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Originally Posted by nowthenmobile
After searching around it seems like the only show in town (the UK) (aside from the Kindle) is Sony. If you look on ebay, the second hand ones are mostly Sonys. Ebay's second-hand prices are preposterous; I can't understand the bidders. They knock a third off the price to buy a used piece of old technology. Waterstones have an attractive deal on the Sony PRS 350 (£139 I think) but I think we might miss the extra 1 inch. What I don't understand is how the other manufacturers are competing with Kindle and Sony. Some of them are charging the same kind of price as Sony but without the brand confidence of the Sony - Strange. I think the 650 looks like the business but at twice the price of the Kindle 3 it's not an easy sell. It strikes me that this is not really the right time to buy - just as the new high contrast screen is entering the market. When everyone has upgraded then prices will be a little keener. Maybe I should buy a Kindle and just fill it with classics and occasionally take advantage of Amazon's cheap prices. Still, the ability to borrow ePUBs would be such an advantage....and I despise Amazon for not reading ePUBs. I think it is anti-competitive, but it is people like me that allow them to get away with it.
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You have clearly done your research since your initial post. Well done at sorting out the complexities of the ebook market! I think you have summed it up very well. I am surprised that Sony didn't make their new models more price-competitive but that's the typical approach they take with most of their products. It is a well-made, high quality product. Perhaps there will be some markdowns for the Christmas buying season? The WH Smith website is offering the PRS-350 for £129 right now. The 5" seems small to me too, but a lot of people really do like it. Maybe there is a store near you that you could check out the display models. If borrowing EPUBs from a library is a viable option for you, then it might not take long before you borrow enough books to recoup the price difference of the PRS-650 compared to the Kindle. Just another thought.
The ereader and ebook industry is still relatively young. Who can guess what the future holds? It might not be either the Amazon or the EPUB format that ultimately prevails. Maybe eventually there will be no DRM similar to how the digital music industry is evolving. It is frustrating that Amazon has introduced a format that is contrary to the rest of the industry and only works with their ereaders. Of course I understand their business model but that doesn't mean as a consumer that I still can't be frustrated by it. It is frustrating that some authors are signing exclusive deals to publish some of their ebooks with Amazon only. It is also frustrating that Barnes & Noble and Apple iBooks have introduced DRM standards on their EPUB books that don't work with all ereaders that read EPUBs. I want the digital book market to be successful, and I want as many people to have access to the books that they want to read as possible.
But as desertgrandma said earlier, the point of the ereader is to read. And, I still think that either the Sony or the Kindle option will provide a happy ereading experience once you make your decision.