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#1 |
Wizard
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Amazon Kindle 1
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Pros and Cons of Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle?
I'm starting to research ereaders and it looks like the Sony PRS-505 and Kindle are best of the lot (with the 700 having screen issues and being more expensive).
I've been trying to gather what the strengths and weaknesses of each are, and here's what I've come up with and I'd love any corrections or additions from users here! Kindle 2 Pros -wireless access to store -store has larger selection and cheaper prices vs. Sony store -keyboard for searching etc. Cons -books tied to Amazon with DRM--in the unlikely event Amazon goes under you couldn't redownload (though seems there are ways to strip drm and back up to PC). -No SD card slot (not a biggy for me, kindle 2 has plenty of space) -battery not removable, $60 for Amazon to replace -supports less formats, PDF support is "experimental" (though I mainly would want PDF support for scholarly journal articles, and it sounds like neither do well on those since they're full of tables and figures) -costs 10 cents to send word documents, pdfs etc. to it (can you do it for free over USB hook up to your PC?) -Plastic, so likely more fragile to drops etc. Sony PRS-505 Pros -cheaper--$269 at Amazon currently, was a deal for $205 recently, and could ge tit for $150 with the $150 credit for using Sony card on $299.99 and up purchase. -nicer looking design -metal so seems more durable -supports more formats -some libraries offer titles for borrowing in formats it supports Cons -book store has fewer titles and many are more expensive (including some wants I looked up) -have too hook up to PC to transfer books -no wireless network or WIFI capabilities So that's what I've gathered so far. I lean toward the Kindle for the wireless access, and the broader selection and cheaper prices. But $359 is a good bit out of my grad student budget and I don't see Amazon making any big price cuts any time soon. Thus the Sony is more affordable, especially with the Sony Card deal. So I'm torn. At the moment I'm still leaning toward just waiting a few months, hoarding my Amazon Visa reward gift certificates and picking up a Kindle 2 in the fall after I finish the Ph D and start my new job. I suppose picking up a used Kindle 1 cheaper on Craig's List may be an option--but it would have to be very cheap (say $150 or less) for me to take a chance on a used one and that's probably unlikely. And I'd like the better screen and design of the Kindle 2 as well. Some general questions to help on this decision: Is there a difference in the amount of free books you can get across the two? Is it true that PDFs with lots of figures and tables and in 8.5x11 page design (again scholarly journal articles) are a lost cause on both and will probably always bee on small ereaders? Thanks in advance for any feedback! Last edited by dmaul1114; 02-25-2009 at 12:21 PM. |
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#2 |
eBook Enthusiast
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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I really have to ask why you're only considering those two machines? The CyBook Gen3 is superior to both, IMHO, because:
- You can load any font you wish onto the machine and view any font in any of 12 different text sizes. - Dictionary lookup in any of hundreds of different Mobi dictionaries. - A user-replaceable battery. - Mobipocket support - very much the de facto industry standard, with the best-implemented Mobi support of any eInk device. - Available world-wide, with a world-wide warranty. |
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#3 |
Wizard
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Amazon Kindle 1
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I'm lazy and really want a machine that has a good store attached to it. Hence why I lean toward the Kindle since it's cheaper than the Sony store and all the others I've found.
I doubt I'd do a whole lot of scouring the net for deals on books, loading free books etc. But I will look into that machine a bit for sure. |
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#4 | |
Nameless Being
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#5 | |
eBook Enthusiast
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Karma: 93383043
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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#6 | |
Nameless Being
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#7 | |
Grand Sorcerer
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Karma: 11844413
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: Tampa, FL USA
Device: Kindle Touch
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BOb |
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#8 |
Evangelist
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Karma: 451808
Join Date: Feb 2009
Location: California, USA
Device: my two eyes, KLiiK, Sony PRS-700
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You're lazy? But if you're mostly going to read academic PDFs, neither the Sony Store nor the Amazon store will do you good. You'll be downloading journals from places like Jstor or whatnot.
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#9 |
zeldinha zippy zeldissima
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Paris, France
Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?
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another pro in favor of the sony is that it supports epub, the industry standard format. more and more publishers are choosing epub for their digital editions and it's an excellent archive format as well. support for an open, standard format is a huge plus in my opinion, particularly since epub is a very powerful format which is already worlds better than any other format currently available and will continue to improve, as will the epub viewers.
having said that, ceBit is coming up at the beginning of march, so you may want to wait a couple of weeks to see if there are any new devices that could fit your requirements. also, since budget is a concern, check our flea-market forum and ebay for used devices. you might be able to get a deal. |
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#10 | |
Uebermensch
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Join Date: Jul 2003
Location: Italy
Device: Kindle
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Quote:
Back to the original question: If you can make use of Whispernet and are frequently purchasing commercial e-books, get the K2. It's so convenient to use, especially when you are traveling, that any other device pales in comparison. |
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#11 |
The me that I am
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Karma: 1078
Join Date: Jan 2009
Location: In my house! Duh!
Device: Kindle 1 & DR 1000s
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How can you know that? I view black and white art pieces on my DR 1000s all the time. I have numerous RPG PDF books containing art (in some cases full page pieces), none of which would I particularly want to look at on my Kindle 1. Perhaps my example isn't a popular one here, but I see no reason for it to be automatically invalidated.
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#12 | |||
Wizard
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Join Date: Feb 2009
Device: Amazon Kindle 1
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For used it would have to be local so I could check out the unit first. I don't trust online purchases for used electronics. Quote:
At any rate, I'm leaning toward waiting until summer at the earliest unless I stumble across a great deal. Last edited by dmaul1114; 02-27-2009 at 12:14 AM. |
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#13 | |
eBook Enthusiast
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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Quote:
![]() The important thing is to correctly process your images in a decent graphics package BEFORE including them in your eBook. |
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#14 |
Wizard
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Location: Canada
Device: Kobo H2O / Aura HD / Glo / iPad3
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I'd suggest that you evaluate a little differently and start with your library.
Think 3 years ahead when you're replacing the device. If you buy 2 books a month at $10 a piece you'll have invested approximately $720 in your ebook library. If you think of that as disposable like your monthly cell phone bill then the Kindle is probably your best choice as Amazon has been selling the books cheaper. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that (IMHO). If you expect to be able to transfer those ebooks to a new device then you should understand how the DRM will impact you for either device. Amazon has demonstrated they will allow you to transfer the library to a new Kindle but they have no ability to export the library to load on another device. You'll probably be buying a new Kindle. If you really like the new Acme ebook reader but can't transfer your library to it you'll probably be upset. Sony's store is the same but they also allow you to purchase Adobe encrypted ePub. You're options for purchasing other devices that support that will likely be larger but you'll still go through the pain of registering and redownloading all your books. Alternatively you only buy ebooks without DRM or you strip the DRM as you purchase and then you have an open library that you can fair use transfer to any new reader. If you choose this option the book selection and technical comparison between the devices changes significantly. For example you might not use Whispernet for purchasing ebooks and it only becomes a nice to have available. |
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#15 |
eBook Enthusiast
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: UK
Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6
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Note that you don't have to redownload all your books for a new ePub-supporting device. Both the books and the device are tied to a particular "account", rather than the books being tied directly to the device. Register the new device to the same account and all your current books will work fine on it.
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