*Flower*
Status: Lewis Carroll
 Offline
Charleston, SC
Posts: 115
|
 |
« on: March 19, 2009, 08:52:04 AM » |
|
So how do you think that this new deal will affect Kindle/Amazon?
They were trumpeting it all over the airwaves this morning- sounded mighty pleased with themselves.....
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Because happiness is what happens when all your dreams come true.... well, isn't it???
|
|
|
|
bkworm8it
|
 |
« Reply #1 on: March 19, 2009, 09:04:16 AM » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
So many good books, so little time!  |
|
|
|
Kind
|
|
« Reply #2 on: March 19, 2009, 09:12:51 AM » |
|
Interesting read. Thanks for posting the link.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Kindleholic - Addicted since Summer 2008. Original Kindle x 2 Woot Woot |
|
|
|
KindleMom
|
|
« Reply #3 on: March 19, 2009, 09:13:16 AM » |
|
I think this is good to have competition. There are too many books on Amazon that are overpriced. If Sony gets the instant download up an running, Amazon is going to have to lower prices and come up with some new features. I still think the Sony is a better product except for the instant download which is why we own two Kindles at this house.
In short, this bodes well for the consumer. We'll just get better products and prices. I hope.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mwvickers
|
|
« Reply #4 on: March 19, 2009, 09:13:18 AM » |
|
The only advantage I really see is that the Sony 700 series is now a little cheaper than the Kindle 2. All of the books added are public domain, and most of those can probably be found on manybooks, freekindlebooks, etc. I would imagine.
I don't get it, really.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
intinst
|
|
« Reply #5 on: March 19, 2009, 09:16:44 AM » |
|
Since Amazon still has many, many more books available that are not public domain, I believe they are still far ahead in the game. But, competition is good for the consumer, in most cases.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
I still find each day too short for all the thoughts I want to think,
all the walks I want to take, all the books I want to read,
and all the friends I want to see. John Burroughs |
Located just outside Little Rock, Arkansas Goal for 2012 = 100 books read, read so far = 20 Now reading = to be determined  |
|
|
|
TM
|
|
« Reply #6 on: March 19, 2009, 09:20:21 AM » |
|
Hopefully this will push Amazon into supporting ePub format on the kindle.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mominsky
|
|
« Reply #7 on: March 19, 2009, 09:20:34 AM » |
|
i gotta say, with the new SonyStyle credit card deal, the sony reader is beciming much more attractive - they are offering $200 credit on your first statement after a 349+ purchase when opening a sony style credit card....to buy their PRS-505 (plus some accessories) for only $150 is VERY tempting, OR to get the PRS-700 for that same price...cant really go wrong........if only it had whispernet
|
|
|
|
« Last Edit: March 19, 2009, 09:29:36 AM by mominsky »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
peritusONE
Status: Dr. Seuss
Offline
Posts: 8
|
|
« Reply #8 on: March 19, 2009, 09:31:08 AM » |
|
It's my opinion that it is only a matter of time before Amazon adds epub and/or pdf support to the Kindle. This whole eBook reader market is just now taking off into mainstream, and has a while to go. Amazon (and Sony) will figure it out as they go.
The only question is whether or not Amazon will apply any future format updates via software to previous Kindle iterations, or if you'll have to buy the newest Kindle.
