Chamber Four » Sony Reader

Sony Pocket Edition Discount Heads-Up

Nico Vreeland — Wed, 19 May 2010 05:22:04 +0000

Today at Woot: refurbished Sony Pocket Edition ereaders for $115 including shipping. That is one helluva deal. The Pocket Edition is one of our recommended ereaders for book readers (as opposed to magazine or newspaper readers). More info in our ereader comparison.

If you were considering a Kobo, think seriously about this instead. Basic-model ereaders are more or less interchangeable, and Sony supports Adobe ePub, which means you can borrow library ebooks through your local library (Kobo supports Adobe, too—the difference is 35 bucks). Sony software is a headache, but if you’re reading books and loading up only once a month or so, it’s not so bad. And $115 is a great price.

Macmillan eBooks Still Available At Sony’s Reader Store For $9.99

Nico Vreeland — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 21:00:12 +0000

You can only buy Wolf Hall and other Macmillan books through third-party sellers at Amazon.com (click for full-size)

Sony's Reader Store still stocks Macmillan books, and for the controversial $9.99 price point (click for full size)

[UPDATE: Amazon gave in, and will sell Macmillan books via the "agency model" Macmillan laid out. Which means Macmillan ebooks will cost $13-$15, even at Amazon. I'm putting the over/under on the date of Amazon's next major Kindle screw-up at March 15.]

So Amazon has barred all Macmillan books (print and digital) from its U.S. website after the publisher insolently disagreed with Amazon’s stringent pricing policies. Macmillan asked for either a different pricing structure or “windowing,” i.e. delayed ebook releases (Macmillan CEO John Sargent claims Amazon will make more money, and Macmillan will make less under the new structure, which confuses me). Amazon responded with the Macmillan ban.

You can still find Macmillan books at the Sony Reader Store, however, and you can find many selling for the $9.99 price point that started all this. I’m assuming either higher Macmillan prices or windowing is coming to Sony, but at least you can buy the books.

For the record, I think the entire hardcover pricing system is greedy and predatory; it’s essentially publishers milking their biggest fans’ excitement to make a few extra bucks. I think Macmillan’s making a big mistake in trying to preserve hardcover pricing, and refusing to fully embrace ebooks.

However, this Amazon move is thuggery of the first order, and it doesn’t feel like the stalemate will be resolved very quickly [UPDATE: Or maybe it will, what do I know] (or that it will be the last of its kind). The Macmillan ban combined with Amazon’s continued refusal to allow library ebooks on the Kindle makes one thing clear: Kindle is simply not the best ereader for book readers. If you read mostly books, get a Sony Reader or an Astak Pocket Pro. If you read mostly newspapers or magazines, get an iPad. [UPDATE: Amazon's cave-in brings the Kindle back to the realm of relevancy for book readers. But it still comes with too many questionable corporate decisions for my taste.]

I’m just not sure who the Kindle is for.

[More Macmillan/Amazon analysis by Edward Champion, E-Reads, Ars Technica, and the Guardian.]

iPad Reaction: In Which Apple Eats Plastic Logic’s Lunch, Glares Menacingly At Spring Design

Nico Vreeland — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 20:54:04 +0000

[UPDATE: It's confirmed that the iPad won't be compatible with Adobe ePub books. That means no library books, and it takes a lot of the shine off the new iBooks. For some reason, Apple hates Adobe, and Adobe hates them back.]

The new Apple iPad

A few short weeks ago, the Plastic Logic QUE ($650 WiFi/$800 3G) and the Spring Design Alex ($400 [EDIT--the Alex is now $360, I missed that]) debuted at CES, and immediately crushed my interest in them with exorbitant price points.

Today, Apple unveiled their new tablet computer, the “iPad,” (Gizmodo’s full coverage here) and made the QUE entirely irrelevant. The iPad is cheaper ($500 WiFi/$630 3G), faster, and more functional than the QUE, and it will actually be available earlier.

Not only does the iPad have a new, Apple-branded ereading program (iBooks), it can do video, internet, maps, and everything else that an iPhone can, on a grander scale. The only advantages the QUE has left are its ability to hand-write notes, and its E-Ink screen which makes for less eye strain and longer battery life. Still, the iPad has ten hours of battery life, so that last point is moot.

Basically, this spells doom for the $650 QUE, and if you were thinking about getting the Alex for $400 $360, or (God forbid) a $490 Kindle DX, how can you not scrape up a little extra for an iPad instead?

The iPad’s debut highlights the folly of “luxury” ereaders like the QUE and the Alex, which have gone in the wrong direction, trying to have an ereader that’s half laptop, with a price tag to match. Simple, affordable ereaders like the Kindle, Astak Pocket Pro, and Sony Pocket Edition are the only ones worth looking at now, at least until the Alex’s price drops by $150.

A few more tidbits, and links to more iPad coverage, after the jump.

