracy makes books available free off the internet.

after a number of years the industry will move to a rental model with micropayments to the copyright holder.

as it was for music it is becoming for video it will be for books.

 

/me facepalms.

Books are already available easily for free via piracy. Have been for quite a few years now.

As for 40k available as ebooks. Oh I wish black library would release them as ebooks. I'd buy em all.

 

my apologies, I must have missed the point at which books realy got going on the internet a couple of years ago... I was under the impression that the releases had only just started the journey to getting close to the availability of mp3's and video...

To be honest I'm only just begining to see books I want/need appearing on pirate sites - and still few academic books... and fewer in apropriate format - though I think this will be the year they take off.

google books is amazing though and I think is perhaps the saviour of the publishing industry (that and much lower prices...)

 

eReaders actually made me read again!

I'm probably the exact opposite of most of the commentators here, I hate paper books!

So much so that the last fiction book I read was probably 20 years ago!!!

Then, I was in a Sony store in November and stumbled across the PRS-300 and lo and behold, I haven't been able to put the dang thing down. I have read in excess of 15 books since then

I do admit, you get a bad deal on eBooks in the UK, they are overpriced and the selection of titles available isn't that great. For example, Waterstones only has 3 World of Warcraft titles, the Sony eReader Store has 12. They are also about 25% cheaper.

My solution (certainly to Sony customers) is to find a long lost relative in the USA with a credit card and ask them to credit your Sony eReader Store account regulary.

Sorry Sis, that $200 was me

 

i see these as more a 'as well as' books rather than an alternative. like when i used to make a tape of my fave songs for journeys rather than taking a load with me . but it's not somthing you can compile yourself - like a mixed tape or transferring your cd collection to mp3's for your player.

been an avid reader my whole life and for me part of the joy is the book itself, (do these readers show illustrations for example?) and the physical feel of turning the pages etc. i'd probably get used to an e-reader, but for the cost it just doesn't have the appeal.

not sure i'd be able to take one of these in the bath tho! lol

 

Pah, ize isn't an an Americanism, it's how it should be spelt.

 

Wow, it must be great if you read that many books in 20 years.

 

There's an interesting article over on the New York Times about the shrinking generation gaps shaped in part by the rapid advancements in technology. While some people still view a book as a physical set of pages that they can hold and manipulate, the next generation (or, as it seems, kids in school 5 years from now) may not see the distinction between paperbacks and e-books. Both have words which are read; that's about it.

In the article, the author talks about the Zhou-Zhou his 4-year-old niece received:

2 years ago my nephew (then 4 years old) got a FurReal pet cat for his birthday. He had wanted a cat for a while, and when he opened the package we all made an excited fuss about how he finally got a cat. He gave a confused look, then commented; "But, it's not a real cat."

The generation gaps are getting shorter and shorter. My daughter will never know a time without high-speed internet access (let alone dial-up; or, like me, the days before personal computing). Nor will she ever know life without smart phones, whereas I had to carry around spare change for a pay phone - then there were cell phones. What used to be "Back in my day..." is now a case of "Well, only 2 years ago..." Already used to the iPhone touchscreen, she tries to manipulate the objects in my wife's Facebook games by touching the LCD monitor. As with the example in the article, she expects displays to be touch-sensitive.

Is a Kindle or another e-reader a book? The results are hazy, ask again in 2 years.

 

I may sound old and like a dick but I feel bad for everything the young ones will miss.
I am as excited about all the new stuff they'll have to play/work/live with though yet I don't understand the thing about books.

 

Wait, the Sony is the best all-rounder but the small screen is a detriment? Err... wha? All of these devices are bigger than a standard novel page, and the Sony is the smallest; hence by far the most versatile and easy to carry around or hide in an inside jacket pocket. While it's nice to have an all-in-one, why not just buy a netbook? The Sony imo is the best of the three, it's small -- like a book; and that's what an eReader should be.

 

you read books based on computer games? sigh....you're better off just not reading.

Bad timing on the article, since there have been multiple new releases at CES. Would have made a tad more sense to wait until after the show was over and after Apple announced the impending tablet, since there will be a market shake up later in the year. Seems like you'll need to re-write this in 4 months when the market battles begin.

Oh, and it needs to be re-written anyway, the format is all wonky and disorgani'z'ed. Either go product by product, or point by point. But switching points and products every sentence or so is just poor writing. or at least makes for awkward reading.

 

Nope, that was an example, I'm currently reading For Whom The Bells Toll.

And who are you to tell people what they should be reading?

And yes, IMHO, the Sony is the best out of the 3 reviewed. Proprietary formats FTL

 

Did anyone proof read this article as it all over the place and the formatting on the first page is borked?

I like the idea of an ebook but i would prefer one that can show pictures and photos properly. I also like the tactile feeling of a real book.

 

Will we see an update when the Nook hits? This is the one that has my attention. Its sleek and pretty unlike the rest.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/