Reading or listening? I need both!

jetreader · 08-31-2009, 01:41 PM

Just read very informative Sony PRS 300 review and while I'm a great Sony design fan there is something more important then design. No mp3 player! No SD-card slot. Why? Sony Internal memory can keep more than 300 e-books but not a single musical file. What If I like to read and listen to the music as I do all the time with my jetBook? I'll tell you what: keep your Sony in your hands and your iPod (or any other mp3 player) in your pocket. What a shame! Why do I have to carry two gadgets instead of one? So far jetBook looks more usefull to me. Probably Sony made just another marketing trick. They started to sell barebones bookreader for $199 and if you need same size bookreader with mp3 player, you'll have to pay more for the additional "luxury" of music listening. So now you have to expect appearance of something like PRS 301 and it will cost, say $299 or $249 depending on internal memory.
Yeah, I've seen that movie too, bro

LuBiB · 08-31-2009, 01:49 PM

yea, it happens, thats really weird why they wouldn't have an SD card slot or anything.

i think it's really neat that you can add THOUSANDS (literally lol) of books to the jetBook via SD Card, but maybe Sony has something else planned.

i also like listening to music while reading and a lot of my friends are the same. i've recently been attracted to Audio Books as well (i'm just trying it out for now) and i've been uploading them to the jetBook too!

jetreader · 08-31-2009, 05:24 PM

well, my point that one need SD card to listen to the music, not to keep books on it. I almost don't read books on my jetBook (mostly articles) and I do not want to keep hundreds or even more - thousands of books on SD-card. One book/article (OK, 5 books/articles) is enough for me. The one that I read now. The rest of them I can keep on my home PC. It's safer. I need mp3 player, that's what Sony misses and jetBook has!

bill_mchale · 09-01-2009, 11:03 AM

I think we need to keep in mind that Sony was trying to build this thing to a price point -- they wanted the 300 to be the first eInk based reader for under $200. Card readers, and an mp3 player may not have cost much, but I bet they would have added $20-$40 to the cost of the unit. Either Sony would have had to accept less profit (or maybe virtually no profit) or raised the price on the unit.

The Jetbook has several advantages on price:
1. A reasonably conventional LCD screen.
2. No licensed software.
3. Plastic construction.

Now mind you, I am not saying the Jetbook is cheap... far from it, I have found it to be rather durable and it is an excellent machine. But I think the Sony Reader needs to be taken on its own merits.

--
Bill

Kris777 · 09-01-2009, 01:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

Card readers, and an mp3 player may not have cost much, but I bet they would have added $20-$40 to the cost of the unit. --
Bill

I think that SD card slot and mp3 player cost less than $3 so I can't see any reason why Sony decided to skip these important features.

HarryT · 09-01-2009, 02:48 PM

Have you ever used the "MP3 Player" (which I put in quotes deliberately) on the Sony Reader? Believe me, you wouldn't want to. It is the most "bare bones" thing imaginable. It will list - and play - tracks in order of their ID3 tags, and that's it. No display by album or artist. Worst of all, it's dangerous because it has no "stop" button, only a "pause", which makes it very easy to accidentally leave it playing, and drain your battery flat.

Even the cheapest of "real" MP3 players is better than the Sony. Believe me - it's no loss!

Kris777 · 09-01-2009, 07:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HarryT

Have you ever used the "MP3 Player" (which I put in quotes deliberately) on the Sony Reader? Believe me, you wouldn't want to. It is the most "bare bones" thing imaginable. It will list - and play - tracks in order of their ID3 tags, and that's it. No display by album or artist. Worst of all, it's dangerous because it has no "stop" button, only a "pause", which makes it very easy to accidentally leave it playing, and drain your battery flat.

Even the cheapest of "real" MP3 players is better than the Sony. Believe me - it's no loss!

I can agree about MP3 player but what about SD card slot. Why they removed it??

pilotbob · 09-02-2009, 01:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bill_mchale

The Jetbook has several advantages on price:
1. A reasonably conventional LCD screen.
2. No licensed software.
3. Plastic construction.

Have you looked at the about page on your reader? They license the PDF viewer from FoxIt Software.

BOb

HarryT · 09-02-2009, 03:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kris777

I can agree about MP3 player but what about SD card slot. Why they removed it??

Presumably for "market differentiation" - to make a clear difference between the PRS-300 being an "entry level" device, and the PRS-600 an "advanced" device. That type of thing is very common.

