Jan 11 2009
Winner of the Sony Reader Giveaway
Thank everyone for participating. We had 237 entries. We have two more to give away. One will be given to the winning entry in the DABWAHA tournament in March. I haven’t thought of a creative idea to frame the third giveaway.
If you missed out and you have a blog or someway to write an entry on the internet about ebooks and BooksonBoard, you canenter to win a Sony Reader from BooksonBoard. I also have it on good authority that Kresley Cole will be giving a Sony Reader away to a random entry who goes forth and spreads the love regarding her January 20, 2009, release, Kiss of a Demon King which I loved.
The winning entry was from Amelia S. Her entry is at the bottom. The following are the answers to the questions.
Question No. 1: How many colors does Sony offer for the Reader?
Answer: Technically there are four colors that Sony offers for the Readers. Because of the confusion between the devices, I said I would accept either three or four as correct. (three for the Sony PRS 505 and 1 for the Sony PRS 700).
Question No. 2: What are those colors?
Answer: Sangria Red, Silver and Dark Blue for the PRS505 and Black for the PRS 700 BC.
Question No. 3: Sony Reader uses a certain technology that gives it’s device a paper like appearance. What is the name of that technology?
Answer: It’s e-Ink technology.
Question No. 4: Which Sony Reader (give the model number) comes with integrated light?
Answer: PRS 700 BC comes with an integrated front light. (It has two levels of brightness but you did not need to give that detail to be correct).
Question No. 5: What formats will the Sony Reader view?
Answer: * DRM Text : BBeB Book (Marlin), ePub (Adobe) * Image : JPEG, GIF, PNG, and BMP * Unsecured Audio : MP3 and AAC7 * Unsecured Text : BBeB, ePub, TXT, RTF, Adobe(R) PDF10, Microsoft(R) Word (Conversion to the Reader requires Word installed on your PC)
Question No. 6: What does DRM stand for?
Answer: Digital Rights Management
Question No. 7: You can buy a book at Books on Board, Fictionwise or eHarlequin to read on the Sony Reader. What format should you buy for the Sony Reader if you purchase from one of those etailers?
Answer: The answer that I was thinking about was Adobe ePub but you can purchase Adobe PDFs at eHarlequin and LRFs at Fictionwise.
Question No. 8: A mass market paperback weighs approximately 6 to 7 oz. How much does a Sony Reader weigh?
Answer: 9 oz without the cover or 10 oz with. Either answer was correct.
Question No. 9: A mass market paperback is approximately 4.33″ x 7.01″. How big is the screen size of the Sony Reader?
Answer: 6″ diagonally. I thought this might be illuminating to some readers. The Sony Reader’s screen size is only slightly smaller than that of a paperback.
Question No. 10: Stacked three deep, an $80 Target bookshelf will hold 243 books. How many books can a Sony Reader hold (while there are two different models, Sony gives only one number consistently. That is the number I’m looking for.)?
Answer: There were two different answers depending on which model. The Sony PRS505 holds 160 books and the Sony PRS700 holds 350. The calculation that Sony uses is based on 1 MB ebook. Many ebook files are smaller than that so you can expect to fit more than the suggested number.
Question No. 11: You can add additional memory to the Sony Reader. Assuming that a digital book is 500K, an additional 2GB media card costing approximately $12.00 will hold 4000 books. What are the types of memory cards that it will accept?
Answer: SD cards and Sony Memory Sticks. The point is that the Sony Reader, for a very small price, could hold more books than you can read in 10 years and maybe even your lifetime.
Question No. 12: How long can you read on the Sony Reader with just one charge cycle (from a fully charged device until it gives you a low battery reading)?
Answer: Sony says that one battery cycle will last for 7500 page turns or two weeks.
Question No. 13: Can you listen to music on your Sony Reader while reading a book?
Answer: Yes! Although I don’t actually know anyone who does this.
Question No. 14: There are three retail locations that you can go to see a Sony Reader in real life. Name two.
Answer: Originally I thought that there were only three: Borders, Target and Sams but apparently they are stocked in BAMM and some Wal-mart stores as well. And the Sony Style stores.
Question No. 15: During the demo narrated by the Australian, if you Press No. 2, you get a listing of books by Title. What is the name of the romance title listed and the name of the author of that romance title?
Answer: There was some debate over whether this guy was a Brit or an Australian. I thought he sounded Australian but I’ll have to ask my Sony contact. The demo did exist. It’s on the Reader Revolution page. I thought the demo was nicely done and hope that more demos can be done to show how to use the device. I understand that Harlequin will be doing demos on how to download ebooks.
Question No. 16: What is your random number?
Random generator picked 72.
