Sorry I’ve been silent for a few days. There’s some stuff going on here, but I’ll get to that later in the post. First, let’s close the contest. Thanks to everyone who suggested songs for my workout playlist. There were a lot of songs I never would have thought of and am going to add to my list!

I chose the winners using random.org. Of course, the first two #s it chose were me. Duh!

The winner of the Australia Bronzed Boys calendar is…Mad! Congratulations, Mad, please email me or use the contact form here on the website and let me know your mailing address.

The winner of the Australia Bronzed Girls calendar is…Albert. Same goes, Albert. Please contact me using the form here on the site and give me your mailing address so I can get your calendar in the mail.

On the good news front, Sony sent me a 700 to try out (because they rock like that) and I got it Friday. I’m going to use it for a few days over this weekend and will try to post my thoughts on it next week.

Other good news: My dad was in the area for a business meeting and decided to extend his trip and come visit us. He got here yesterday afternoon and will be here just for the weekend. Since they live in North Dakota, we usually only get to see them once a year because it’s expensive, and time intensive, to fly in and out of there. So we’re all glad to see him, but Brianna is especially thrilled. She loves it when she gets to see family and she’s seen a lot of them lately!

On the bad news front: Ugh, I don’t even like to type this but we’ve joined the ranks of Americans affected by the economy and the “reduction in workforce” as of yesterday morning. Josh was laid off yesterday morning when he went into work. It was a complete shock to us and not expected at all. Obviously we’re still processing this, since we only just found out. But I just keep telling myself it could be worse and that we’re certainly not a unique situation.

And to end on a positive note, we visited the beach yesterday, even though it was windy and cold. But we walked the beach, collected seashells and I took some pictures. It was a good day. Mostly

I wasn’t as excited about the imminent (and subsequent) arrival of my new Kindle as I should have been, mostly because I knew the file management system hadn’t changed and that meant that my use of the Sony 505 wouldn’t change either.

Initial impressions of the Amazon box are that it’s small, much smaller than the box the old Kindle came in. When I open the Amazon box, I realize that it’s packaging made especially for mailing the Kindle 2. It’s lined with the same type of paper that wraps the Kindle packaging. The Kindle packaging is not as fancy as the original Kindle 1 packaging, which was kind of nice and sturdy. This is very much a temporary-type of packaging. (nice pictures of unboxing the Kindle from Engadget here)

The Kindle itself is much sleeker and thinner. I think it’s ten times more attractive than the original Kindle, but still not as sleek and trim as the Sony. But definitely an improvement over its predecessor. I’m already glad of the smaller buttons, as I had a lot of problems with unintentional page turning before. The buttons on the bottom of the Kindle have lost some of that “chiclet gum” feel and are rounder and slightly more recessed into the device.

I’m not sure what to think about the “joystick” in my initial look. I’ll have to wait and see. I’m happy about the new design as far as the back goes, as well. As Smart Bitch Sarah said, on the Kindle 1, the back would come off “if you sneezed wrong”. They’ve removed the button for turning off the wireless and made it an option on the menu instead. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet either. The wireless does seem to be faster, which it was supposed to be, and it downloaded the content I had waiting (a free copy of Silent in the Sanctuary) immediately, along with my welcome message from Jeff Bezos and a guide about Upgrading Your Content to the new Kindle (which seems relatively easy). One thing I notice is that having the wireless be part of the system, if you try to do something that requires the wireless to be on, and you have it off, the device will ask you if you want to turn it on, then do so and continue with the task.

Several things I’m disappointed about: 1) the Kindle comes with no cover or protective sleeve. Which means an automatic outlay of more money if you have any interested in protecting it at all while in your purse/bag/pocket. 2) They switched from a micro USB to a mini USB, which is a less common USB. And this also means that the iGo tip I bought for the original Kindle is now obsolete and I’ll need to buy a new one. Bugger (on closer look there is no tip for the Kindle 2 at this time. Damnit). 3) No improved file management. And to this I say, WTF, Amazon? That was the ONE improvement I wanted in the Kindle 2. The one thing that might have enticed me over from the Sony and the one thing I point to as a serious drawback to people shopping for a dedicated reader. Well, also the fact that you don’t recognize any DRM formats, including the PRC format. WTF again?

Text-to-Speech. This isn’t really a function I think I’ll use, but I tried it out. One thing to know is that if you stop in the middle of a page, when you start again it will start reading from the top of the page, not from where you stopped. Also, it tends to run things together in an odd way.

The last thing that’s not immediately clear to me is whether the Kindle is charging while plugged into the computer via the USB cord. When plugged in, I see the “charge” symbol flash onto the battery indicator before the USB screen comes up. And the light on the bottom comes on, but a message on the screen states “USB Drive Mode: If you want to use your Kindle and continue charging, please eject your Kindle from the computer.” But the instructions say that if the yellow light is on, then it’s charging. So I’m not sure what the screen message indicates. Something to investigate.

