Sony Reader...has anyone seen this new Sony toy? Imagine, 160 books contained inside this computer/reader!
I wonder if you can buy guidebooks to download. That would be very cool...it'd save tearing the pages out of perfectly good guide books and suffering the pangs of regret for that action, as only an ex-librarian can!
Not that I want to replace the pleasure of a real book, but this might be a great travel idea!
"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." ~ P.J. O'Rourke Brenda
I have been e-reading for a few years now, living in Italy and I am a big proponent. It's the most economical way of buying English book - so much variety, and especially if you read at the speed I do.
I am not an expert but I constantly try to keep updated and informed.
I have to give a general beware on buying an ereader like the Sony Reader as the big problem with ebooks now is that there is no standard electronic format - like mp3 for music, for example.
What this means is that most e-book readers read only a few file types/formats, or possibly only their own proprietary format (like the Sony Reader). Compare this situation to the m4v or m4p formats that only iTunes can read.
I currently use a Pocket PC (HP Jordana) to read my ebooks - since it's like a computer, you can install pretty much any software on it. I have installed the three major ebook format Readers (Mobipocket, eReader (Palm) and Microsoft Lit Reader) so I can read almost any book I buy online. Also, I can read PDF books on it.
The Sony Reader can also read HTML format, but remember that many proprietary formats are not convertible unless "cracked."
DearAuthor.com, a blog that mainly focuses on romance novels (don't judge!) just wrote up an excellent, concise ebook Reader Buying Guide for Christmas with pros and cons - definitely check it out as she talks about dedicated reading devices (Like the Sony Reader) and the Multifunction devices (my Pocket PC, PDAs, Smart Phones like the iPhone).
Amazon is also coming out with an e-book reader soon (some people say as soon as next week), called the Kindle. I think that would be worth checking out, because you know that Amazon is going to want to make most of their own content available for the reader. Also, it apparently will be able to download books via an included high-speed modem.
Yes, the Kindle will support the Mobipocket ebook format as it's Amazon's subsidiary. The Kindle is unfortunately being billed as one of the ugliest devices ever created I have to agree!
I also got to play with the Bookeen prototype last week, and it was very cool. It also supports Mobipocket but I don't think wireless is included for now.
Sony Reader has been advertising in airports and I have to admit, while there is nothing like the feel of a good book in your hands, it's very tempting to think that with an e-Book you will never get that panicky "I'm over the middle of the Atlantic and on the last chapter of this book with nothing else to read". e-Book users -- does it bother your eyes? Have they done anything different to the screen for viewing comfort? I'm thinking in the dark of an airplane cabin...
If the device uses e-ink technology, and most of the dedicated/single-purpose ebook readers like Sony Reader and Bookeen do, there is no "feedback" like from reading a computer screen (in my case, my little PocketPC).
Unfortunately, it also means you are dependent on an external light source since there's no backlight.
I haven't noticed any eyesight problems. Most devices are better than computers because you can adjust the font size and I make it much larger than my computer fonts.
Janie, I'm with you... I love the feel of a book, love the whole process of choosing a book, opening it and reading it right the way through. BUT, this alternative for traveling would be wonderful for me, I think!
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Unfortunately, it also means you are dependent on an external light source since there's no backlight.
Do you mean that there is no light from inside the unit? Is the screen on your PocketPC really 3.5" as it shows on their website? That seems really tiny to me, thinking about reading from that format. Is it difficult to read on that small of a screen? This one looks interesting...is this similar to yours, Ms. Adventures?
I'm quite interested in this and would like to learn more...it would be wonderful for traveling! No more boring layovers in airports with my well-read magazines, the daily paper that's been passed from person to person...just my little e-book reader and me. Good to go!
"A book is like a garden carried in the pocket." ~ Chinese Proverb Brenda
There is no backlight on the readers that use the e-ink technology - the Sony Reader, Kindle, Bookeen. The readers that are trying to emulate actual book size and feel are using this technology which is "electronic paper." You can read more about e-ink here.
These devices are more like "reading an actual book."
My PocketPC has a backlight and yes, it has a small screen but I manage. I also bought it used from a colleague (the version you're showing is a diff model) for 40euro. Most smartphones, PDAs, etc. have a backlight.
I have motivation.
Here's an example. (Note this book is easy to find. Imagine a fantasy / mystery / erotica / romance / thriller that will never be popular in the country you're living in.)
Book: The Other Boleyn Girl
- In Italy (paperback): from 10-13 euro. With exchange rate: 14.50-19 dollars. - Amazon.com to Europe (paperback): $10.88 + min. int'l. shipping $3.99 + item charge $3.99 = $18.86
Ebooks: - Mobipocket.com : $9.99 - eReader.com: $7.99 (7.19 with code from free newsletter) - BooksonBoard.com: $4.79 ($6.63 Mobipocket format) - SimonSays.com (the publisher!): $6.49
Some of the sellers will accept PayPal, too, so I can go from selection, purchase to downloading the book in about 2-3 minutes.
