topic UK Reader Store - Opening Spring! in eReaders

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

scanman01 — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 10:26:55 GMT

Lastest information from Sony is that the UK Reader Store is opening in the Spring.

For further information click on "Reader Store" on your eReader and a message will be displayed.

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

Blencogo — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 12:49:03 GMT

Thanks for the info scanman01 .......

.......... that is Spring 2012 I hope???

:smileylaugh::smileylaugh::smileylaugh:

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

carpetmojo — Sun, 22 Jan 2012 16:56:18 GMT

Well, ummm, err......... ...That is UK spring, presumably ?

And the thing is, when exactly does spring start.... and how long does it last....:smileyconfused:

I'm not quite sure how it will differ from any other shop, to be honest. One would hope in price and choice.

And - hello, Sony ! - hopefully there'll be lots of special offers at the beginning - and I don't mean free Dickens, Oscar Wilde, Austen, et al !

Perhaps lots of special offers all the time ??

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

ZumbaChumba — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 08:39:00 GMT

This is frankly a shambles.

I have a PRS-650 and want to buy a PRS-T1, but after seeing how well integrated the Kobo Touch is (for less money), it's really hard to choose Sony again.

Come on, almost every Sony product is let down by it's software, the reader is no exception to this.

How hard will it be to just partner with Kobo and use that on the device.

Sony your Reader division is an embarrassment....

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

carpetmojo — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 12:56:29 GMT

Kobo.... well, I don't think you'll get many manufacturers saying "OK, we admit it, we can't do software, a rival firm - who also sell a similar device in not direct competition to us, 'cos ours is better - has better software, so we're going to use that on our device, so then you can use that. BUT please don't buy their device, 'cos that would be 'A Bad Thing' ".......

[And that's without dreaming up a figure that the licence would cost !]

Although, if you think about it, you can access Kobo if you're desperate to do so - shop at WH Smith !

[Which I believe is still supposed to be a "partner" of Sony ? Although I rarely use it, so that treasured endorsement may have changed....]

Good luck.

Message was edited by: carpetmojo

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

thomasn75 — Mon, 23 Jan 2012 15:28:21 GMT

Indeed. I remember my battles with sonic stage and sony connect on my mp3 players before I gave up and got a ipod. i have to say i love the prs-t1 and do use kobo and other sources for buying books. i dont find sonys slowness impeeding my enjoyment - I just accept that they cant do it. thats the great thing about an open format. can you imagine if amazon was telling us this and we could not go elsewhere to buy books.

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

ZumbaChumba — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 08:40:11 GMT

Sony (and everyone else) really need to up their game by joing forces.

I know full when what Sony Readers users will end up with, it will be a half-arsed poorly stocked overpriced store that is rubbish compared to Kobo, Google Books and Amazon's stores.

Kobo have long stated they are both platform and device agnostic. They are happy to partner with anyone to sell content, even with a rebranded store (Like WHSmiths have done). They have also demonstrated this, by allowing Kobo content to work just fine on the Sony (and even list the Sony as compatble devices on their site).

Right now, Kobo is the only company doing anything well. I would say their storefront, product selection and pricing are the best out there, beating even Amazon's.

I really don't see Sony beating this.

And yes, I also suffered SonicStage (and Connect), and it was truely horrendous. I also have a Sony Incar CD player bought a couple of years back, which is "walkman compatible", which only shows a maximum of 512 tracks on my new Walkman (but works find on my really old one), Sony UK tell me this is "how it is" and that my new walkman is "too new"....

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

carpetmojo — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:52:01 GMT

" Sony (and everyone else) really need to up their game by joing forces..........."

I believe that, to the more experienced , or perhaps more worldly Sony owner, is what might be classified, to use technical jargon, a pipedream....:smileylaugh:

Actually, my normal "accept and move on " attitude is frequently wiped out when waiting for the usual looong time when this site does anything - or you are told things are being worked on, which seems to happen a lot lately.

But, "try again later", all will be well .........................:smileyplain:

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

Cymraes — Wed, 25 Jan 2012 20:45:04 GMT

I have to say that now the Kobo site appears to accept my debit card, it's far less painful to download from than the WH Smith site ever was (even though it does appear to have a glitch that freezes everything if you click for more information on a book, and you can only shop for one book at a time).