Regardless of all this, a lot of Kindle owners know that you can get a lot of this stuff on the Kindle through an Amazon convert, and most of us also know that there is an option to convert these WITHOUT a fee...a fact that most news reports gloss over.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Jesslyn
|
|
« Reply #9 on: March 19, 2009, 09:34:33 AM » |
|
Considering that public domain books are available EVERYWHERE!, not sure all the fuss was warranted.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mom133d (aka Liz)
|
|
« Reply #10 on: March 19, 2009, 09:38:46 AM » |
|
I saw this on Yahoo news http://tech.yahoo.com/news/ap/20090319/ap_on_hi_te/tec_google_sony_readerSince it is fairly short, I'll copy here (bolding is mine) Sony e-book reader gets 500,000 books from Google (AP) NEW YORK - Google Inc. is making half a million books, unprotected by copyright, available for free on Sony Corp.'s electronic book-reading device, the companies were set to announce Thursday. It's the first time Google has made its vast trove of scanned public-domain books available to an e-book device, and vaults the Sony Reader past Amazon.com Inc.'s Kindle as the device with the largest available library, at about 600,000 books. The scanned books were all published before 1923, and include works like Charles Dickens' "A Tale of Two Cities" as well as nonfiction classics like Herodotus' "The Histories." The books are already available as free downloads in the Portable Document Format (PDF), which works well on computer screens but not on e-book readers. Google will provide the books to the Sony Reader in the EPUB (electronic publication) format, which lets the lines flow differently to fit a smaller screen. Google spokeswoman Jennie Johnson said the company wants to make the books available as widely as possible. "Really our vision is: any book, anywhere, any time and on any device," she said. "We want to partner with anybody who shares our vision of making them more accessible." The publishing industry has more or less united on EPUB for e-book distribution, but Amazon uses its own format for the Kindle. However, unencrypted EPUB files can be converted to a format readable by the Kindle using PC software.Unlike the Sony Reader, the $359 Kindle has a wireless connection directly to its e-book store, which boasts more than 245,000 titles. To get books onto the Reader, the user first downloads them from Sony's Web site using a computer, then connects the Reader to the computer. There are two models of the Reader, priced at $300 and $350. On the Net: http://www.sony.com/readerhttp://books.google.comhttp://www.amazon.com/kindleIf I ever get freetime, I was going to look to see what was available. I went to the books.google site and saw mostly public domain titles that we can probably get from other locations. You had to register at sony and I didn't have time to test that out. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main...and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life." - Walt Disney |
|
|
|
r0b0d0c
|
|
« Reply #11 on: March 19, 2009, 10:04:11 AM » |
|
Seems pretty misleading, since Kindle can download "over 245,000" books directly to Kindle, plus how many more titles (anyone have a number of public domain books from freebooks, etc.?), whereas don't you need to download to computer first, and THEN to the Sony eReader for ALL titles?
the "600,000" number certainly gives bragging rights and marketing to Sony, for now.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"And in the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." - Ralph Waldo Emerson  |
|
|
|
mwvickers
|
|
« Reply #12 on: March 19, 2009, 10:37:05 AM » |
|
Let's just hope Amazon doesn't "fight back" and pull even more free public domain books into the Kindle store. It's a nightmare as it is.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
webhill
|
|
« Reply #13 on: March 19, 2009, 10:42:54 AM » |
|
Let's just hope Amazon doesn't "fight back" and pull even more free public domain books into the Kindle store. It's a nightmare as it is.
Why is it a nightmare? I like having them there! I mean, some of them are titles I would like to read on my Kindle, and it's nicer to be able to d/l them over whispernet, and have them backed up in my amazon archive, instead of having to get them elsewhere... |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mwvickers
|
|
« Reply #14 on: March 19, 2009, 10:48:05 AM » |
|
Why is it a nightmare? I like having them there! I mean, some of them are titles I would like to read on my Kindle, and it's nicer to be able to d/l them over whispernet, and have them backed up in my amazon archive, instead of having to get them elsewhere...
It's mainly a nightmare for trying to search through to find books. In some cases, you wade through tons of those. Some search tools have made it possible to exclude those now, so it's not quite as bad, but still. As far as having them backed up, I guess to each his or her own. I am rarely able to use whispernet, so I have to use the USB and my computer to download books no matter where I get them from, so it's just as easy for me to find them on another website as to get them from my Kindle library. Also, to me, because all books are backed up in your Kindle library, it makes it even harder and longer to find other books you paid for if you have tons of public domain ones sitting in your Kindle library. As I said, though, to each his or her own. I just think it's kind of silly for any company (Amazon, Sony, etc.) to say they added several thousand books when they are public domain and can be found other places, especially while there are so many newer and older non-public domain books that are not available yet. Just my two cents.  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
SongbirdVB
|
|
« Reply #15 on: March 19, 2009, 10:55:08 AM » |
|
Seems pretty misleading, since Kindle can download "over 245,000" books directly to Kindle, plus how many more titles (anyone have a number of public domain books from freebooks, etc.?), whereas don't you need to download to computer first, and THEN to the Sony eReader for ALL titles?
the "600,000" number certainly gives bragging rights and marketing to Sony, for now.
I'm wondering how accurate that number is. Is it 600,000 BOOKS or 600,000 TITLES? As we know, there are many books out there with numerous publications. So it could be 600,000 different "versions" of Moby Dick!  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
Those that cannot forgive others break the bridge over which they must pass themselves; for every person has need of being forgiven.
|
|
|
|
Marguerite
|
|
« Reply #16 on: March 19, 2009, 11:16:25 AM » |
|
Just for fun I went on their cite to check it out and I am seeing that they are higher for the cost of books. In some cases $12 for what is in paperback at the grocery store for about $8. I will stick to the Kindle. I also found their demo guy to be annoying.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
member 1632
|
|
|
|
ProfCrash
|
|
« Reply #17 on: March 19, 2009, 04:37:37 PM » |
|
(sigh)
Gee, we just ingested hundreds of thousands of books that you could have downloaded for free. WEEEEEEE
Am I suppose to be impressed?