So the screen is smaller. I can lay in bed, change pages with the same hand I'm holding the device with, read on the tram, on the bus, on the train, wherever!
I decided I didn't want to continually build up a library that can become a burden to me. I'd rather cart behind my grandmothers' dishes or my photo equipment.
Now I buy only cookbooks and business books (because I like to take notes and make comments) in paper format.
I suggest you pop down to the nearest Circuit City/Best buy, etc. and play with a few different options. Some people are even using the iPhone.
I read e-books on my Palm PDA -- the screen is small, but it's easy to page and it's certainly compact for carrying. There isn't as big a selection as some other types, but you can convert text files into the Palm Reader format, so you can load, for example, Project Gutenberg free books. There are also some travel books published in that format.
The iPhone isn't well designed for accessing ebooks right now, but the screen is so beautifully readable that I don't understand why not. So I was glad to see in that Newsweek article that the iPhone is expected to become a major outlet for ebooks. I probably would have bought an iPod Touch if I could have used it for ebooks, but there is no way to save files on it when not connected to the Internet.
I have heard that Apple may be planning a real PDA along the lines of the iPod Touch, and I hope that's true. But a lot will depend on whether Apple's offerings will be able to access as many titles as the Kindle.
I see that Bezos has the right idea in making the ebooks cheaper than paper ($9.99 is listed as the price for a new book). One problem with electronic books has been that they often cost more than paper versions, which is silly, but represents the dinosaur attitude of the publishing industry.
One problem with electronic books has been that they often cost more than paper versions, which is silly, but represents the dinosaur attitude of the publishing industry.
Roz, I'm surprised you're still finding books more expensive than the paper versions (non-discounted, of course) - I used to use an old (Palm) Zire and prices were competitive with the list price of paper versions (or cheaper) - make sure you subscribe to eReader's newsletter as it gives you a 10% off coupon every week. Let me know if you need some reseller links - I included the most popular book sellers above when I priced "The Other Boleyn Girl."
The iPhone wasn't designed for ebooks, but many have cracked it to make it work with reader software - you just have to be careful with firmware upgrades.
I'll be very interested in where this discussion is going. We buy paperbacks at the Goodwill for 50 cents and load our suitcases with them when we travel then leave them along the way. We always run out and then have to buy new ones from a very limited supply in bookstores. I'm not very "electronically" savvy so any help with "the best choice" in equiptment will be greatly appreciated. (Is there a spellchecker on this website??)
Kathy
Posts: 83 | Location: north of cincinnati | Registered: 02 December 2002
I just started reading the Newsweek article about the Kindle. (Thanks for the link Toby). It's pricey but sounds pretty snazzy. I'll be watching the reviews.
Posts: 402 | Location: Watertown, New York, USA | Registered: 22 August 2003
I'm surprised you're still finding books more expensive than the paper versions (non-discounted, of course)
The $9.99 price was for new best-sellers, not books that have been out for a while in paper. I read a lot and by the time something I really want to read comes out in paper, I have usually been able to read the hardcover version from the library. For travel, of course, I don't want to take along a library hardcover, but I'd probably spend $10 for a portable book I was eager to read.
Today's Seattle Times had an article on e-books and cellphones or here is you have to register for Seattle Times. The article originated at the Chicago Tribune which has an blog article on using Mobipocket on blackberry to read Jane Austin. I suspect google will also complicate this with their new software platform for cellphones - Android and try to catch up with I-phone.
Interesting thread - thanks for posting about it Brenda.
I think the $9.99 price that Amazon is touting is only convenient in Roz's case, that you want to buy the hardcover of a book. I haven't bought a hardback in years. Ebooks and bookstores are no match for libraries!
I think the publishers might also find it hard to justify the higher prices they are charging for trade paperbacks ($12-14) because of the "format" and "sizing" when the mass markets are around $7.99 or $8.99 - in electronic form, it will be hard to justify a higher cost.
I think different genres go better with different types of readers.
For example, a travel guide with pictures probably wouldn't work on the screen size of the PDA-Smartphones but would be better-suited to a dedicated reader like the Kindle or the Sony Reader. A travel guide with no pictures would work great anywhere. Other books that I think would need a dedicated reader (for the pictures/layout possibilities) are Cookbooks and perhaps manuals/coding books.
If you just want to read regular, no-picture books - they would be fine on a PDA-Smartphone or a dedicated reader.
Gizmodo has a hands-on with the Kindle today. See this link. It looks pretty darn cool. On the downside for expatriates, it uses EV-DO for downloading books onto the device (there doesn't appear to be a way to get them onto it otherwise)! So, it's a no-go in Europe, unless (until?) they release a European model.
A book for Kindle might cost $9.99, but the thing itself is $399.00! That is a lot of books. I think I will keep haunting half.com, and wait for the dust to settle, some standards to emerge, and the price to drop dramatically.
The Kindle can load your own documents and pdf files. It also allows you to annotate the books. Most importantly Amazon keeps track of you ebook purchases so you can download th
Slow Travel Talk 
I have to agree!