Final first impressions: Being thinner and sleeker, it does fit in my smallish purse, though it’s about an inch longer than the Sony 505. However, that’s without a case, so it depends on whether I can find a case that doesn’t add a lot of extra bulk. If I were going to use this Kindle (I’m not except for demo purposes) I would invest in this M-edge case (along with the optional light) which I wish to the depths of my soul they would make for the Sony. And yes, I did say I won’t be using it. Why? No file management. I love Sony’s tagging system, which allows me to sort my books in a variety of ways, including personal and business use, and I hope that Amazon can fix their unusable (for me) system with a firmware upgrade, rather than waiting another couple years for a whole new device.

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Last week in the comments of a Dear Author thread, I told one of the commenters I’d take some pictures of the Sony and the Kindle, for a visual comparison of size, as well as the best visual comparison of the screen images as I could get. Luckily, I have a sunroom that gets good light in the morning, so the pictures don’t do too bad a job showing the readers in natural light. Since I have them, I also threw in some pictures of the Ebookwise, the iPhone and the Asus EeePC. Sadly, I don’t have the Sony 700 or other readers to provide comparison pictures of.

I’m going to share a few here, but for the whole shebang (I took a lot) please go to this album to browse them. There you’ll find pictures of the Sony and Kindle from all angles, including the back, pictures of me holding them and side views, all to give you an idea of the differences between the two.

Two side by sides of the Kindle and Sony 505 from different angles

And a picture for a comparison of the eink screen on each. To be honest, I thought the Sony might be darker but side by side, I didn’t notice any big difference. I have to wonder if it’s the difference in the white casing versus the darker casing.

And shots of all the readers (From left to right: Asus EEE 900, iPhone, Kindle, Sony 505, Ebookwise:

Eink versus grayscale:

I think it’s important to note about the grayscale, that the contrast can be adjusted quite a bit. That’s just how I happened to have it.

Anyone want to see any other pictures that I didn’t include?

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Snuggle up with my Sony Reader and my copy of Bone Crossed by Patricia Briggs. Please hold all my calls as I will be unavailable until I finish.

Also, as a random aside, cocktail parties? Freak me out. I’m always afraid I’ll end up standing in the corner with no one to talk to for two hours. Very scary stuff.

Talk amongst yourselves. I’ll be back when I’m done.

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I’ve had these two comments flagged to answer in their own post, so I thought I’d better get to them!

Wyzwmn asked

a question if you please

why would you buy an e-reader over a laptop or notebook?
wouldn’t it just be one more tool to haul around?

I actually have a laptop. And an Asus EeePC (mini laptop) that only weighs 2lbs. And an iPhone. And an iPaq (which doesn’t get used at all anymore, but I’m just using it to illustrate my point). When I want to read, I immediately reach for the Sony Reader (I also own a Kindle and an Ebookwise, but the Sony is what I use right now). No other device has been able to replace, for me, using a dedicated reader, no matter how small, portable or otherwise useful it is.

I tried to think of a good analogy, but the only one I could think of was pretty weak. Let’s say you have some sort of ongoing problem with your skin. You could go to your general practicioner but if you have the option, wouldn’t you rather go to a dermatologist? Because they specialize, you know it will be better.

That’s how having a dedicated ereader is for me. Yes, it’s a specialty item but it’s a specialty item that can’t be replaced. Yes, I can read on other devices, but the experience isn’t the same, it’s not as convenient and I don’t care to do it if I don’t have to. One of the things about the newer eink devices (not the Ebookwise) is how easy on the eyes it is to read on. As much as I love ebooks, I’m like many people who say they don’t want to read on the computer. I spend probably an average of 12 hours a day looking at a computer screen. I already notice the effects of that. So when I’m ready to read for pleasure at night, it’s a huge relief to be able to reach for an eink device and be able to read on that.

Now, that said, I’m still a fan of the Ebookwise, which isn’t eink technology but is grayscale and a little less harsh than reading on the computer. Dedicated reading devices still have other advantages, such as the size (close to reading a book), the ease of holding them (easier than holding a book or a laptop) and ease of portability (which no computer or laptop can compete with, not even an Asus Eee PC).

I really love my dedicated device. If something happened to the iPhone, the Eee PC and my readers all at the same time, and I had to choose which to replace, I’d replace the dedicated reader first!

Kerry asked:

Since you mentioned the Kindle and other e-devices, I’d love to ask a question about Samhain books. Is there a schedule or specific timeline for Samhain books to be released for the Kindle? Are *all* books at some point available for Kindle, or only ones that are “proven sellers” on, say, My Bookstore and More first?

I’m also curious about the availability of Samhain books at fictionwise. I prefer to buy some books for my iphone at fictionwise because of their rewards program, but apparently Samhain books on fictionwise are only availabe in secure mobi/lit format. I’m kind of on a book-buying diet until my credit at fictionwise is gone, so it’s a bummer.

