Can I buy ebooks on Amazon for my Sony 505?

crsheilah · 03-19-2009, 01:51 PM

I'm going to make a buying decision soon. I live in Costa Rica and have been looking at the Kindle 2 since I'll be visiting the States in May. But now I'm torn between the Sony 505 (in cool red) and the Kindle. I won't be able to use the whispernet except when I visit the States (once a year) so think the Sony 505 would be more cost effective for me. Why pay for something I can't use. Will I be able to buy ebooks from Amazon for the Sony? I'd like to hear any drawbacks/pros/cons you might have. TIA

igorsk · 03-19-2009, 01:57 PM

To buy Kindle books, you need:
1) to have a Kindle (or iPhone) registered to your Amazon account
2) to have U.S. billing address and credit card.
You can achieve 1 if you buy a Kindle but 2 will be trickier.

Steven Lyle Jordan · 03-19-2009, 01:59 PM

At the moment, Sony does not support the Mobipocket/AZW format used by the Kindle store, and you cannot buy Kindle e-books from Amazon without owning a Kindle reader (or an iPhone with a Kindle app). So I'm afraid you (and a lot of other people in similar situations) are out of luck getting Kindle books into your Sony.

Your best bet is to go to other e-book sites and try to find the e-books in venues other than Amazon. Many publishers will offer their books on their own websites or other e-book sites, if they've made them available to Amazon. Even Mobipocket formatted e-books can often be converted to the Sony format, or to ePub, with third-party software (like Calibre, mentioned in the forums area in this site).

crsheilah · 03-20-2009, 02:13 PM

Thanks, Steve. This morning I ordered, from Amazon, the red Sony 505 along with a red leather cover and an A/C charger. My neighbor is going to the States next week so I'm having it delivered to her place and she will bring it back to me mid-April so I won't have to wait until May after all! Then I'll have some time to play with it and load books before my trip May 1. I can't wait! I'm sure to have more questions when it arrives. Meanwhile I'm going to check out all the sites where I can buy books !!! Sheilah

03-19-2009, 01:51 PM	#1
crsheilah Connoisseur Posts: 67 Karma: 30000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Costa Rica Device: Velocity Cruz T103	Can I buy ebooks on Amazon for my Sony 505? I'm going to make a buying decision soon. I live in Costa Rica and have been looking at the Kindle 2 since I'll be visiting the States in May. But now I'm torn between the Sony 505 (in cool red) and the Kindle. I won't be able to use the whispernet except when I visit the States (once a year) so think the Sony 505 would be more cost effective for me. Why pay for something I can't use. Will I be able to buy ebooks from Amazon for the Sony? I'd like to hear any drawbacks/pros/cons you might have. TIA

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03-19-2009, 01:57 PM	#2
igorsk Wizard Posts: 3,442 Karma: 300001 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Belgium Device: PRS-500/505/700, Kindle, Cybook Gen3, Words Gear	To buy Kindle books, you need: 1) to have a Kindle (or iPhone) registered to your Amazon account 2) to have U.S. billing address and credit card. You can achieve 1 if you buy a Kindle but 2 will be trickier.

03-19-2009, 01:59 PM	#3
Steven Lyle Jordan Grand Sorcerer Posts: 8,478 Karma: 5171130 Join Date: Jan 2006 Device: none	At the moment, Sony does not support the Mobipocket/AZW format used by the Kindle store, and you cannot buy Kindle e-books from Amazon without owning a Kindle reader (or an iPhone with a Kindle app). So I'm afraid you (and a lot of other people in similar situations) are out of luck getting Kindle books into your Sony. Your best bet is to go to other e-book sites and try to find the e-books in venues other than Amazon. Many publishers will offer their books on their own websites or other e-book sites, if they've made them available to Amazon. Even Mobipocket formatted e-books can often be converted to the Sony format, or to ePub, with third-party software (like Calibre, mentioned in the forums area in this site).

03-20-2009, 02:13 PM	#4
crsheilah Connoisseur Posts: 67 Karma: 30000 Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Costa Rica Device: Velocity Cruz T103	Thanks, Steve. This morning I ordered, from Amazon, the red Sony 505 along with a red leather cover and an A/C charger. My neighbor is going to the States next week so I'm having it delivered to her place and she will bring it back to me mid-April so I won't have to wait until May after all! Then I'll have some time to play with it and load books before my trip May 1. I can't wait! I'm sure to have more questions when it arrives. Meanwhile I'm going to check out all the sites where I can buy books !!! Sheilah

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