The 3G iPad features pay-as-you-go, $30/month, unlimited internet (or 250 MB/month for $15)—but with AT&T. So AT&T can’t handle iPhones’ data usage, but they can handle full tablets with videos? Uhhh, I don’t believe that. $30 a month will stack up quick compared to the Plastic Logic’s free 3G, but the vast difference in hardware specs and functionality makes the iPad the clear choice for even those looking to use bandwidth on the go.

iPad has a 1 Ghz processor, and the standard model has a 16 GB flash drive (upgradeable up to 64 GB). By comparison, the Alex’s chip is 624 Mhz, and its flash drive is 2 GB; the standard QUE has a 4 GB flash drive, and doesn’t specify its processor (but it’s definitely slow—here’s a video wherein a Plastic Logic salesperson says page refresh takes a full second).

However, the non-3G iPad also doesn’t seem to have GPS (no dedicated ereader has GPS, of course).

Books on the iPad will cost a few dollars more ($13-$15) than Amazon’s $9.99 price point. But if the iPad is really compatible with open ePubs, you can jt buy books elsewhere and load them up on the iPad. (That’s a big “if.” It’s also the difference between getting library books and not.) [Confirmed. No Adobe ePub books. No library books. Sigh.]

Like it or not, the iPad will give more people access to ebooks than all the other ereaders put together. Is it crazy to think Apple could sell five million of these this year? Ten?

Some links: the official iPad product video; the iPad website; full Gizmodo coverage; Wired’s coverage; Ars Technica coverage. And here’s the whole keynote.

[UPDATE: Also, some ebook-centric iPad links: Random House is not yet an iPad partner; GalleyCat gets reactions from publishing experts; the Guardian gets reactions from all kinds of experts; and here's a proof-of-concept video about magazines on such a device.

More useless blather:

There's been serious backlash since the keynote, mostly taking Apple to task for making a giant iPhone, with all the iPhone's limitations intact (namely, no multitasking, no flash, no outside apps). It also feels like Apple's ePubs won't be compatible with the rest of the world's ePubs (which makes it disingenuous to call them "ePubs," no?).

Personally, I don't own an iPhone because of all those mentioned limitations, but I'm considering this device in spite of them. I frequently want to, say, listen to Pandora while I check a few emails on my phone, or use a real keyboard to type an email error-free. But the iPad seems more like a multimedia powerhouse, not a multitasking workstation.

You can show people your pictures, engagingly read full-color (and multimedia) newspapers and magazines, watch movies (presumably Hulu and Netflix will step up with apps soon), and read books [but no library books]. Once the second generation comes out and the price drops—maybe by Christmas—this might be a pretty good deal for a high-tech coffee table toy.]

CES eReader Reaction: In Which My Excitement For the Alex and the QUE Is Crushed By Outrageous Price Points

Nico Vreeland — Fri, 08 Jan 2010 11:12:15 +0000

You can buy a Nook, a Kindle, and a Sony Reader Touch for the QUE's asking price

So CES officially opened today and, sure enough, prices were announced for the Spring Design Alex and the Plastic Logic QUE. Up until today, I would’ve classified the Alex and the QUE as the two most exciting new ereaders. Then I saw how they’ll cost: The Alex is going for $399, and the QUE is $649 with WiFi, $800 (!!?) with 3G.

Yesterday, I guessed that the Alex would go for $350, and the QUE for $500. I considered those conservative estimates; i.e., I was ready to be pleasantly surprised. Eesh, was I ever wrong.

The big takeaway from these price announcements is simply that ereader manufacturers don’t care about the casual reader. These devices are getting more expensive, not less, and that’s not a trend that’s going to steal the Kindle’s thunder anytime soon.

But there’s more to glean from six digits and a couple dollar signs.

The Spring Design Alex

The Alex’s price point hurts it, but it’s not dead yet

The Alex has a similar interface to the Nook, but it’s nearly 150% of the Nook’s cost. For that money, the Alex had better be fan-freaking-tastic. Early reports say it’s better, but not mind-melting. Gizmodo said the Alex’s user interface is “no less awkward then the Nook, and capable of a lot more.” It does feature what’s basically an Android phone in its bottom half, so the potential is there.

Personally, I haven’t been sold yet, and I was a guaranteed customer if this thing cost $100 less. Keep your eye on this one, but I can’t help feeling Spring Design made their sales team’s job harder with such a high price. It also doesn’t seem to have 3G, which takes the shine off the “online reading” feature. The Alex goes on sale February 22nd; perhaps by then Spring Design will show us something that justifies the price tag. Find the Alex here.

The elusive QUE

The QUE costs a month’s rent; this is a toy for rich people

If the Alex needs to be fantastic, the QUE needs to change ereaders forever for the ducats it’s asking. $800 is iRex territory, reserved for the kinds of customers who buy overpriced gadgets because they’re really expensive, instead of in spite of their cost, or stealing them from others. This is clearly not a device for students, or casual readers, or newspaper lovers; it’s only—as the QUE website states in no uncertain terms—for businesspeople.

Fine. It’s not for me, I get it. But $800 is not gadget money; $800 is laptop money. And what can the QUE do that a smartphone/ereader combo can’t? Moreover, what can the QUE do that the upcoming Apple iSlate won’t do better? Anybody who has to think about spending that money probably won’t spend it on a QUE.