If you want a 5" device with a card slot, you might consider the CyBook Opus, or the Hanlin V5, as alternatives.

Having said that, I haven't used the card slot on any of my eBook Readers - I always find the internal memory to be entirely sufficient.

Kralik · 09-02-2009, 11:27 AM

I have about 70 hours of audiobooks on my jetBook now, with 120 pages of chapters. Apparently it just lumps them together into one listing (despite directory organization). Does anyone know if the jetBook supports playlists? I can check or select certain files if I want, but I'm not sure what for (maybe an impromptu playlist).

08-31-2009, 01:41 PM	#1
jetreader Banned Posts: 23 Karma: 102 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Device: jetbook	Reading or listening? I need both! Just read very informative Sony PRS 300 review and while I'm a great Sony design fan there is something more important then design. No mp3 player! No SD-card slot. Why? Sony Internal memory can keep more than 300 e-books but not a single musical file. What If I like to read and listen to the music as I do all the time with my jetBook? I'll tell you what: keep your Sony in your hands and your iPod (or any other mp3 player) in your pocket. What a shame! Why do I have to carry two gadgets instead of one? So far jetBook looks more usefull to me. Probably Sony made just another marketing trick. They started to sell barebones bookreader for $199 and if you need same size bookreader with mp3 player, you'll have to pay more for the additional "luxury" of music listening. So now you have to expect appearance of something like PRS 301 and it will cost, say $299 or $249 depending on internal memory. Yeah, I've seen that movie too, bro

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08-31-2009, 01:49 PM	#2
LuBiB Banned Posts: 349 Karma: 1018593 Join Date: May 2009 Location: New York Device: jetBook, iPhone, JETBOOK COLOR!!	yea, it happens, thats really weird why they wouldn't have an SD card slot or anything. i think it's really neat that you can add THOUSANDS (literally lol) of books to the jetBook via SD Card, but maybe Sony has something else planned. i also like listening to music while reading and a lot of my friends are the same. i've recently been attracted to Audio Books as well (i'm just trying it out for now) and i've been uploading them to the jetBook too!

08-31-2009, 05:24 PM	#3
jetreader Banned Posts: 23 Karma: 102 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: New York Device: jetbook	well, my point that one need SD card to listen to the music, not to keep books on it. I almost don't read books on my jetBook (mostly articles) and I do not want to keep hundreds or even more - thousands of books on SD-card. One book/article (OK, 5 books/articles) is enough for me. The one that I read now. The rest of them I can keep on my home PC. It's safer. I need mp3 player, that's what Sony misses and jetBook has!

09-01-2009, 11:03 AM	#4
bill_mchale Wizard Posts: 1,451 Karma: 1550000 Join Date: Sep 2008 Location: Maryland, USA Device: Nook Simple Touch, HPC Evo 4G LTE	I think we need to keep in mind that Sony was trying to build this thing to a price point -- they wanted the 300 to be the first eInk based reader for under $200. Card readers, and an mp3 player may not have cost much, but I bet they would have added $20-$40 to the cost of the unit. Either Sony would have had to accept less profit (or maybe virtually no profit) or raised the price on the unit. The Jetbook has several advantages on price: 1. A reasonably conventional LCD screen. 2. No licensed software. 3. Plastic construction. Now mind you, I am not saying the Jetbook is cheap... far from it, I have found it to be rather durable and it is an excellent machine. But I think the Sony Reader needs to be taken on its own merits. -- Bill

09-01-2009, 02:48 PM	#6
HarryT eBook Enthusiast Posts: 85,544 Karma: 93383043 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: UK Device: Kindle Oasis 2, iPad Pro 10.5", iPhone 6	Have you ever used the "MP3 Player" (which I put in quotes deliberately) on the Sony Reader? Believe me, you wouldn't want to. It is the most "bare bones" thing imaginable. It will list - and play - tracks in order of their ID3 tags, and that's it. No display by album or artist. Worst of all, it's dangerous because it has no "stop" button, only a "pause", which makes it very easy to accidentally leave it playing, and drain your battery flat. Even the cheapest of "real" MP3 players is better than the Sony. Believe me - it's no loss!

09-02-2009, 11:27 AM	#10
Kralik Guru Posts: 609 Karma: 1013897 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Rooted NST	I have about 70 hours of audiobooks on my jetBook now, with 120 pages of chapters. Apparently it just lumps them together into one listing (despite directory organization). Does anyone know if the jetBook supports playlists? I can check or select certain files if I want, but I'm not sure what for (maybe an impromptu playlist).

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