Borders and Sony will launch a co-branded eBookstore with 25,000 titles which sounds about right if the plan is to stock mostly fiction books. It sounds like you will have to have a special eBook Library software in order to purchase the titles or access the new bookstore front. Only those who purchase a Sony Reader will have this access. Borders will allow T-Mobile customers to wirelessly access the new eBookstore and purchase an ebook if you are inside a Borders store.
It sounds like a great idea made innumerably complicated by the restrictions. Why does there need to be special software? Is it going to be yet another super proprietary ebook format? Don’t you have pay for T-Mobile access at Borders? So you have to pay to get wireless connectivity and then you pay for the book? It’s like charging a cover charge to get into Borders to buy a book. This is not my idea of making ebooks easier to obtain by the reading public.
Via Publishers Weekly.
It’s not, but everyone’s trying to become THE next best thing when it comes to ebooks… I’d love a Sony Reader but it’s too hard to justify the cost unless I plan to buy a heck of a lot of ebooks. Same with the Kindle – it’s all new technology and everyone’s trying to corner the market.
If it’s too hard to gain access too or overpriced, it won’t work – people have too many options today to lock themselves into a single format or system. I have yet to figure out why I can buy a small device that can play frakking movies, MP3 and do everything but wipe my behind but it can’t be used for ebooks – at least, not without a lot of trouble.
Right now I wouldn’t lock myself into ANY format or buy ANY ebook reader until they settle down and decide what’s the norm across the board.
The Kindle has already been hacked to add support for DRM mobipocket books. Like the iPhone part of the fun of the Kindle will be what the hackers do with it. My Kindle is not supposed to arrive until after Christmas *sniffle*.
I received an email from Borders — $50 in ebooks from Borders when you buy a Sony Reader. Part of their new partnership? Or just a coupon/sale?
ooh… gonna have to keep my eyes out for that one!
don’t think it’s a concidence… but, like all the other readers, it’s going to have to drop considerably in price before I consider buying anything.
*sighs*
where’s that lottery win!
My son gave me a Sony as a gift because a part of my Palm M515 (a beautiful machine with access to many reasonably priced e-books)busted when dropped. I miss the Palm. Anyway, the Sony had no illuminator. As a non-technophile, I could discover no way to add a dictionary that integrates with the e-books. Also, I have a BIG problem with the restrictions on purchasing and downloading e-books. All this proprietary bs should be canned. Aren’t they making enough change. In brief, I really don’t like this hardware and would not purchase it, nor would I recommend anyone else purchase it unless he had specific requirements met by this unit.