***
Amelia S’s entry
1. Three colors
2. Sangria Red, Silver, Dark Blue
3. E-ink (R) “Electronic Paper”
4. Sony PRS 700BC
5. Adobe PDF, JPEG, BBeB, RTF, TXT, BBeB DRM are natively supported. Other formats (Microsoft Word, HTML, can be viewed with included conversion software.)
6. DRM – Digital Rights Management
7. Books on Board: Adobe ePub or Adobe Digital Editions; Fictionwise: Sony LRF format; eHarlequin: Adobe Digital Editions or Adobe Reader 7
8. 9 ounces (PRS-505); 10 ounces (PRS-700BC) (without covers)
9. 6-inch display
10. 160 typical ebooks
11. Removable Memory Stick Duo media or SD memory cards
12. 7,000 page views (or up to two weeks of reading)
13. Yes
14. Target, Borders
15. Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown
16. 74
Send to Kindle
Jan 11, 2009 @ 08:35:32
Congratulations Amelia. I hope you enjoy it as much as I’ve enjoyed using mine.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 08:44:28
Congratulations, Amelia. Hope you love it as much as I love mine.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 09:14:22
Wow! Congrats Amelia! What a great contest to win! Way to go.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 09:22:57
Woo hoo! Congratulations Amelia!
Keep an eye out on the new listings over the next few weeks on my Etsy store (unless there is one up that you really like now) and let me know which one you’d like and your physical address and I’ll get it into the mail for you.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 09:32:49
I was going to say, “Congrats Amelia! I hope you love yours as much as I love mine!” But I was beaten to the punch.
I’ll do a shoutout to Anne Douglas now, and say if you have a Reader, you really should snag one of her covers. They are stellar :)
Jan 11, 2009 @ 09:52:03
Congrats, Amelia!!! WOO HOO!!!!
Jan 11, 2009 @ 11:12:26
Congrats Amelia S! :)
Jan 11, 2009 @ 11:16:00
So if I have adobe pdf ebooks on my computer, I can transfer them to a sony ereader to read?
Jan 11, 2009 @ 11:20:49
@liz…
Yes you can! If you zoom it can get a little funky though (though still readable)
Jan 11, 2009 @ 11:41:40
Very much so Liz. Including the drm digital editions ones.
For those of you who might be a little stumped on how:
When you download the book the first time there is this funky etd file that’s no use to you at all (it’s part of the authorisation process), but when you open you book in Adobe digital editions it creates the actual pdf in you digital editions folder. This file is still DRM encapsulated. You can either transfer this file to your sony the cut rate way (ie copy and paste to the device using it like a separate drive/memory stick etc) or you can import the file into calibre (and I’m assuming the actual Sony software (I have a Mac so I can’t tell you for sure). Now, you can not do anything with the file in calibre (change format etc, although i was able to at meta for calibre search functions) but you can load the file into your Sony.
Easy peasy, lemon squeesy. Just as simple as the other books
Jan 11, 2009 @ 11:53:18
Congrayts on winning the Sony eReader — I have one and love it.
AnneD, I added your store to my favorite places.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 12:19:58
@Liz, a note about pdfs. I’ve found that the zoom doesn’t always work, and it seems to be a reflection of the size of the file. If you have a large illustrated pdf (over 50Mb), chances are you won’t be able to get it to zoom. If you just have a typical book with only a couple of cover pictures, it shouldn’t be an issue.
(This was also the case for the manga volume I purchased in native format from Sony, FYI, which was 50Mb.)
Jan 11, 2009 @ 13:02:26
Jessica, thank you for the shout out, and Daniella for the fav’s ad!
There are two new covers up today, and *touch wood* two new up tomorrow.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 13:33:35
Woo Hoo and Congrats, Amelia!
Hmn… I wonder if this changes regionally? I ask this because I had answered SonyStyle, WalMart and BestBuy. I looked all over the Sony site, then also scanned a lot of the stores in my area. The reason I used BestBuy instead of Borders as an answer was because many of the Borders stores in my area are closing, and you could get Sony ereaders at BestBuy. Of course today when I go look, to make sure it wasn’t just the voices in my head, I see that BestBuy is only selling them online – and even now is sold out. I should have looked closer last week.
Oh well! Thanks for the contest, Jane (and Sony), and the opportunity to learn more about ereaders. I am a bit resistant to this change for myself, as I love paper books, but physical limitations are starting to encroach and so I know the time is coming when an ereader will become a necessity. The discussions which compare/contrast the various ereaders are very helpful to me as I make a choice.
Diane :o)
pouting only a leetle bit for not winning
Jan 11, 2009 @ 13:45:21
Congratulations, Amelia!
Jan 11, 2009 @ 14:59:13
Good job!
Jan 11, 2009 @ 15:07:27
Congratulations!
Jan 11, 2009 @ 16:18:47
Thanks for the tips! I am looking for a ereader…:0)
Jan 11, 2009 @ 17:06:02
I don’t understand why she won.