Worst of all, Gizmodo says the QUE’s slow, which is an absolute killer for a device like that. This video from Engadget does not assuage those fears either, as the QUE rep tries to explain away the slow refresh rate by saying the software is still in beta (it’s been a year and a half since a workable demo—and it’s still in beta?); hopefully, it’ll be ready to go by April, which is when the QUE will actually make its way in your hands. Not your hands, per se, but, you know, the hands of that rich jerk next door who leases a Lexus. Find the QUE here.

The enormous Skiff

Still no perfect ereader

In C4′s early days, almost a year ago, I wrote a post on “the perfect ereader,” one that would include a really fast processor, handwriting recognition/document editing features, and tight Bluetooth integration so you could work on papers and then toss them to your computer. We’re effectively no closer today than we were eleven months ago. The QUE seems to be working toward that goal, but wants to build a luxury brand, not a useful, widely appealing tool.

Here’s my new idea of a perfect ereader: one that does reading perfectly. The Kindle doesn’t do library books, the Sony Reader has serious software problems, the Nook is kludgy and half-finished and probably stolen, and the Alex and QUE have yet to prove they’re worth the money. Why can’t one device make buying, borrowing, and reading books easy and enjoyable? At this point, I’m not hoping for perfection, just a lack of obvious drawbacks.

The Samsung E6

So what can we get excited for now?

The Skiff, I suppose. And the new Samsung ereader looks quite interesting, though it also suffers from price-itis. And then there’s the looming specter of the iSlate. I genuinely hope that the iSlate dominates the QUE’s market, and shows companies that ereaders need to be readers, not fancy calendars.

My own plan is to wait until summer. I’m predicting (or hoping for) a sharp Alex price drop in the first few months after it comes out, and—like I said—I’m a guaranteed customer at $300.

Hands-On with the Sony Reader Pocket Edition

Nico Vreeland — Tue, 29 Dec 2009 11:44:51 +0000

The PRS-300, "Pocket Edition," has a smaller screen than the 505, a simplified interface, and no mp3 or picture capability. It also comes in gray and black.

For nearly a year now, I’ve used a PRS-505, and I’ve recommended it without reservation for those who want to casually read books (i.e. won’t need to take notes) and don’t read newspapers. It has the best build quality and the best interface of any ereader I’ve used, and the most logical feature set for book readers.

So how does the newer PRS-300, Pocket Edition, stack up? Some critics have said the 300 is stripped down—it doesn’t have many of the extra features of ereaders like the Kindle.

Well, I got one for Christmas for my sister (and got a deal on it—TeleRead also found this deal), and after getting a chance to play around with it, I can tell you it’s every bit as good as the PRS-505 and might actually be better.

The 300 is great for readers like me for what it doesn’t include. Most notably, the 300 doesn’t have mp3 capability, picture compatibility, an SD-card slot, WiFi, or 3G wireless-everywhere. It also has a smaller screen (5”) and simplified controls.

As for mp3s and pictures, I’ve dutifully tried them out on my previous ereaders, but never actually used them (especially pictures—who is that for?). I don’t use SD cards with my ereaders, I just make do with the 200-300 books the onboard memory can hold. I know, I know, what will I do the next time I’m in jail for more than five years? Unless that happens, you don’t need an SD card.

Since I’m primarily a book reader, the Kindle’s 3G connection doesn’t tempt me at all. If I needed to download newspapers every morning, it’d be a different story, but I’d rather browse for books over wi-fi, and I’ve never been in that mythical situation where you hear about a new book and must download it instantly.

Instead of 3G, I’d rather have an ePub-ready ereader like the 505 or the 300. Not only is ePub the most compatible ebook format out there, it’s also the format of choice for those who want to borrow library ebooks. I borrow a little more than half the books I read from the library, and for that simple reason, I could never use a Kindle.

I tried a touchscreen on my first ereader, the PRS-700—it didn’t end well. In my opinion, E-Ink touchscreens just aren’t ready yet. The Plastic Logic QUE might change that, but don’t hold your breath. If you like to interact with your text, use paper books. If you can get away with bookmarks only, the 300 does that.

The 300 also has a slightly tweaked interface, with one 4-way control wheel, back, zoom, and bookmark buttons, and a new persistent home button. It still has the 505′s ten buttons that match up next to menu choices, which seem silly at first, but are actually incredibly useful.

The screen feels a little cramped at first, but you quickly get used to it, and the size of the device itself is perfect. Menu text is smaller, but you can still zoom in the text of books. If you haven’t zoomed in this webpage, you’ll be fine with the 300′s standard text size.

Getting books on your Reader has always been a challenge—you might want to read the comments on this post; a lot of readers have have trouble especially with upgrading from 3.0. Reader Library (nee eBook Library) has always been the worst part of using a Sony Reader, but the 3.1 update, at least on Macs, has been a pretty streamlined experience for me.

The bottom line—find an ereader by the features you need

If you want 3G for newspaper subscriptions, I’d wait for the Spring Design Alex or the Plastic Logic QUE, both of which should be out in the next few months. The Nook seems like a slapped-together version of the Alex; the Kindle has too many compromises (no library ebooks); and the Sony PRS-900 seems too expensive and I don’t trust Sony touchscreens.

If you want pictures on your ereader, get your head examined. If you want to take notes on your books, again wait for the Alex or the QUE. If you really want mp3s, buy a 300 and a cheap mp3 player.