That said, when my beloved PRS 650 finally gives up the ghost, I won't be replacing it with another Sony, simply because of the trauma the Sony software causes me ...

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

keithd0831 — Sat, 04 Feb 2012 12:04:57 GMT

I quite agree with your comments.

A succession of broken promises from a company such as Sony is totally unacceptable.

One possibility would be for all of us that have paid good money for our readers should petition Sony for a full refund - we would then be free to make good the shameless treatment by purchasing a device that has the full range of facilities from day one.

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

Darkhorse_01 — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 21:12:29 GMT

I own many Sony products. In general, I have been satisfied with them. However, the PRS-T1 is the exception. I bought this item largely after being convinced by the Sony Centre that E-Pub would allow me access to all the titles I wanted via the library system but, it is already clear that the VAST majority of UK public libraries don't offer this service AND HAVE NO PLANS TO DO SO. Sony also told me that a new book would be downloadable from the Sony e-reader store in a matter of seconds and that the store would be up and running by Christmas. I feel strongly that I was sold the reader inappropriately by means of unethical sales practices and that if I had known this at the time, I would have bought the new Kindle instead.

Why a company such as Sony has resorted to such low tactics is beyond my comprehension. My perception of this brand is now badly damaged. It is not the modern way for companies to behave ethically or with integrity but, this behaviour by Sony is frankly, shameful. Those responsible ought to be ashamed of themselves and their corporate image.

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

carpetmojo — Sat, 11 Feb 2012 22:03:39 GMT

Darkhorse - I'm afraid this is the problem with a "franchise" retail system.

I've read many posts - from here and abroad - with complaints about the behaviour, selling tactics and knowledge of staff in these Sony Centres.

Plainly, the advice given regarding Libraries was economical, veracity -wise, and plain incorrect, if not a downright lie.

However, certainly in the UK, the Sony centres are nothing to do with the Sony company, and this is not always apparent in these premises.

That may seem strange, but it is a model adopted by many manufacturers, over a wide gamut of consumer kit.

I don't know what "official " training the staff have, or if Sony checks them in any way, but I have also recieved bad advice from a (no longer in business) Sony Centre, about TVR 's actually, and I walked out when I soon realised that I - Mr. Tech Dunce, frankly - knew more than the sales assistant.

And by a long way - and I'd only done a self-administered crash course on Google etc,, over a couple of days.

So that part was down to the Centre, and if it was me, I'd have been down there making a nuisance of myself pretty quick - don't forget, your contract of sale is with the retailer, not Sony. And that "contract" is enforcible for "a reasonable time".

However, the Reader saga is, sadly, incomprehensible. I can see some possible reasons why things haven't materialised, but as they've had a Store in US for a while, so would seem a good model to work from, it does seem odd the UK one seems so difficult to get going.

But anything large-scale, complicated, and involving I.T. invariably seems to take longer, costs more, and has more teething problems of varying degrees - especially if it also involves Government ! - than is originally factored in !

But I did have high hopes when the Potter saga began - but that too seems to have gorn quiet....:smileysad:

But I have to say, I knew these problems regarding the T1 full facilities not being in place - but, like the x50 generation that came before, it is such a good piece of kit !

UK Reader Store - Opening Spring!

ZumbaChumba — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 20:52:12 GMT

Dear Mr G
Thank you for your email addressed to Mr P, who has passed it to me to reply on his behalf. I am sorry to read of the issue with the reader store and fully understand your concerns and dissatisfaction.
I can appreciate when you are eagerly awaiting a product or service it can be incredibly frustrating when the release date keeps getting pushed back. The reasons for the delay was quite simply the site was not where we wanted it to be in time for release.
As such, we took the long view that it was better to delay than to rush a product out which did not meet our high standards. I imagine your next question would be why would Sony get into this situation and the simple answer would be with security being the forefront of our minds we would prefer to make sure all was in order before committing to this new and exciting enterprise regardless of the delays.
I trust the above goes some small way into reaffirming your faith in Sony that we still prefer quality and innovation rather than rushing in to the unveiling of a new service which in the long run was not able to meet the customer’s needs.

blah blah blah.... They have had 2 years to sort this out, and still in a mess...