Sony announced two new e-readers yesterday in an attempt to take back some of the market from Amazon. I must say if I didn’t have a Kindle already I would be very tempted to buy the new touch-screen model. It’s now compatible with Macs. They got rid of the light which was causing resolution issues, and you can highlight, bookmark and annotate on a touch-screen keypad. You can write your notes with your finger or the stylus that comes with the reader. And there is a memory expansion slot. The reader even comes in three different colors. And while it doesn’t have a wireless connection, after Amazon’s recent stunt of deleting a particular edition of 1984 from the Kindles of people who had bought it and then refunded their money, I’m beginning to think a wireless connection might not be that great of a thing.
Besides, I have not bought a single book for the Kindle. Why should I when there are so many free books available? Even my Bookman who loves pulp scifi is well supplied. And really, we aren’t sudden impulse book readers anyway. If we are ever on vacation with the Kindle and aren’t enjoying the current book we have so many others loaded up on the device that I am sure something would catch my fancy.
Don’t get me wrong, I still really like my Kindle and am glad to have it. But it is nice to see the competition heating up with options.
If you are interested in what writer Nicholson Baker thinks of the Kindle, be sure to check out his article in this week’s New Yorker. It seems he sleeps with his iPhone under his pillow so he can read in the middle of the night when he can’t sleep. Somehow it strikes me as a little odd to sleep with an iPhone under the pillow. But to each his own.
The Kindle is not available in Australia and this has caused a lag in the release of Ereaders onto the Australian market which has really given us time to evaluate what is available and whats coming up. The Sony or the B-Book look really interesting so iIm tossing up between the two.
Oh boy, we are getting closer and closer to what I want…
Lol, sleeping with his iphone under his pillow? Yikes, even my husband doesn’t go that far. But I do use the Kindle app on my iphone, for when I’m stuck somewhere without a book…
How funny is it that 1984 was the book they removed? I suppose others like Fahrenheit 451 would have tickled me as much. Maybe I need one of these Sony devices as an answer to getting English books in Japan without the mark-up.
I’m still not quite convinced about e-book readers, but perhaps the changes will finally bring about the right kind of e-book reader and I’ll have an epiphany. I don’t have an i-phone either. I just have an old-fashioned mind!
Online Bookshop, yeah, the Kindle is only available in the US which is unfortunate. I heard something that it is because of the wireless network, though why Amazon can’t make any deals with networks in other countries is beyond me. I’ve not heard of the B-book, I’ll have to look that one up. Good luck deciding which one you want!
Emily, yup, closer and closer. Soon you will find yourself unable to resist any longer
Gentle Reader, I know the iPhone under the pillow made me laugh.
Bikkuri, I know, the irony is astounding. You usually don’t get such perfection in real life! I bet you’d like one of the Sony’s for your commute.
Litlove, your mind is hardly old-fashioned! You just haven’t leapt into buying something you don’t need. It’s called impulse control
Hopefully the competition will improve all products. For instance, I’m hoping the new Sonys will fix some of the issues from the older Reader models as well as the glaring Kindle issues. Each new edition should aim to smooth over previous issues as well as trump the competitors. I’m quite curious to see all the specs and reviews of the new Sonys – I hope that there will be clear and obvious improvements.