We do have a deal with Amazon/Mobipocket to release all books in mobi and Kindle formats, but it’s really up to Amazon when they appear. There are people at Samhain who have put a lot of time and effort into making sure all the books are available, but we’re dependent on Amazon to actually get them there. All we can do is keep emailing and keep asking. That was the long answer. The short answer is that all of our books should be available at all online retailers, if the retailer chooses to carry them.

Fictionwise is a little different. We have not had a contract with Fictionwise until very recently, because we were unable to reach an agreement of terms with them (I have commented on this in the past on other blogs). So Fictionwise was getting our books from Lightning Source, where the majority of online retailers get the books from. Lightning source puts the DRM on them (not Samhain) and makes them available in only a few formats. This was Fictionwise’s only option for carrying our books at that point.

Now that we’ve just reached an agreement with Fictionwise and recently signed the contract, our office staff has been working with Fictionwise to get it up and running. Going forward, very soon, Fictionwise will be offering Samhain books starting with new releases in a variety of formats (I believe unsecured formats). Backlist will hopefully be gradually converted, but that won’t happen right away.

Hope that answered both of your questions and I’m sorry it took me so long to respond. Does anyone else have any pressing questions they’ve been wanting to ask?

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Okay, I’m not really, but as some of you know, I’m lucky enough to have the ability to explore the different ereader options, thanks to my job. Samhain got me a Sony 505 and a Kindle this summer to take to conferences. I had been using an Ebookwise, so I have previous experience with that (and actually, continued to use the Ebookwise for a good two months after I got both the other ereaders). I’ve also got an iPhone so I can try out the reader programs on that.

I have been using the Kindle almost exclusively, because the wireless makes it incredibly convenient for me to just send my submissions and ARCs right to it. But I’ve been increasingly unhappy with the file management options on the Kindle, which only allows you to sort by title, author and date of most recent accessed/added. This is fine if your metadata has good information in it so the Kindle actually has a usable title/author. But forwarding submissions and ARCs, I find myself with all sorts of file names, wondering what it is, and if it’s a pleasure book or a work book, who the author is, and other general details.

Jane and Keishon have both been talking about Calibre (on blogs and on Twitter) so I decided to bring out the Sony Reader and see how it all went.

So far, I’ve been using it for two days and I have to say I’m very happy with both Calibre (easy to use) and with the Sony’s file management. Granted, it is definitely not as convenient getting my books onto the Sony as it is with wireless, but it’s not difficult and I love that I’m now able to sort my books into categories–most especially sort the submissions into a submissions collection as well as the ARCs into a collection. Depending on how I tag the book, I can sort by genre, publisher, ARC, submission and I suppose, if I wanted, length.

Reading on the two is not hugely different as far as I can tell. I’m using the older Sony (the second model), not the touch screen, so now I would dearly love to get my hands on one of those to try out the touchscreen and built in reading light, but the 505 works very well for anyone considering one of those. It is a little different for me, getting used to the smaller page turn buttons than the Kindle, but on the plus side, I don’t have to worry about bumping those page turn buttons which I was ALWAYS doing with the Kindle. I do notice that the Sony’s screen is a little more yellowish than the Kindle, the refresh is marginally slower, and it takes a little longer to start up a book, but none of those is so different that I find myself irritated by it and I mostly noticed it for the sake of providing a comparison here.

But certainly the Sony is smaller and more sexy than the Kindle in design! I like that.

For now, I’m going to keep using the Sony and see how much I really miss the wireless option, or if giving that up is a good trade for me for the better file management (which Sony wins hands down over Kindle). I think the true test may be when I’m traveling and don’t have as easy access to a computer to upload the books. And maybe eventually I’ll get to try a newer Sony and see if it rocks my world in comparison!

Via the Whispernet on my new Kindle. And then was immediately bitter when I realized I’d never be able to read it on anything but a Kindle. Though Amazon makes it very easy to purchase, which I’m sure is seductive. And sheer brilliance in offering the beginning of the book free to hook the reader in.

Also, I read in bed last night. On my Ebookwise. Heh. My husband noticed the lack of a backlight immediately when I showed him the Kindle and we discussed how most of my reading is done in bed or low-light situations. He felt it was kind of worthless without a backlight, lol (though I kind of agree, given how much I depend on the backlight on the Ebookwise). I did try reading the Kindle with a booklight, but so far I still find the Kindle awkward to hold and I always felt like the light was shining in my eyes.

Next week the Sony Reader arrives*, and I hear the new Bookshelf app on the iPhone is rocking and I’m planning on trying that once I upgrade my firmware, so maybe I’ll add a comparison of reading devices to my epublishing articles. Or just write one here. I can do Ebookwise, Sony, Kindle, iPhone and iPaq. Maybe the people who do the Cybook and the Astak Mentor should send me one so I can compare those too. I think that’s a fab idea, don’t you?

*In case anyone is wondering, no, I don’t need this many ebook readers for my personal use. I’ll have them for taking to conferences so I can plug ebooks and let people try the different devices at the same time.