How to Transfer Books From Sony Reader to Kindle
By Mark Pool
The Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle are not directly compatible when it comes to ebook formats. However, some programs are designed to make the conversion quick and painless. The Amazon Kindle is compatible with the MOBI format, RTF files, plain text files and PDF files. If you have unsecured PDFs, these will transfer directly from the library copy on your computer to the Kindle. LRF files - files in Sony's proprietary ebook format - will require conversion. Be aware that DRM-protected ebooks can't be converted at this time. The only solution for protected ebooks is to purchase them again at the Kindle store.
Step 1
Download and install Calibre for your Windows, Mac or Linux system. Calibre is an ebook management application compatible with the Kindle and the Sony Reader. Use it to transfer your ebooks from the Sony Reader to your computer and then to convert them to a Kindle-friendly format. Calibre is particularly useful if you have a large collection of ebooks. It allows you to manage them using tags, categories and series. Support for most ebook and document formats allows you to convert almost any readable document to a Kindle compatible format. Batch processing is a good feature to convert large quantities of ebooks all at once. Keep in mind that it will not convert DRM, protected or locked ebooks in any format.
Step 2
Convert your ebooks using an online service such as Zamzar or 2ePub. Both of these online converters accept ebooks in a variety of formats and output them in formats compatible with most devices. Plug your Sony Reader into the computer, but instead of using Sony's Connect software, copy the ebooks off of your device using Windows Explorer. Upload the copied books to one of the online services for conversion. This is the ideal solution if you only have a few ebooks and don't want to install any software.
Step 3
Download LRFTools on any Java compatible system. LRFTools is a command-line Java program. It doesn't require installation and will run on almost any operating system. Be aware that as a command-line program, LRFTools is text-based, with no graphic interface. It does feature a wide variety of options and has parameters to control the format of the output file. There are two options for conversion of your ebooks. You can convert Sony Reader LRF files directly to rich text RTF files compatible with the Kindle. Or, you can convert the output RTF or HTML files to MOBI files using another tool. This option really only makes sense if you want to make extensive changes to the ebook, such as dividing it into multiple ebooks, changing the format or removing images.
References
Writer Bio
Mark Pool has been a technical writer and translator specializing in information technology since 2001. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in English from Columbia University, he went on to study the IT sector and receive technical certifications from Microsoft, Cisco and Red Hat.