# $75 credit toward new Sony Reader



## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

I just saw this on MobileRead Forums.

There's an offer on SonyStyle.com -- trade in any e-reader and get a $75 credit toward a new Sony Reader.

http://recycling.econewonline.com/sonystyle/?q=start&dev_type_id=16

I have a Kindle 1 that has some screen fading problems. I also have a Kindle 3 that I love. But would never be able to sell or give away my K1 in it's current condition. This Sony offer is for any ereader in any condition I think.

I really want to add an ebook reader that I can borrow library books on.

I don't know what to do. The Nook or Sony 350 touch?


----------



## hsuthard (Jan 6, 2010)

That sounds like a great offer! How much is the Sony? You can get the nook for $99 on ebay if you act quickly.


----------



## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

That's a great offer for Sony owners who want to trade up.  I don't know of any other ereader sellers that do that.


----------



## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

The new Sony 350 Touch is an awesome reader. I have tried it out several times in the store. I love how easy the swipe page turns work. It has a 5 inch screen and is very light to hold. But doesn't have 3G or wireless. It is $179.99 so with the $75 off the cost would be close to the Nook on eBay.  After looking at both the Nook and Sony 350 it's hard to decide. There are a few more advantages with the Nook but I fell in love with how much easier it is to swipe the pages on the Sony.

I went ahead and bought the $99.00 Nook before I knew about this offer and will decide if I will give it as a gift for Christmas and get the Sony or keep it myself.


----------



## PG4003 (Patricia) (Jan 30, 2010)

I have a Nook, bought specifically for reading library books, and I highly recommend it!


----------



## mlewis78 (Apr 19, 2009)

I have a nook for library ebooks, but I would like a pink Sony PRS-350!  I can't justify it and my income is ridiculously low these days.  I bought the Nook because of library books and the store, but I don't buy books for it.  Can't bring myself around to selling the Nook though.  I like and don't like it at the same time.


----------



## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> I have a nook for library ebooks, but I would like a pink Sony PRS-350! I can't justify it and my income is ridiculously low these days. I bought the Nook because of library books and the store, but I don't buy books for it. *Can't bring myself around to selling the Nook though. I like and don't like it at the same time. *


This! Exactly!


----------



## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

I find myself reading more on my nook because of the lighter color screen.  My Kindle DX screen is so dark and I find it a little unpleasant to use, in comparison.  Does anyone know if the new DX Graphite has a screen the same color as the nook?  I may have to check it out at one of the stores, if no one knows.


----------



## love2read (Nov 23, 2008)

I'm not sure about the screen on the DX. I did see one on display at my local Best Buy though so you if you have one of those stores near you, that may be an easy way to check.

I did get a chance to try another store model of a Nook today. This was a much better model and for the first time I liked it. I've been watching the BN story for freebies for a while and am still surprised how little free books they offer compared to Amazon. At least right now I can't see myself buying any books from BN. I would want to keep all purchases together on my Kindle account. So I'm not sure if it will matter if I don't have an ereader that I can  buy BN books for. 

I was never a K2 owner so the difference in the bigger size Nook compared to my K1 and K3 was very noticeable. 

I do really like the size of the Sony 350 so I'm going to go back and look at them again. I also like the pink one and if I bought it through the Sony store I could get the pink cover free to go with it.

I also have an ebay Nook on the way and need to decide if I'll just keep it or sell it.

I may buy a new battery for my K1 and see of that is all that is wrong with the fading on the screen. Then I could give it away to a friend or sell it on eBay and pay the difference for the Sony 350 if I decide I like it better then the Nook.

Does anyone know if the there is a font hack for the Sony 350? That is one thing I wouldn't mind changing.


----------



## s0nicfreak (Jun 10, 2010)

If not for the fact that the cheapest one is $180 I would buy a broken one off ebay and do this...


----------



## corkyb (Apr 25, 2009)

luvshihtzu said:


> I find myself reading more on my nook because of the lighter color screen. My Kindle DX screen is so dark and I find it a little unpleasant to use, in comparison. Does anyone know if the new DX Graphite has a screen the same color as the nook? I may have to check it out at one of the stores, if no one knows.


The kindle Dx has the newer pearl screen and has much improved contrast. It doesn't have an many options in font sizes or types though
Paula


----------



## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

I wouldn't buy a nook at any price, even free, whereas I paid full price for my 350, so trading in a Reader that I don't use (my 600) would obviously have made it even easier for me to choose the 350.

I will say that I'm not happy with the so called touch screen for the 350 though. "So called" because it's not a real touch screen, it uses infrared, and it's all kind of wacky. The technology is a pretty good compromise between readability and usability, certainly beats the hell out of the horrible screens on the older Readers, but there are times where I get absolutely frustrated with it to the point where I want to break it. I've lost count of how many times where I go to turn the page with a swipe gesture and end up highlighting text instead, or how many times I've had to use the stylus for highlighting/looking up words/clicking on footnotes since I couldn't get a tap to register (particularly bad around the edges, especially the top right corner as double tapping that corner activates the book mark feature, so looking up words in that corner is practically impossible without using the stylus), or the wrong text gets highlighted. And of course, the handwriting with a stylus is just plain lousy (I used that feature on my 600 whereas I absolutely refuse to use that feature on the 350 as it's a bloody joke).

