Sony PRS-505/LC Blue Digital Book Reader by Sony
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Digital camera reviews of Sony PRS-505/LC Blue Digital Book Reader
Digital camera Review: A Great Purchase
Summary: 4 Stars
The ability to buy e-books from various sites makes this product better than the Kindle. One may also take out e-books from a public library. Great product!Digital camera Review: A Worthwhile Investment
Summary: 5 Stars
I just received my blue PRS-505 and let me say, this thing is an absolute beauty. The dimensions are all there, but it is pretty much the size of a normal paperback book, while the screen is slightly smaller. The screen size (or lack thereof) was my first impression; but on my list of things wrong with this device, the screen size will probably be the last on the list. I quickly got used to it to the point that it's really a non-issue. In fact, I see the small form factor a more of a plus than anything, as it increases the portability quotient while still performing its primary task with flying colors.
Reading on this thing is an absolute joy. The screen software is something relatively new called "E-ink" - the name speaks for itself. It's a special kind of screen that basically emulates paper, so that reading on the device is very much like reading a book. The main advantages of this are that you will not get the same eye-strain you get when starting at a computer screen, and that you can read from the device in direct sunlight. The big fallback in my opinion is that the device is not backlit, so you can't read in complete darkness - however you can purchase a book-light as you would with a normal book. But in defense of the reader, it is to my understanding that a backlight would deter from the "paper-ness" of the display, which is why few e-readers on the market provide a built in light. The screen operates much like an etch-a-sketch in that every time you click on a menu option or change the page, the device will write the information to the screen, and then turn off - which explains the flicker every time you turn a page. It can be annoying at first, but you quickly get used to it. The upside to this is that it allows the device to achieve long battery life.
The build quality gives me the impression that the device is built to weather a tornado - or at least everyday use with accidental drops of reasonable heights. The PRS-505 is heavier than it looks, though it is still lighter than a typical paperback. The buttons seem logically placed, however the page-turning buttons on the right offer slight resistance and "clicking" whenever they're pressed, but I imagine they will be burned in with time. On the right side of the screen are 10 numbered buttons that, with the user interface, act much like the menu buttons on an ATM. When reading an actual e-book, they let you jump to a specified page number. I don't really understand the reason for the directional pad at the bottom-right, as I don't really use it, but the rest of the buttons seem logical.
The user interface is quite easy to use, though my only gripe is the lack of a status indicator; loading a book can take anywhere from 3 - 30 seconds in my experience, and you have no way of knowing if the device is actually working or frozen.
The provided software is where the device suffers - though no fault of its own. As many have said, the free software "Calibre" is a godsend for managing your device as it allows you to convert books, and even download content from news websites and blogs and convert them into a readable format so that you can take it to go.
Where the device suffers greatly is Sony's Ebook store. In my experience, the books tend to be more expensive than Amazon's library, not to mention the fact that Sony's library is sorely lacking when compared to Amazon. Luckily there are websites than just Sony that provide usable and reasonably priced e-books. Fictionwise, Booksonboard, Manybooks, Feedbooks, et al. I hope that either Sony gets the memo and steps up the ante to provide more books, or that Amazon will release their books in more than just one format.
Not being overly dramatic, this device has honestly changed my life. I ultimately purchased it for portability and its light-weightedness. I plan on using this overseas and as such the 3g internet connection of the Kindle is quite useless for me, though I can see it as a pretty big plus for those in the States where it actually works. But in the end, it was the prospect of a lighter traveling load that really sold me on the whole "e-book concept." I find myself reading more often, and pretty much everywhere I go. I can find no major flaws despite the included software (though it is pretty much a non-issue with Calibre) and the lack of books in the Sony e-book store. E-books are much cheaper than their paper counterparts, and as such this device is an investment that pays for itself after the first 15 or so books purchased.
Digital camera Review: A better reading experience
Summary: 5 Stars
After having owned and used this device for a few months now, I can honestly say that I prefer it over paper books.
I recently got some paper books as gifts, and having read those after mainly using the e-reader, I became painfully aware of the page turning, of having to use two hands to hold the pages, of having to use bookmarks or folding corners... all those little things I never thought I'd really care about, but they all seem rather annoying now. With the e-reader, I only have to use one hand, I never have to shift position to flip pages, and it always remembers what page you're on, even if you're reading multiple books.