She clearly got # 12 incorrect. She said 7000 page turns and it’s 7500. She got the two week part right. But still, with a big contest like this the winner should be 100% correct..
Also, # 15 is totally wrong. The romance title listed on there is Hot Property by Carly Phillips. Smoke Screen is a thriller, not a romance.
A little confused by this selected winner.
The answer sheet didn’t give the correct answer to # 15 either, which is odd.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 17:52:57
@Jessica Kennedy: We had an internal discussion about the Sandra Brown v. Carly Phillips and determined that either answer would be correct given that many still perceive Brown as a romance author.
The two week part was accurate and therefore I felt that answer was correct.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 19:50:32
Ok fine but the question wasn’t what romance author, it was what romance title. Smoke Screen is considered a thriller not a romance.
Obviously the contest wasn’t developed fully to be considered fair to all participants.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 20:12:32
@Jessica Kennedy: I appreciate your input and I am certainly sorry that you feel that the contest wasn’t run fairly. More than one person put down the Sandra Bown answer and given her long history as a romance author, it seemed that could be construed as a correct answer. I don’t know that one could know whether the book was a romance or thriller by the title and some might even consider her a romance author today. This is not to say that I don’t understand your point. I’m just trying to give you our line of thinking.
We’ll definitely try to do better with our next giveaway.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 20:37:24
I appreciate that Jane. Thanks.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 20:51:12
Congrats to Amelia. I hope you enjoy your new PRS. I already have one (silver) but the red colour was so enticing I just have to try my luck.
I do have to say that I never thought of answering in Adobe ePub for Question #7. My answer was Adobe PDF because the Adobe PDF was the only format that is readily available from any of these 3 etailers w/c can be read in the Sony PRS. I have to read the questions properly next time. I also picked Carly Philips “Hot Property” for the Romance title and felt 100% sure this was the correct answer. Though I have to confess that I haven't read any of her books nor that of Sandra Brown either. *g* But I checked them in Amazon just to be sure (Smoke Screen was billed as a Novel and described as a suspense thriller). Still, since either/or answers are correct, it's nice to know that I got mine all correct.
Jan 11, 2009 @ 22:58:01
Congrats, Amelia.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 05:25:13
Congrats Amelia!
Jan 12, 2009 @ 13:20:01
Congrats Amelia! You lucky thing, you! Entering the contest has whet my appetite for one so keenly, I am going to purchase one ASAP.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 16:42:35
I agree with Jessica she was wrong on question 12 and 15. Sandra Browns book Some Screen is a novel and not a Romance title so that answer she gave is wong It should have been Carly Phillips Hot Property for that answer. Even though Sandra is a romane author the answer to that particular book is not so the answer is wrong and she did say 7,000 and not 7,500. I feel she did not win the prize.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 16:56:15
@Tameka Green:
Thank you! :)
Jan 12, 2009 @ 16:57:49
I’m sorry but I still disagree the question said romance title and author not romance author.
Therfore Sandra Brown is an incorrect answer because Smoke Screen is not a romance book. You have to go by the question and not what the person use to do.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 19:03:45
I think in this case the rule that “the decision of the judges is final” is what we have to consider here.
There are a couple of thoughts for future contests. One is that, in order to be perceived as fair, it would have been better to choose the winner by first determining those entrants who had all questions correct (fully correct, not partially correct as in the case of the 7000 vs 7500). And then, perform the tie breaker action (i.e. the random number).
Also, you might not have generated any controversy if you’d just said “Out of all entrants with correct answers, Amelia was closest to the random number.” And completely left the list of entrant’s answers off the post!
Jan 12, 2009 @ 19:16:32
I do appreciate everyone’s comments regarding the contest and I appreciate the efforts that people put forth to enter the contest. We obviously have some growing pains and criticism helps things to run more smoothly in the future.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 20:51:05
Just a few more thoughts, though.
I do agree with Jessica Kennedy's point. The reason given that the Sandra Brown answer is correct because she was “perceived†by some as a romance author is a bit head scratching. That's like taking a shortcut. We're talking about a specific list of book in the demo and to choose which one is suppose to be a romance book. At least, that is how I thought the question was. For someone who has been told earlier that it is the journey that counts and not so much the end result and that we must work to find the answers, it can be a bit ironic. I knew most of the answers already since I did a thorough research before buying my PRS 505 but question 15 was the one that really made me work to find the answer. No shortcuts were taken for that question. So, yes, it does not seem to be fair.
But what is done is done. Hopefully, lessons have been learned and the next time will be smoother. My wish is that questions should be crouched in a way that is more specific and not vague because it did confuse me a lot. But thank you, Jane, for this contest. It was interesting and fun.
