Sony ebook reader

[domd1979]

Has anyone acquired one of these new fangled Sony ebook things?

http://www.sony.co.uk/hub/reader-ebook

If so, any thoughts on it?

Looks a nice bit of gadgetry, though I don't see the justification for Waterstones charging virtually the same for an ebook download as a printed copy.

 

[zimzum42]

Dammit, I thought of that a few years back, always thought I should work for one of these corporations......

 

[Carwash]

Well I've never used one, but reading around there seem to be a few drawbacks, at least to my mind:

- DRM
- No Unicode support (WTF?!)
- Cannot display HTML
- Does not support non-Windows OSs

...but the same sorts of criticisms could be levelled at most eBook readers on the market at the moment -cf. Amazon's Kindle. I think that as long as you're aware that you'll be an early adopter and things will probably improve in the future, you should be fine.

 

[sheddy]

Does it work with a flat battery ? Thought not

 

[Milo]

Seems silly to me if I am going to read alot at once its much better on the eye if its printed text.

 

[Carwash]

Seems silly to me if I am going to read alot at once its much better on the eye if its printed text.

I think the idea with the new eBook readers is that they use new greyscale displays with an insanely high PPI - so it's no harder on the eye than ordinary print.

 

[goo_mason]

You're not going to be able to pick these up 2nd-hand in charity shops, or be able to use them when the battery runs out. And you can drop / abuse a paperback without worrying that you're wrecking hundreds of pounds of electronics.

I really don't think anything's going to better the good old book / paperback for a long time yet. I love gadgets, but this is not something that I have any desire for.

 

[Batzman]

I've got the iRex Iliad e-book reader, it's a bigger version of the sony reader, but with open-source (no DRM). although I believe the sony one can open non-DRM PDFs. I'm a pretty fast reader, and I like to be able to carry around an entire series of books in one small device. The e-ink displays are pretty good, although I recommend making sure that you are reading one in bright light (it looks like paper stuck under a piece of grey plastic). I also like to get books before they show up in the shops (and usually cheaper as well..)

 

[goo_mason]

I've got the iRex Iliad e-book reader, it's a bigger version of the sony reader, but with open-source (no DRM). although I believe the sony one can open non-DRM PDFs. I'm a pretty fast reader, and I like to be able to carry around an entire series of books in one small device. The e-ink displays are pretty good, although I recommend making sure that you are reading one in bright light (it looks like paper stuck under a piece of grey plastic). I also like to get books before they show up in the shops (and usually cheaper as well..)

I used to plough through up to three books a week when I commuted by bus. The only downside to cycling is that my reading rate has slowed to a book every month or so !!

 

[Night Train]

This thread is my view on it though I've not had a go on one yet.

 

[Lardyboy]

This thread is my view on it though I've not had a go on one yet.

Have to agree with the majority. Paper is the best solution.