However, if you want an ereader for casually reading books, the PRS-300 is your best bet. It’s got exactly what you need to read books, and nothing you don’t.

Again, if you’re a student or educator, try this deal. Also, TeleRead found this deal from Fry’s.

Wednesday Links: 12-23-09

Nico Vreeland — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:17:38 +0000

We’ll have some Christmas reading recos tomorrow, and then we’ll be back on the 28th with a new installment of our Best Books 2009 series.

In the meantime, here’s an extra-long installment of news about books and ebooks from around the web.

OverDrive released an Android audiobook app Monday (via). You can get it here. I’ve tried it, and it’s awesome. You can download mp3 audiobooks from you local library straight to your phone. Once you have the app installed, just check out the book from your library on your phone’s browser, and OverDrive automatically loads it. You can then download the audiobook in parts. Transferring audiobooks from your computer isn’t supported with Android devices (at least, on Macs)—it goes through iTunes for some reason—but it’s not necessary. This is still in beta, but I didn’t get so much as a hiccup in my few days using it. The Android app only works with mp3s—no WMA books (sadly, since the vast majority are WMAs, for now)—and an OverDrive smartphone app is also available for Windows Mobile.

Barnes & Noble’s Nook is turning out to be more popular than they’d expected. More news of shipping delays has surfaced, along with customer service snafus. Although, if you don’t get your Nook by Christmas, you get $100, so things could be worse. Meanwhile, switch11 at the Kindle Review has posted a quick hands-on comparison of the Nook and the Kindle. If you can’t guess from the title of his blog, switch11 leans heavily toward the Kindle in ereader comparisons; however, he seemed to like the Nook, especially for its clearer font. Personally, the features and mixed reviews of the Nook, combined with the hamfistedness of its rollout, have me more excited for Spring Design’s Alex ereader, which—so far—seems a lot like the Nook, only better. Maybe this update will help. (Update: it didn’t help much.)

Macworld has reviewed seven major ereaders—find the roundup here. Surprisingly, their favorite was the Sony PRS-600, the Touch. They dinged the PRS-300—which you can get extra-cheap these days if you’re a student or teacher—for not having a dictionary or image support. If you don’t care about those things and you read mostly novels, the 300′s your best bet, in my opinion. Macworld finds the Kindle’s controls kludgy, and while whispernet’s great, you’re going to be spending most of your time reading, not downloading books.

Here’s a couple of anti-DRM pieces. One by Cory Doctorow (via), one by switch11 (see above). Also, David Pogue’s DRM experiment has found (unscientifically) that lack of DRM has no effect on sales. And, the scary Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement threatens to be a DMCA for the whole world (that’s bad).

TeleRead reports that Barnes & Noble ePub books are every bit as proprietary as Kindle book. You can’t read B&N ebooks on non-Nook ereaders, and you can’t read anything but B&N ebooks on a Nook. An Adobe spokesperson says that’s something Adobe is working to iron out. But until you get confirmation that it is—in fact—ironed out… this is just another reason to not buy a Nook.

This is interesting: BookSwim is the Netflix of books (via). Soooooo close, but I want the Netflix of ebooks. Same concept (a pay-for-it library for impatient people), no shipping costs.

So Random House caused a kerfuffle a few weeks ago, when CEO Markus Dohle sent a letter to literary agents and essentially told them that Random House owned all publishing rights in the universe except those that authors had specifically contracted for. The Authors Guild fired back that Random House was entirely wrong, and in fact authors owned all non-specific rights. I’ve disagreed with the Authors Guild more than once in the past, but I’m with them on this one. Moreover, it spells desperation on the part of Random House. E-Reads weighs in with the potential ramifications of all this.

Borders doesn’t have its own ereader (yet), so what does that mean for its future? Well, Borders is somehow partnered with Sony’s Reader Store, but that didn’t stop them from buying Shortcovers (which is now “Kobo“), and announcing plans to open their own ebookstore in 2010—a plan that Ars Technica thinks is not enough. Personally, I hope open formatting will allow some room for third-party bookstores (that is, if publishers loosen their grip a little). But, if I had to guess which book behemoth was going to do their best Blockbuster impression in the coming years, Borders is my runaway favorite.

Best books lists are cropping up everywhere. In addition to our own, I like these: NPR’s Best Debut Fiction; Slate’s extensive favorites list; Salon’s author poll; and The New Yorker‘s predictably pretentious “What We Read This Year.”

Quick links: the L.A. Times ran a special on the decade in reading Sunday, Jacket Copy has a nice summary of it (the L.A. Times‘s book section has since been gutted); overenthusiastic DRM has ruined 3D screenings of Avatar; Kirkus Reviews is closing; an Android-powered tablet called Adam might steal the Apple tablet’s thunder—or at least provide a cheaper alternative; Gizmodo on “Books and the iTunes Problem”; the NY Times book blog on the benefits of digital reading; TeleRead found some tips on ereading; critics in Slate discuss the new Nabokov book—Sean discussed it here not too long ago; the latest author to lose her mind over bad reviews; the EFF‘s ebook buyer’s guide to privacy; and finally, great news about libraries: ebooks are cut last when budgets have to be tightened. At least somebody in this country understands that ebooks are the future.