I was a little worried about the contrast at the start, as the 'paper' is greyish, rather than white, but it turned out not to bother me. As with any book, you want to read in a fairly well lit area.
Another thing I was worried about at first is getting the screen dirty, which pretty much happened the first day. With regular paper, you don't really care as much, since you can just flip the page, but with the e-reader, you're essentially using the same page over and over. After that initial mishap though, I simply take more care around food and drinks, and haven't had an issue. The reader comes with a nice leather cover, which protects it day to day.
While I do totally love it, and am avoiding paper books from now on, here are a few caveats (and I'd give it a 4.5 if I could):
-Batteries: A regular book never runs out of batteries, but the reader can. I'm not sure why, but it actually uses battery when it's not turned on (the manual mentions something about keeping things in memory, and needing battery for that). It's happened to me once or twice that I picked up the reader after a few days and found that the battery was mostly drained. Sony claims a 7000 page turn battery life, but you won't find anything even close to that.
-Pdf's: This is not really an issue to me, since I use the reader for reading books, but I did try loading some pdf files onto it, and it's pretty useless for that. It's very slow to browse them, and the text is too small to read.
-plane rides: I fly a decent amount, and never before did I have to 'turn off' my book for takeoff and landing. It's kind of annoying that you have to turn off all electronics for those times. I'm sure there's nothing in the reader that would actually mess with whatever they're afraid it would mess with, but alas, I follow the rules.
To finish this up, I really think that e-books are superior to real books. As far as sony's e-reader goes (they all use the same screen technology, so the only difference is the package and interface), the case and cover sure are pretty (certainly the best looking e-reader, in my opinion), and it's easy to navigate.
A dictionary would have been a nice addition, and I hope it's something they consider adding (I'm guessing it wouldn't take more than a software update, but I'm guessing...)
The sony/borders ebook store seems to have all the same books that you can find for mobi pocket or kindle. Any book that I was able to find there I was able to find for the sony reader, and any book that I couldn't find on the sony store, I couldn't find for the other ones either (No Harry Potter!!!). Be sure to check out project gutenberg (www.gutenberg.org) for tons of free books. Also, when I bought my reader it came with 100 free classics from the sony store, which is a great deal if you can still get that.
Digital camera Review: A great product - if you have your expecations right!
Summary: 5 Stars
The product is exactly what I expected, since I read a lot of previews and reviews prior to purchasing it. It is a great way to carry along your favorite books - in fact, I have put most of my old-time faves on the ample built-in memory and on an additional SD card, so I am taking over 400 books on the go with me.
The power seems not to run-out at all, so a quick connect every week or so will keep you charged.
The only things I don't like but expected, since they are a part of the e-Ink technology, are the background color (a slightly whiter tint would've been great) and the sluggish menu navigation. I wouldn't recommend to use as an MP3 player, as the sound seems not-so-great - however it can be used to listen to a few instrumental tunes while reading.
One final problem - PDF files are rarely displayed properly, unless specifically formatted for the screen, so don't expect to be able to read PDFs with ease. I will suggest that PDFs and any other file formats are converted to TXT, since the readability of text files is great.
Overall, a great product and a true book replacement - but if you have wrong expectations (namely, that one can use this to view work-related PDFs or RSS feeds; or that the screen is a blistering-fast and back-lit LCD) you may be deeply disappointed.
Digital camera Review: A real WOW! from Sony
Summary: 5 Stars
I've had my dark blue Sony Reader for exactly two days now and have been reading books non-stop ever since. It's even better than I expected from all the reviews in these ways: it's lighter, more compact, easier on the eyes, page turning is a breeze, it feels great in the hands, the three different print sizes offer functionality I didn't expect to appreciate...
One HUGE Con: A VERY LIMITED INVENTORY OF BOOKS FROM THEIR PROPRIETARY STORE.
Those of us who chose the Sony over the Amazon Kindle are making a big wager that the selection of books will be greatly expanded in the future. I have no complaints whatsoever about the product, but it's all about inventory, and the Sony selections so far are very disappointing.
Perhaps the competition from the Kindle will force some quick action--or extinction.