The only time I ever had to use a stylus with my 600 was when I wrote 'cause if a page turn didn't register I just had to press a bit harder, and highlighting/looking up words/clicking on footnotes was an absolute breeze as long as I used a fingernail, with the 350 I find that I'm having to resort to using the stylus far too often and I'm not happy about it.

The 350 has great form factor, a highly readable screen, and it comes in pink!, but the touch screen is just another example of it not being done right. If I had to do it all over again I would still get a 350 as I don't see any other alternatives that don't involve a back-lit screen.



love2read said:


> I also like the pink one and if I bought it through the Sony store I could get the pink cover free to go with it.


I don't have the free pink cover but based on pics I'd suggest buying the regular pink 350 cover, if the price is too much then try to buy used. Not only does the regular cover stay flush with the Reader when folded back but it's pink on the inside too, rather than that grayish color, and if you're going to have a pink Reader you might as well do it right. (I have the pink 350 with the regular pink cover and the pink soft case ).



love2read said:


> Does anyone know if the there is a font hack for the Sony 350? That is one thing I wouldn't mind changing.


http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=98618

jswinden put together a guide "Adding-Fonts-to-a-Sony-Reader.pdf" which is included at the end of his first post in that thread as an Attached File.

(EDIT: This method will only work with DRM free ebooks.)


----------



## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

I think a $75 discount towards a new Sony isn't enough if the trade-in is in good working order.  You should be able to sell it here on KB or on Mobileread for at least a minimum of $100.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

luvshihtzu said:


> The nook is a better choice because you can buy and read DRM ePub ebooks from more on-line stores. The nook allows you to buy and read ePub DRM from Borders, Sony Store and B&N. The Sony only allows their own ePub DRM from the Sony Store to be read on the Sony Reader. Both the new Sony and nook allow you to download from your local Overdrive Library Systems.


Has that changed? Because I had books from Borders and Kobo on my Sony reader, but I couldn't put the B&N books on it.


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

mlewis78 said:


> I bought the Nook because of library books and the store, but I don't buy books for it. Can't bring myself around to selling the Nook though. I like and don't like it at the same time.


Yep - I'm the same way - I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with my nook. I don't buy books for it either, but I do love getting library books for it. But every time I finish a book on the nook and get back to my K2, I'm so happy to be reading on the K2 again! I don't remember feeling that way about my Sony 300 - but it didn't have a touch screen, and one of my issues with the nook is how inconsistent the swiping for page turns is. On the other hand, I'm glad I can read ALL my ePubs on it (and I couldn't read my B&N ePubs on the Sony).


----------



## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

em,
I got that information from MobileRead.  Maybe it was backwards there.  It wouldn't be the first time that happened.  I'll edit that part of my posting, if you are sure about it. 
Pat M.
luvshihtzu


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

luvshihtzu said:


> em,
> I got that information from MobileRead. Maybe it was backwards there. It wouldn't be the first time that happened. I'll edit that part of my posting, if you are sure about it.
> Pat M.
> luvshihtzu


It could've changed I suppose, but I know I had put books from Kobo and Borders on my Sony, and I'd checked a couple to be sure I could actually open them. The only ePubs I couldn't read on it were from B&N.


----------



## Selcien (Oct 31, 2008)

Meemo said:


> It could've changed I suppose, but I know I had put books from Kobo and Borders on my Sony, and I'd checked a couple to be sure I could actually open them. The only ePubs I couldn't read on it were from B&N.


It couldn't have changed 'cause the only way that Sony could restrict their Readers to their store would be with a proprietary DRM scheme. This would require that they change their store, again, and would require that they update all of their older Readers to be compatible with the new DRM scheme.

They moved from a proprietary format to ePub, why would they go back to a proprietary scheme?


----------



## Meemo (Oct 27, 2008)

Selcien said:


> It couldn't have changed 'cause the only way that Sony could restrict their Readers to their store would be with a proprietary DRM scheme. This would require that they change their store, again, and would require that they update all of their older Readers to be compatible with the new DRM scheme.
> 
> They moved from a proprietary format to ePub, why would they go back to a proprietary scheme?


Well allrighty then, there you have it. I couldn't check myself since I don't have a Sony anymore. Come to think of it, though, there's the fact that Borders sells the Sony readers...


----------



## luvshihtzu (Dec 19, 2008)

I have 2 Sonys and a nook, but have never tried out the different books on each one.  Something to do when I get some time.  Right now I have a couple of new eBooks from the library that I want to read.


----------