Random videos—weirdly made music edition. First is Dub FX, with more than just beatboxing. Then, Julian Smith & co. with techno made from a Jeep.

Wednesday Links 12-16-2009

Sean Clark — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 11:00:51 +0000

Before we get to the links, a little site promotion: I was Christmas shopping for books today and I wanted to get a mystery novel for my grandfather. Where did I look? Why the C4 Book Reviews section of course. Give it another peek, maybe you’ll find some gift ideas of your own. Also, check out our Best Books of 2009 feature, which will be updated Mondays through January. Well, enough of that…

I walked by a SonyStyle store the other day, and I have to admit they’re doing a good job of pushing their Readers in brick and mortar stores (I’ve also seen them in Best Buy stores amongst others as well). And while they have a decent selection of models, I’m not sure these themed Readers are quite necessary. In other ereader news, the Aiptek Storybook inColor is pretty neato looking, though I still don’t think an LCD ereader is ever going to really fly. The Aluratek Libre has a nice pricetag, but the same LCD concern still applies. (Before you poo-poo me, electronic ink–in our opinion–really does make a huge difference. Here are my initial impressions of the tech from last spring.)
The COOL-ER is getting a hardware upgrade, making it marginally cool-er in the eyes of the other wallflower ereaders. And there’s lots of Applet Tablet rumors floating around this week, but I’m not going to link to any, beacause I’m sick of them. We’ll discuss an Apple Tablet and its secondary ereader abilites only when (if) it actually gets announced. Here’s a review of the Sungale Cyberus, which also doesn’t look all that impressive.
Amazon’s Jeff Bezos took a weird shot at the Nook’s sharing feature. While he’s right that it’s definitely not ideal, it’s a lot more than Kindle’s DRM allows. There’s also a rumor afloat that Amazon, in their benevolent hearts, lose $2 per ebook. The logic on this seems fuzzy at best, and I don’t buy it one bit. Also on the list of things that weren’t well enough thought through, Simon & Schuster will be holding their ebook releases until 4 months after hardcovers go on sale. Good plan guys! HarperCollins has a similar plan, and a similarly dumb explanation. Here’s a nice counterpoint.
I came across a lot of cool stuff around the web this week. The bookish part of me finds something alluring about Altered Books‘ poetry. I also really like the experiment going on over at One Sentence. The NH part of me really likes this redneck twinkle light display. And this animation by Pascal Campion is pretty mesmerizing.
My video this week? Well I really like the lyrics in the first, but the octopus in the second is pretty amazing.

Sony’s eBook Library (Excuse Me, “Reader Library”) 3.1 Software: Are We Making Progress?

Nico Vreeland — Tue, 15 Dec 2009 13:35:21 +0000

The library portion of Reader Library is fairly bare-bones, but functional

There hasn’t been much love lost between me and Sony’s ereader software—I wasn’t a fan, to put it lightly, of the original eBook Library for Windows or the more recent Mac version. Last Friday, Sony came out with a new version, 3.1, for both Mac and Windows. To commemorate the new software and the accompanying switch away from their old proprietary format and toward the more open Adobe ePub (DRMed), they’ve renamed their online store the “Reader Store,” and the eBook Library software has become “Reader Library,” and they’ve partnered with Borders for some reason. So far, so… meaningless.

So how does the rest of Reader Library 3.1 stack up to its forebears? The question isn’t “Is it good?”—I’ve given up on good software from Sony—the question is “Is it… like, a little bit better? Like maybe not crashing quite so much?”

The answer is surprising: the Sony software is more usable than ever. It’s nobody’s dream, but it no longer inspires nightmares.

The following brief review applies to the Mac version of the software, but Sony’s a Windows company, so presumably the Windows version is at least as good, if not better.

Looks and Interface: C

There’s been some improvement on this front. Sony’s abandoned the archaic-looking circular arrow that often “appeared to freeze,” as Sony support once told me. However, connecting to the Reader Store usually involves a few flickers and flashes before the site loads up. I guess it’s a bit better.

The interface is still a bit finicky, sometimes needing stern prodding to switch from the ereader catalog to the desktop library, and so forth.

You still can’t drag books from your desktop library directly into a collection on your ereader, which seems like a relatively basic thing. The highlighting/note-taking system on the desktop library is also a bit unintuitive, and while the bookmarks you make in the desktop will also show up once you port the book to your ereader, the notes won’t transfer.

In version 3.0, Sony added some red accents to dilute the ugliness of the lavender-vomit design scheme. Nothing new in the graphics department.

Stability: B+

This version isn’t nearly as crashy as 3.0 for the Mac. In fact, it didn’t crash once on me in several hours’ use (which is a huge improvement). This was arguably my biggest complaint for the last version, so I’m glad it’s been improved so much. I’m still not entirely confident it won’t crash, hence no A, but this is a promising start.

Library eBook Support: B

Not much new on this front. Once you get used to the new system (which doesn’t involve Adobe Digital Editions) it’s pretty seamless, and the major stability upgrade makes it less painful.

There’s a rumor on TeleRead that the new software might make it impossible to download library ebooks more than once. I haven’t had that problem yet. So far, I’ve only used library ebooks that I previously loaded with Digital Editions, but they worked fine. I’ll update once they expire and I reload them, if they in fact don’t work.