Just to add: Kristi’s suggestion are also very good and something that should be considered in the future though I would still like to see the winner’s answers.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 23:10:20
I’m sorry you can sugar coat it all you want but # 15 asked for romance title and author and any way you cut it the answer of Sandra Brown Smoke Screen is wrong because their was a better answer Carly Phillips Hot Property which cleary states it as a romance book not Sandra’s book which is a novel. Therfore the prize should be picked from the group that had that for their answer.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 23:32:39
What is the name of the romance title listed and the name of the author of that romance title?
The Question is her big and bold and if everyone was looking instead of jumping to what they thought the answer might have been they would have found the right answer. Why are the rules being changed the question asked for the romance title and author which then proves that Carly Phillips Hot Property is the correct answer. This just blows because this is so wrong on every level. I can’t bare seeing the prize being given to someone with the wrong answer.
Jan 12, 2009 @ 23:46:12
@Tameka, I have to wonder at what you’re trying to accomplish here. You won’t get the Ja(y)nes to change their minds. They’ve already explained that they saw Amelia’s answers as acceptable. And if you’re trying to make Amelia feel bad enough to give up her prize, that’s not well done of you at all.
Since neither of those will happen, maybe you should think about what you’re really accomplishing. As far as I can see, you’re making yourself look like a poor loser and that’s about it.
Jan 13, 2009 @ 09:30:51
Congrats to Amelia!
On Smoke Screen by Sandra Brown’s Amazon page, the Look Inside box’s headline calls it a Thrilling Romance. And towards the bottom of the Amazon page, under the Look for Similar Items by Subject section, one of the links is Romantic suspense fiction.
Jan 13, 2009 @ 10:16:49
I can agree that the winner was picked, etc…. but just like Brenna stated, I did extensive research to pick the best answer to question # 15.
Take this link for Smoke Screen for example:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/1416563067?&PID=32758
Product Details
ISBN: 9781416563068
Author: Brown, Sandra
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Subject: General
Subject: General Fiction
Subject: Police
Subject: Fire fighters
Publication Date: August 2008
Binding: Hardcover
Grade Level: General/trade
Language: English
Pages: 398
Dimensions: 9.25 x 6.125 in
And then for Hot Property:
http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780373773336-3
Product Details
ISBN: 9780373773336
Author: Phillips, Carly
Publisher: Harlequin Books
Subject: Romance – Contemporary
Subject: Romance – General
Subject: Baseball players
Copyright: 2008
Edition Description: Mass market paperback
Series: Hot Zone
Publication Date: July 2008
Binding: Mass Market Paperbound
Grade Level: General/trade
Language: English
Pages: 376
Dimensions: 6.63 x 4.19 in
Clearly there’s a better answer and if everyone would have done their homework everyone would have picked the correct answer. You have to know how to use your tools and I believe some of us used ours better than others.
Obviously I don’t want Amelia to give up her prize. I just wish those responsible for picking the winner would do a much better job at picking the winner. Everyone wants to win. Some more than others and that’s the difference.
P.S. I own a Kindle and really don’t need the Reader but it’s a contest and I like contests.
Jan 13, 2009 @ 10:17:54
I’m sorry you feel me to be a sore loser Katie but I’m just going off of what the author states her book to be. On amazon it says it’s a novel and Sandra Brown on her website states it to be a suspense novel. I would think an author would know what her book is since she wrote. But I will not argue the case I’ve said all I need to say. And I will stand by what I wrote
Jan 13, 2009 @ 11:09:38
Oh and with my bad manners I forgot to Congratulate Amelia on her win. And a next thing I would like to bring up is that anyone who lives in NY or doesn’t live here on May 17, 2009 is a very special event. The New York Aids Walkathon is very important in the fight against Aids. I am a voluteer for this event and I’ve been doing this event for nine years now. Who can volunteer I’ll leave the link and number to this event. Also if your not in this area you can still sign up and register from their website to donate if you can every small contributation will be greatly appreciated
Thank You
Tameka
If you prefer, you can always register by phone.
Simply call (212) 807-WALK (9255) and we will be happy to register you!
or
http://www.aidswalk.net
Jan 13, 2009 @ 20:05:19
And here’s a link to Sandra Brown’s website for her current book Smoke Screen
http://sandrabrown.net/books_select.php?id=69&t1=smoke%20screen&t2=&t3=&t4=</link
It includes the book’s Genre as Suspense. Clearly, she wants her book considered as a suspense novel and not a romance. Shades of Diana Gabaldon. *g*
Jan 19, 2009 @ 01:39:09
What’s done is done. Let’s let the question of right or wrong go at this point. We all did our homework and the bosses have made their decision. I congratulate ALL of you for the efforts you put in to answering the questions, Amelia and EVERYONE else included. I’m just glad I’m not the one running this website right now… sheesh. LOL
Jan 19, 2009 @ 07:54:00
Way to post 6 days after the last comment. I believe it was closed. Sheesh is right.