You’ll also be able to buy books and Sony will have a website for book lovers to share passages from favorite books and to socialize. Since it’s built to work on the 3G network, it’ll have some iPhone-like features, like the ability to read in either portrait or landscape orientation, but no, it’s not an app for your iPhone. It’s a standalone that will retail for $399.
Like its predecessors, it’s not cheap. I do like that you can download using your library card. What about you? Is this a feature that would influence your buying decision?
I haven't yet listened to a book on tape let alone downloaded one. I'm still stuck in the land of crisp pages, a rigid spine, that wonderful smell of a new book.
ReplyDeleteHowever, if I were a user, the library card idea is fantastic. Someone thought the whole concept through before bringing it to market. Very clever.
It does seem like a smart move. Still not sure about the iPhone as a reader, though.
ReplyDeleteSemi-critically, Sony is moving their book store over to using ePub, which is an open standard for DRM. No DRM is preferable from the reader's point of view, but I know some of the writers on here would disagree.
ReplyDeleteBy using an open DRM standard, the Sony bookstore is open not only to Sony devices, but to a variety of other readers that can understand the ePub wrapper.
So, unlike Amazon's Kindle store, the Sony store won't be tied to a single manufacturer.
well, down here it little ole Australia apparently we like our books in paper. I would never have even heard of kindle if it wasn't for m wonderful USA blogging friends.
ReplyDeleteI want one though, how I want one!
Thanks Anton. That definitely seems like an advantage for Sony.
ReplyDeleteTabitha, I waver on wanting any kind of ereader. I'd sure like to give it a try. But...my purse is already stuffed and a shoulder-buster. Man, one more thing to carry!
I have a Kindle 2, and it's convenient at times, but it sure plays heck with my love to underline and go back and re-reader passages. You can, but it takes a lot more time finding it. Something about flipping through pages that feels good to me. The technology will only get bigger and smarter. And yes, downloading from a library sounds good for folks. Don't know--I'm just going to keep my Kindle and watch.
ReplyDeleteI ADORE my Kindle. But, having said that, I don't think the future of ereaders lies in the direction of supporting a single format.
ReplyDeleteI don't use the library, so that feature wouldn't appeal to me. I'm one of those people who re-reads books like visits to old friends, so I prefer to own them.
Smart! I love the library idea, that is very forward-thinking. Now if only the price would come down more! It will, as with all technology. It'll be cool to see how this progresses!
ReplyDeletechris verstraete
Searching for a Starry Night, A Miniature Art Mystery - (ebook, print, Kindle too!)
I think it's wonderful to download with the library card. Although it can be quite annoying for the technologically challenged. It complicates life more than it makes it easier. So many downloads and logins... ugh!
ReplyDeleteWhile I'm convinced that ebooks are the future (or a good bit of it anyway), I'm in no hurry to run out and buy a dedicated ebook reader. They are simply too expensive and the market in too much flux. I will eventually have an ereader, but I can wait a year or two to see how things settle down. In the mean time the technology will only get better and the prices will likely come down.
ReplyDeleteThe library option is very cool.
~jon
I just cannot get excited about e-readers. I love my books. Love 'em.
ReplyDeleteAnything that allows me to download from a library site is a winner to me. There's so much DRM stuff out there right now...it's frustrating.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth
Mystery Writing is Murder
I think it's a great idea, but it's also time for American writers to receive royalties on books checked out from the library, as do writers in the UK and other countries. True, it's a mere pittance for each book, but we need and deserve all the income our books can generate!
ReplyDeleteJean
http://advicefromeditors.blogspot.com/
Although downloading from the library is a good idea, I'm still clinging to paper books. Maybe by the time I decide I want an eReader, they'll have one that's completely compatible with any format.
ReplyDeleteI like the idea of "renting" a virtual book, though I must say it's a little weird to have it disappear from the reader upon expiration. They should just have the ebook lock itself, much like software after a demo period ends, and then unlock when the user pays for another rental period or something.
ReplyDeleteI love the library idea. Especially for children's books. This is a great way to entice them to read. And to stay reading.
ReplyDeleteI still don't have an e-reader, though.
P.S. - There's an award for you on my blog.
Seems like work still needs to be done to perfect the ebook and to lower the price of the ereader. It would be great to make ereaders capable of bookmarking and adding sticky notes to books you've bought. And they gotta make the readers cheaper, I think.
ReplyDeleteThe closest I think I'll come to an e-reader is using my iPhone as one when I get one next summer.
ReplyDeleteI'd rather give money to Sony than to Amazon either way!
ReplyDeleteBut the library feature is pretty cool.
L. Diane Wolfe “Spunk On A Stick”
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
The library idea is a good one, but I'm not jumping on the e-reader bandwagon yet. I like holding a book in my hands. Maybe when prices come down I'll think again, but for now I'll stick to technology I know!
ReplyDeleteElspeth
I agree Elspeth. Physical books are my first choice and the price of ereaders are too high right now. Not saying I won't change my mind, but...
ReplyDeleteNope. Still not buying. But I AM watching this phenomenon with attention and interest. Thanks for the devewlopment/update.
ReplyDeleteMarvin D Wilson
I think like most gadgets it's better to wait a bit and let all of the kinks get worked out and to let the price fall. I remember not that long ago when we bought brick size cellphones in Botswana for a pile of money, now you can get a tiny sexy one for under P300 ($40).
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Lauri. They'll come down in price. 'Course, probably like the iPhone, newer, sexier, faster, with more apps, ereaders will get popping up enticing us.
ReplyDeleteI'm still not ready to buy a reader. I appreciate the updates on the changing technology and features. They intrigue me, but I'm not ready for one yet.
ReplyDeleteInteresting news. Thanks for posting it. I think each advancement like this can only help promote sales of e-books. Won't replace paper in my lifetime or perhaps even the next generation, but I can imagine my young grandchildren reading books much the way they read them on Star Trek and other series like that that have futuristic devices for so many things.
ReplyDeleteHey, another fan of Star Trek. That was written by someone from the future, donchaknow.
ReplyDeleteI just wish they were cheaper. I'd love to try one out, but no way I can dream of affording one. Maybe when I'm even older and grayer the kids will treat me.
ReplyDeleteI'd say they will for sure become cheaper, but who knows. The iPhones have certainly not come down in price.
ReplyDeleteI figure they will eventually come down in price like laptops did. I think I would like to have one, I can definitely see a place for them, but I don't think I'll ever give up my "real" books.
ReplyDeleteNancy, from Realms of Thought…