Buying from the “Reader Store”: B+

The Reader Store is about average as far as ebookstores go. I’m getting to be a fan of the Awards section, though, which showcases collections of New York Times Notable Books of the Year, winners of major literary awards, and winners of genre awards like the Hugo and the Edgar.

The actual buying process is relatively painless, though the store auto-logs you out a bit too quickly. Even though Borders is a named partner in this venture, Borders gift cards don’t work. Which makes me wonder why Borders is a named partner. Trying to save themselves from Blockbuster-like obsolescence is my guess.

From an entirely unscientific glancing through the catalog, it looks like more Sony books are $9.99 than ever, so we’ve got that going for us. Which is nice.

The new ePub books are good; format change isn’t exactly cosmetic, but I’m glad I’ll be able to use new books with future devices. For some reason, Sony’s ePubs have weird margins, which are entirely unnecessary.

Other: ???

I’m not screwing with RSS feeds on my Reader anymore. It’s just not worth the time and effort. If you really want to take your RSS feeds with you, use a smartphone, or get an ereader with wireless.

I also haven’t dealt with Sony support in a while. I’m sure they’re still not great.

Overall: B

Slowness and general kludginess continue to be Reader Library’s big minuses. But with the big improvements in stability and format, and the nifty Awards section, it’s a usable book interface. Which is really saying something for Sony.

Upcoming and Rumored eReaders

Nico Vreeland — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 10:43:53 +0000

(You might have seen the outline for this post pop up in your RSS feed last week; my apologies for the oversight.)

A couple of weeks ago, I summarized new and recent ereader additions. This week, let’s look forward at some upcoming devices. If there’s a trend emerging, it’s that touchscreens and 3G access are quickly becoming standard features, which is great news.

A quick note before we start: take the information here with a grain of salt. I’ve tried to cite my sources when possible, but even cited information should be considered rumor until these devices actually come out.

The Plastic Logic Whatzamawhoozit

Even though it doesn’t have a name yet, this is the device I’m most excited about. Even the earliest videos of the PL in action (this one was posted a year ago) showed a slick touchscreen with no contrast compromise and a sleek form factor.

Barnes & Noble hopped on as the primary book provider, and AT&T’s involvement combined with the large screen suggests newspapers will be a big target.

It’ll be crucial to see exactly how the touchscreen works. Is it fast? Is the contrast still as good as it looks? Can you write freehand on it? If this video features the same screen used in the ereader, it looks pretty much unbreakable, so that’s nice.

The other big question is price. Some have reported that the PL will be competitive with the Kindle, which we’re hoping means a $300 price point. Realistically, I think that’s a little too good to be true. I’m guessing closer to $500, but I’d be happy to be wrong. I also heard a rumor about a smaller size somewhere, but I can’t find any evidence of that now.

Last, B&N is reportedly developing “their own flavor” of ePub for the PL. I’m not sure why. Incompatibility kind of defeats the purpose of using a universal file format.

The Apple iTablet: not its real name, not a real picture

The Apple iTablet

Apple’s iTablet (not, I don’t think, its official name) has generated more buzz than Japanese honeybees nuking a hornet. Predictably little is actually known about the device. It’s been rumored for more than a year, originally being called a large-screen iPod. Ostensibly, this device will be a touchscreen slab with somewhere between a 5- and a 20-inch screen. It’ll probably be Apple’s take on an “ultramobile PC,” essentially an extremely portable internet portal.

And we can safely assume two things, since this is an Apple product. First, they won’t even be tempted to price it competitively; $800 is the rumor. Second, it’ll probably be a good idea to wait for the second generation.

The problem for readers of ebooks is that there’s nothing to suggest the iTablet will feature an E-Ink screen. Which means that battery life will presumably be dreadful.

One other interesting rumor: that of truckfuls of books being secreted into Cupertino HQ.

Other similar devices: the Toshiba JournE for (hypothetically) $356, and the Viliv X70 for $599.

Sony “Daily Edition”

The Daily Edition is Sony’s name for their upcoming 7″ Reader, which features a 3G connection and a touchscreen. It’ll price at $399, and presumably (given the name) will have a lot of tie-ins with newspapers.

Sony’s also partnering with the New York Public Library, and might make it possible to check out library ebooks over wireless, which would be pretty slick. (Remember: most ereaders can check out library ebooks. Check our ereader comparison for details on which ones.)

One of the most interesting new features is the Daily Edition’s two-page view (pictured), which is what its oddly elongated form factor seems designed for. It should also be interesting to see how open and flexible the 3G Internet access is.

I really like the interface of these Readers, and I think Sony makes great hardware in this department (even though I am saddened and confused by their software). The thing to watch for here is the quality of the screen. The original Sony touchscreen ereader, the PRS-700, was notoriously glare-prone and low-contrast. I had one until it broke (from touching it); it was readable, but leagues below the average E-Ink screen.

Reports (and videos) have it that the PRS-600 (the new touchscreen version) is better contrast- and glare-wise, but still isn’t close to the non-touchscreen version. This isn’t a complete deal-breaker (there’s a spirited debate about it at MobileRead), but it should be enough to convince you to go into the Sony store and compare the touchscreen and non-touchscreen versions to decide for yourself.

