Why buy one? What uses?

[CommanderROR]

I thought we had decided that the Sony can't handle DRM PDFs

[Laurens]

Originally Posted by CommanderROR

I thought we had decided that the Sony can't handle DRM PDFs

Well, it probably can't, but I haven't seen a definitive statement on that yet. If it can't out of the box, then maybe in a future upgrade.

[CCDMan]

If you get a sony the cost of the ebooks will definatly be higher.

Probably true, but I would suggest that Sony's market and that for Ebooks in general (at this point) is not the guy that is trying to save money.

What happens a few years down the road when there are other readers that are far superior.....

I toss the Sony and buy the latest technology. Any books I want to keep or read again I will probably still buy in paper for a while anyway, due to format and DRM obsolescence issues. I could wait for something more ideal than the Sony, but if I had always waited for the "final best option" to show up, I would not be typing this on a PC and would be watching my black and white TV instead. <g>

If one can't afford to buy a reader now (I use the term "now" loosely <g>) and toss it for something better in a few years, then maybe one should be going to the library where books are free.

[shousa]

Is that so....I didn't know....where else can we buy or get for free ebooks that MAY work on a Sony, Hanlin or Iliad?

I reckon we should have a "in one place" sticky made after all the feedback as a comprehensive list and then list after which Ebook reader (Sony, Hanlin V2 and V8 and Iliad) - I do not knwo how to set this up, could some "expert" do this for us??

My Input - note I have not used many of these - I will not list Palm only format ebook sites

- address - name - formats -free?
http://www.gutenberg.org/ - project gutenburg - html, text (FREE)
http://www.ebooks.com/ - ebooks - Microsoft reader, Mobipocket, Adobe
http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/ - University of Adelaide - html, txt (FREE)
http://www.ereader.com/ - ereader - ereader format (use with Palm, Mob, Mac, PC) - has best DRM I have seen IMHO - can copy as much as you like but must enter name and credit card number every time.
http://www.fictionwise.com/ - Microsoft reader, Mobipocket, Adobe, Palm reader, fiction wise reader?
http://www.amazon.com - Adobe, Microsoft reader
http://etext.virginia.edu/ebooks/ - Microsoft, Palm - (FREE)
http://manybooks.net/ - eReader, PDF, Plucker, iSilo, Doc, or zTXT (FREE)
http://www.memoware.com/ - Formats, so many it insane (FREE) http://www.memoware.com/mw.cgi/?screen=help_format
http://www.pdabookstore.com/ - Memoware bookstore - many formats
http://www.pdabookstore.com/servlet/mw?t=help_help&si=4
http://www.buddhanet.net/ebooks.htm - Adobe (FREE)
http://www.adobe.com/epaper/ebooks/ebookmall/index.html - huge list of pay sites using Adobe
http://www.awe-struck.net/ - romance & sci-fi -
HTML, PDF,Rocket, REB, Microsoft Reader,Pocket PC PDA, Mobipocket, EBookman, Hiebook
http://www.planetpdf.com/free_pdf_eb...?CurrentPage=1 - PDFs (FREE)
http://www.powells.com/ebookstore/ebooks.html - Microsoft, Adobe, Palm
http://www.double-dragon-ebooks.com/ - Rocket-eBook, Hiebook, Adobe PDF, MS-Reader, Mobipocket, iSilo, Franklin eBookMan, and Palm Doc.
http://www.diesel-ebooks.com/ - Microsoft, Adobe, Palm
http://www.bob-e-books.com/ - Microsoft, Rocket, Softbook
http://esspc-ebooks.com/default.htm - Microsoft PC Reader, Mobipocket
http://www.bookrags.com/ebooks/ - PDF, RTF, HTML (Free?)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/doctorwho/class...ks/index.shtml - HTML (FREE but only Dr Who books?)
http://ebooks.whsmith.co.uk/151ABB20...en/Default.htm
- Adobe, Microsoft, Mobipocket
http://www.ebooks3.com/ - html (FREE)

Whew!!

Originally Posted by CCDMan

Just a note on the DRM - there are, I think, enough non-DRM ebooks out there (Baen and others) to justify a device at this (lower than Iliad) price point just for those, never minding what Sony sells.

[shousa]

What I meant with my last post - was to make a matrix of which Ebook websites both FREE and PAY worked with which Ebook Readers - Hanlin, Sony and Iliad.

That way, we could judge individually which ebook reader could access the content each of us wants.

Upon purchasing the ebook reader the list could be used immediately to start filling the reader with content.

If this was maintained by us I think it would be a valuable resource, and as I have already done most of the work not too taxing for others who understand the formats better then me to tell us what sites are likely to have content that will work with each reader.

My thoughts - Sony will not do well on such a list but who knows how the Iliad will do against the two Hanlin Readers? We do not know - lets find out. I feel the answer may be surprising.

[Alexander Turcic]

Nice list shousa! I'd probably get my e-books from Amazon.com in Microsoft LIT format (they usually have the best deals) and then convert them to the Sony BBeB format (for personal use only, which is allowed here where I live).

[shousa]

Originally Posted by Alexander Turcic

Nice list shousa! I'd probably get my e-books from Amazon.com in Microsoft LIT format (they usually have the best deals) and then convert them to the Sony BBeB format (for personal use only, which is allowed here where I live).

Hmmm.....my understanding was that if you bought an ebook that had DRM it could not be changed to another format. So Microsoft LIT could not be changed to BBeB. Am I wrong? This would mean you could not buy books from Amazon at all for the Sony Ebook reader.

[dugbug]

Do we know that sony will employ DRM though? Didn't that almost kill them in Japan where you only "rented" the books and they were deleted after a few weeks?

Sony has to pick a reasonable DRM strategy.

-d

[Alexander Turcic]

Originally Posted by shousa

Hmmm.....my understanding was that if you bought an ebook that had DRM it could not be changed to another format. So Microsoft LIT could not be changed to BBeB. Am I wrong? This would mean you could not buy books from Amazon at all for the Sony Ebook reader.

I wrote about Microsoft DRM here: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...?threadid=6634

If you buy a DRM(5)-protected Microsoft LIT e-book, with the available key files you can use a tool like Convert Lit to extract the content of the LIT container (basically a bunch of HTML files). Of course you should first find out if using such a tool is permitted in your country

[NatCh]

Originally Posted by dugbug

Do we know that sony will employ DRM though? Didn't that almost kill them in Japan where you only "rented" the books and they were deleted after a few weeks?

Sony has to pick a reasonable DRM strategy.

-d

The question is, "does Sony know that?"

(An overview of Sony's corporate marketing plan is attached -- smuggled out of the corporate headquarters at great personal risk, you know)

[shousa]

Here they are:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...brary_projects

There is another more comprehensive list I have from the Wiki 2005 saved onto a 1GB SD card in my Palm. I will get it later