New E reader disappointed

[Fred_Graham]

Hi all,

As a new owner I am surprised by the poor range of books available and the high price (Tesco sell books for much less) There are almost no technical books, net even a section for them and I find the site on which I registered and tried to download the 100 free books (merely to try to use the device) impossible to use and very inclined to jump about and asking the user to login again and again only to say that you are already logged in.

Is there anything good about Sony E-readers that I have missed?

Al the best, most disappointed

[carpetmojo]

Well, that's easy, in a way - all the problems you outline above relate to software, not the Sony reader.

And, sadly, I am sure the majority of Sony reader users will agree, well, that the the software ............ doesn't live up to the hardware ?

[ The x 50 generation was the same, unfortunately, without Calibre to save the day.....]

So, you  ask about good things about your Sony reader..........

You can use it to buy books from any source that sells epub formats- the most widely used format in the world..

You can borrow from your library, if any library you belong to, or can join, has a digital service.

You can obtain thousands of free books, generally "classics", or any Public Domain publication.

[Go to Project Gutenberg - where you will get all the books you might get as an "intro" to ebooks, plus thousands more to choose from, they're all there. MobileRead Library is another with a vast library of works, and the MR Forum always has a great array of free offers, coupons, special offers from publishers and booksites, etc....mainly formatted by members, so very good indeed. Google both these to find out more.

Also, for easy-to-use book management, install the best system there is, and have no more trouble - Google "Calibre ebook management system" , learn about it, and and install it Life will be so much simpler !! :smileyhappy:]

There are sites that specialise in technical publications, look online, or ask here or on MobileRead, which covers the world, and has contributors in all fields.

If you follow the manual instructions to register and get an Adobe ID, you can use wifi - if you have a viable wireless internet connection - to buy from the Sony Store - which doesn't have a brilliant selection at the moment, hopefully it'll improve. But, when all is said and done, it is just a bookshop, and there are stacks of those out there, you are'nt tied to just the one !

If you have a problem, I'm sure others will help you getting this stage right - I was lucky enough to get it right first time, but wouldn't presume to advise on the procedure - perhaps Thalamus would kick in, or any tech-savvy member ?

If you're determined to use wifi a lot, then you need to get the registration right - but I find I use the browser now and then, but to actually purchase books, rarely - although I have downloaded Gutenberg stuff quite happily.

I suppose my problem with the browser is I find it fiddly, and the greyscale and print hard to use easily

.

Hope this helps a bit - but the T1 is a great bit of kit, and it sounds like that isn't your problem !

[sehuxle]

I think that e readers are designed for reading mainly novels. They are promoted as such and therefore techincal books are not catered for.

As for using the Sony bookstore, dont its rubbish. Go to kobo instead. loads of books at reasonable prices

[thomasn75]

i think that one of the problems with technical books is that the layout sometimes is not suitable for the current epub version but i believe epub 3? is comming out which will also support languages like japanese. see kobo anouncement re their launch in japan.

i keep looking for books on sony store but can never find the ones i am looking for. i would like to support sony to keep them in the business but i always end up at kobo as they have the books i am looking for. lets hope with time sony gets their seletion better and prices in line with kobo. i have never had a kobo reader but may have a look at one next time i am changing reader.

[carpetmojo]

Do just remember - any dedicated reader, whatever make, is not a pad, notebook or laptop, and is not intended to do the job of one.

I have downloaded books with tecnical drawings and details OK - but the definition is not on a par with more specialised computers, that's not what it's primarily made for.