A possible look for the BeBook 2

BeBook 2/BeBook Mini

I was pretty excited about the new BeBooks when they were announced about six months ago. Unfortunately, there’s been little to stay excited about since then.

These devices were supposed to be released at the beginning of the summer, but there’s scant evidence of them on BeBook’s website, and still no official release date or price point.

As for features, the Mini looks like the same Hanlin as the BeBook original, with a slightly smaller screen.

The BeBook 2, on the other hand, is purportedly a complete redesign ( and early reports say it features WiFi, a scribble-anywhere touchscreen, and 3G out of the box, all in a 6-inch device.

That’s all well and good, except for the price. The Mini will reportedly retail for $270 (!) closer to the $280 price tag for BeBook plain than the $199 you’ll pay for either an Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro, or a Sony PRS-300. BeBook 2 could cost $476, according to the same source, which is $77 more than the upcoming Sony Daily Edition, with a touchscreen and wireless.

Those price quotes are relatively old, but there’s been nothing since to suggest that they’ll be any lower.

If money’s no object for you, the BeBook 2 could be intriguing. But the Mini simply isn’t worth $80 over the other 5-inch ereaders out there now, it’s nearly identical to the Pocket Pro. Literally. Both are Hanlins, so if you’re tempted by the Mini, just get a Pocket Pro now.

The current iRex premium model, the 1000SW

iRex B&N ereader

In the wake of the news that iRex was teaming up with Barnes and Noble comes a rumor that iRex is developing a new ereader that will feature a touchscreen, 3G, and a 8.1-inch screen. The problem? It could cost a thousand dollars.

iRex has the only currently available scribble-anywhere touchscreen, but their base model is $599, over a hundred bucks more than the nearest competitor’s top-of the-line device. Their current premium model (pictured) costs a staggering $859.

I wouldn’t have a problem with this if iRex’s devices had anything else besides touchscreens. In this video (of the $699 model), the screen looks glare-prone and low-contrast, and the page-turning seems slow. In basic page-turning drills, the iRex is equivalent at best to the Sony PRS-505, which is less than half the price. For the most expensive ereader available, I’d also want the fastest ereader available, at least.

txtr

Wizpac’s txtr Reader, supposedly debuting in Germany in October, is a 6-inch device with a few interesting features. It’s got WiFi, Bluetooth, 3G, and a built-in accelerometer.

From the video of it in action (in German), it doesn’t look like a touchscreen, but it does have an odd cross-shaped touch zone on the left margin.

Ultimately, this looks like a relatively run-of-the-mill ereader, but if it can provide a budget option for those seeking wireless, it might find a home. And it has a product page, which is more evidence of its existence than the iTablet.

The txtr webpage.

Sony eBook Library 3.0 on Mac: Doesn’t Support Adobe Digital Editions, May Be Worse Than Ever

Nico Vreeland — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 10:54:59 +0000

[UPDATE: In my reliance on Adobe Digital Editions, I overlooked the fact that Sony EBL nows does the Adobe DRM internally, so you will be able to use library ebooks and ebooks from non-Sony stores with your Mac-based Reader. That was my oversight, and I apologize for it.

There's one little annoyance left: you'll have to find a Windows machine and register your Reader with Adobe on it, and then you'll need to install ADE along with eBook Library on your Mac. A helpful TeleRead commenter has posted a step-by-step guide on what to do. I've revised the post below to reflect this information.

Also, a commenter mentioned below that these steps aren't necessary with the PRS-600 armed with a new firmware (I was using a PRS-505 for this test). I'm still trying to get Sony to specify what's needed by which devices.]

Slightly prettier, at least in the main app

When I first got my Sony Reader, I used Sony’s eBook Library software on my old laptop running Windows 7. The results were not good. In fact, it was pretty much unusable; in fact, the best part about eBook Library was how unnecessary it was to the Sony Reader. I introduced my Reader to Adobe Digital Editions and never look back.

In the 8 months between then and now, I’ve switched to a Mac laptop, and Sony’s had plenty of time to improve their software and finally, finally make a Mac version. So my first question is this: is it better? My second, more realistic question: is it even usable?

The short answers are no, and not really barely. Even worse, Adobe Digital Editions doesn’t recognize the Reader, so Sony’s newly hyped library ebooks won’t work on Macs. The long and the short of it is that Mac users should think long and hard about getting a Reader. so you’ll need to find a Windows machine to register your Reader with Adobe, and then you’ll need to install ADE on your Mac, even though you’ll never use it (a helpful TeleRead commenter has a step-by-step guide here). The long and the short of it is that Sony clearly doesn’t like Macs, but if you can put up with some hassle and confusion (as you can tell, this system confused me to no end), you can indeed get ebooks on your Reader through a Mac.

Let’s get into the details.

Library eBook support: B

Adobe Digital Editions, which enables the DRM on PDF and ePub library ebooks, doesn’t recognize the Reader at all. This isn’t a bug, or an oversight; this is a known issue, as Adobe said when I started a support thread on it.