All this tells me is that Sony is clearly desperate and responding to the release of Kindle 2 with a pretty lame ploy. Then again, if you don't know much about e-books, maybe it is not so lame. (shrugs)
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
SusanCassidy
|
|
« Reply #18 on: March 19, 2009, 05:07:37 PM » |
|
I'm wondering how accurate that number is. Is it 600,000 BOOKS or 600,000 TITLES?
I was thinking sort of the same thing. If a "title" is just a short story or article, then 600000 is not that impressive. Most of the interesting public domain stuff is probably already available from manybooks.net or feedbooks.com. Don't know why they are so excited, for the most part. |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
kguthrie
|
|
« Reply #19 on: March 19, 2009, 07:15:17 PM » |
|
Competition is always good for the consumer. Bring it on!  |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Kathy
|
|
« Reply #20 on: March 19, 2009, 07:29:50 PM » |
|
One of things I noticed in the article was about the cost for converting the pdf files. So far, I don't think anyone has really been charged. Also, if you have the converted pdf files sent to your regular email address it is free. They send you a link with the download link in it and you can then transfer it to your Kindle with the usb cord. I see this as just another place to look for books. I'll stick to my Kindle.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
mom133d (aka Liz)
|
|
« Reply #21 on: March 20, 2009, 04:24:37 AM » |
|
That was my thought Kathy. Hopefully this weekend I'll have a chance to see what Sony/Google is offering...
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"There is more treasure in books than in all the pirates' loot on Treasure island and at the bottom of the Spanish Main...and best of all, you can enjoy these riches every day of your life." - Walt Disney |
|
|
Knipfty
Status: Dr. Seuss
Offline
Posts: 14
|
|
« Reply #22 on: March 20, 2009, 09:30:22 AM » |
|
I find it quite funny that Google and Sony are talking about these public domain books being made available also in PDF format which is anything but public domain. There is really nothing to this "announcement" except a little PR for Sony.
Yes I would like it if the Kindle supported more formats, but truth be told the Kindle has great content for recreational readers. Both in the public domain and from Amazon. I am glad to see that Sony Dropped the price of their reader. This will only encourage Amazon to do the same. Cheaper ereaders will me more readers!
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Betsy the Quilter
Agent 72
Global Moderator
Status: Shakespeare
Offline
Gender: 
Alexandria, VA
Posts: 27974
Avatar by Nog Dog! Thanks!
|
|
« Reply #23 on: March 20, 2009, 09:36:23 AM » |
|
I'm wondering how accurate that number is. Is it 600,000 BOOKS or 600,000 TITLES? As we know, there are many books out there with numerous publications. So it could be 600,000 different "versions" of Moby Dick! I think there are almost that many versions of Moby Dick on Amazon! LOL! Betsy |
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." -Eleanor Roosevelt
"Until I feared I would lose it, I never loved to read. One does not love breathing." -Scout in To Kill a Mockingbird
"Oh come on! Stake through the heart. A little sunlight. It's like falling off a log" -Buffy, the Vampire Slayer |
|
|
|
Vegas_Asian
|
|
« Reply #24 on: March 20, 2009, 01:11:10 PM » |
|
Thousands of public domain books....I'm good with my Kindle. Sony books do look more expensive
For The Lovely Bones by Alice sebold
Kindle 9.99
Sony 15.29
White Witch Black Curse by Kim Harrison
kindle 9.99
sony 11.99
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Jeff
|
|
« Reply #25 on: March 20, 2009, 01:57:14 PM » |
|
Unlike Amazon, Google's public domain titles are managed so the only duplicates that you are likely to find are there for a reason. Translations of an original work, for example, are often duplicated to give the researcher the opportunity to compare.
I use Google Book Search all the time but burn my eyes out reading from the computer screen. Being able to read Google's library on an eBook reader is a big plus for me.
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
Jesslyn
|
|
« Reply #26 on: March 20, 2009, 02:49:13 PM » |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
Sparkplug
Status: Lewis Carroll
Offline
Gender:
San Francisco(ish)
Posts: 221
|
|
« Reply #27 on: March 20, 2009, 02:51:15 PM » |
|
Thousands of public domain books....I'm good with my Kindle. Sony books do look more expensive
For The Lovely Bones by Alice sebold
Kindle 9.99
Sony 15.29
The list price for the paperback version of Lovely Bones is only $13.99, (which Amazon is selling for $11.19.) The Sony version is not more only expensive, but a rip-off. |
|
|
|
« Last Edit: March 20, 2009, 02:53:44 PM by Sparkplug »
|
Logged
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Dilber MC Theme by HarzeM