This is slightly shocking, seeing as library ebook support was the issue of the day at Sony’s big announcement Tuesday. You’d think they’d at least mention somewhere that it won’t be available on Macs.

It also means that Sony’s vaunted content “relationships” are unavailable for Mac users. Without ADE, you can’t buy books from any store but Sony’s.

What Sony’s done instead is allow their eBook Library software to open and work with Adobe DRMed ebooks. But you’ll still to install ADE on your Mac to register your computer with your Adobe account and enable EBL to use Adobe DRM. And you’ll need to register your Reader with Adobe on a Windows machine before you can use it on your Mac. Sound confusing? It is.

[UPDATE: Once again, a commenter mentioned below that these steps aren't necessary with the PRS-600 (or presumably the 300) armed with a new firmware (I was using a PRS-505 for this test). I'm still trying to get Sony to specify what's needed by which devices.]

Stability: F

EBL for Mac crashes. A lot. Like half a dozen times in just my first session using it. I’ve never used a Mac program that crashes this much―granted I’m relatively new to Macs, but I’ve still tried at least 100 programs.

Also, if you use Camino and you click the download link directly from Sony’s page, it tries to open the .dmg file in a browser window and crashes Camino. It works in Safari, but that wasn’t a good introduction to the program.

It doesn’t get much better from here.

The store is just as ugly as ever

Looks and Interface: D

The book management interface (see above) abandons that terrible lavender-vomit color scheme. But the ebook store section of the app (pictured at left) is just a ported copy of their website, so it’s just as ugly.

As far as interface, there are some nuisances. First of all, every time you start the program, it requires you to retype your password (that is, if it didn’t crash, forgetting all your login information).

The best thing about Sony’s software is that it allows you to create and manage folders (called “collections”) for your books, but even this feature is kludgy and annoying. You can’t drag a book directly into a collection on your Reader from your main library, you have to first drag it to your Reader or SD card, and from there find it again, and then drag it to the collection you want it in. Blech.

And, not surprisingly, the software still can’t edit metadata, so you’ll still have to rely on Calibre for those needs.

On the plus side, the issue where the interface “appears to freeze” has been more or less resolved. Congratulations!

A successful RSS feed

RSS feeds: C-

RSS feeds through Sony are often impossible. Certain feeds crash the program immediately, and when I did get an RSS feed to update, it sometimes created empty files for no reason. When I did get an actual feed packaged, it didn’t look great (pictured).

Once again, Calibre is much better at managing this kind of stuff for your Reader than Sony’s own software is.

Sony’s eBook Store: D

Why are my expectations still this high?

Sony’s been making a lot of news recently about opening up its bookstore. Lower prices, ePub format throughout, and relationships with other content providers―all of those have been points of pride for Sony. Well, Mac users can cross that last point off immediately: no Adobe support means no other bookstores for us.

As far as ePub, nothing in the eBook Library program will tell you whether a Sony ebook is in ePub or BBeB (the proprietary format that Sony is planning to abandon). Once again, you’ll have to use Calibre to find out if the books you’ve bought are ePub or BBeB (they’ll show up as “.lrx” extensions if it’s the latter). Safe to assume for now that all Sony ebooks are BBeB-formatted, which is another disincentive to buy from Sony.

As far as price, the books I wanted were generally not in the sub-$10 price range. Ravens and Picking Cotton were just 30% off the print hardcover list price, about what you could buy the print edition for at a bookstore.

The bottom line is that the Sony ebookstore is simply not good enough yet to sustain an ereader on its own. Which makes the Sony Reader a very unattractive option for any Mac user. (The exception is that, for readers of non-DRMed or out-of-copyright books, the Sony store works fine.)

Tech Support: F- (If only there were a lower grade)

Here’s my little tale of woe.

I emailed Sony saying that my Reader didn’t talk to Adobe Digital Editions, and they told me they didn’t support Macs at all.

I emailed them back saying they did and giving them the link to their own download page.

They then re-emailed, very proudly told me that they now support Macs, and gave me the link I’d just given them.

I emailed them back saying I already had the software, and restating my original question.

They said my problem was too complicated for email and I need to call in.

I called in and they said I had to call Adobe and gave me a number (that couldn’t have been accomplished over email, I guess.

I called Adobe and Adobe never picked up.

I posted on the support forum, and Adobe told me that of course my Reader didn’t work with ADE on a Mac, it wasn’t supposed to. Why couldn’t that have been Sony’s response to my original question?

Sony tech support has always been awful, and it continues to be. Adobe sounds like they’ll be happy to help you, as long as you have a support contract. If you don’t, don’t bother calling in.

Overall grade: D-

I’m by no means a technical expert, but I’m above average, and I have a tough time getting Sony’s software to do anything it’s supposed to. In fact, Sony juked me out of my shoes with all these unnecessary (and inconvenient) changes to how Readers work with ADE. Somebody at Sony needs to realize that Kindle is winning customers based on ease of use, and that this lazy, lackluster treatment of Mac users is not going to win them any champions.

More importantly, there’s this: the inability of Mac-authorized Readers to work with Adobe Digital Editions means that Mac users still shouldn’t buy a Sony Reader, unless you use something like Parallels that can run Windows programs. Even then, this complete lack of attention to Mac users isn’t exactly inspirational.