Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition – Red
- displays eBooks purchased from the CONNECT eBook online store
- displays Adobe® PDFs, plus TXT, RTF, Microsoft® Word files, and RSS web feeds
- plays MP3 and AAC music files (protected files not supported)
- 512MB internal memory holds approximately 350 eBooks
Product Description
The Reader Touch Edition features a 6″display with simple, easy-to-use touchscreen navigation. Turn pages with the swipe of a finger and enjoy fast and intuitive navigation of your favorite books. Take freehand notes and highlight sections of text you want to revisit later, just as you would in a real book, using the included stylus. If you prefer, a virtual keyboard is also available for entering quick notes or searching your eBooks. If you want, you can even export your notes to your computer using the eBook Library software. Enjoy access to a wider number of books from a wider number of places. By supporting both industry standard formats, ePub and PDF, you can access books at Sony’s eBookstore, check out books from public libraries, access over 500,000 free public domain titles from Google, as well as sharing sites, online aggregators and personal publishers (Internet access is required). Not sure which books to bring on your trip? With the Reader Touc… More >>
Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition – Red
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4 comments
B. Fosse on December 7, 2009 at 8:25 pm
The bottom line is that this is a great piece of hardware that is crippled by poor software and a limited selection of retail books. The core purpose of the reader is hindered by not being able to effectively and reliably transfer purchased books.
I have been following e-reader devices for over two years. Always waiting for the “next” device to come out, my wife rallied my family to go in together and surprise me with this reader for my birthday. I was very excited and loved the device until I tried to purchase books for it. The #1 problem was that Sony’s eBook Library software crashed whenever I tried to transfer a purchased book to it. Granted, I only purchased books from Sony’s store so this may not be the case with other eBook vendors.
I’m highly proficient with computers and would describe myself as an early adopter for new technologies. This is the most disappointed I have been with a device manufacturer in years. The reason is that I love the eReader! It is well built and has a great feature set. Getting books from Google and local libraries is a great option and works great (I did it). But Sony completely dropped the ball on their software to purchase protected books. After 4 hours of trying to get it to work consistently across 2 desktops and a laptop I knew I couldn’t keep the reader. The final factor was when I realized this has been and remains to be an unresolved issue for past models of Sony readers as well. Sony never appeared to resolve the issue for those having problems in the past and it persists to this day.
If the software works with your computer then I would recommend this reader. However, based on my disappointing experience I can’t recommend giving it a try. I may find myself waiting until the best distribution and ecosystem, which I believe to be Amazon, finds its way onto the best devices.
Pros (+)
+ Ability to write notes and highlight with stylus
+ Very well built, looks and feels nice
+ Touch screen navigation
+ Removable memory slots
+ Fun extra features – store pictures, listen to MP3s
+ Free books – from Google and local libraries
Cons (-)
- “eBook Store from Sony” software crashes when transferring purchased books
- Retail book selection much smaller than that offered on Kindle
- No wireless purchase option on this model – a big deal to me only because the software required to transfer books does not work well
A side note:
There is a way to adjust your system settings on Windows Vista using Data Execution Prevention to mitigate some of the problems. However, even this did not cause the software to work consistently for me and I recognize that most people don’t desire to go to such lengths to transfer eBooks. Another option is to buy books from other eBook sellers and use Adobe’s digital editions software to transfer books. For me that wasn’t a good enough option to keep the reader.
Gina on December 7, 2009 at 10:14 pm
I have been watching eBooks and the available hardware for them for years. When the Kindle came out, I spent some time with one and liked it but was concerned about the proprietary nature of the format and the inability to “share” my books.
Then the Nook showed up and I was tempted, but struggled with the same aspects — and the lack of availability when I was ready to purchase.
I had glanced at the Sony versions, but wasn’t even tempted until the Touch came out.
I am *so* glad I waited.
What I love:
Reading PDFs — I am in grad school and read 20-30 journal articles a week. That’s a lot of chair time to spend in front of a computer screen — and way too much to print out. I can also convert my own documents and put them onto the reader for ready reference.
Free Library Books — there are ePub and PDF books available through my public library at no charge that play on my reader without conversion or strife. Beautiful Adobe interface makes it work seamlessly.
Free Public Domain Books — Again, these books are already formatted for this reader. The pages flow beautifully. The only downside is that I could never read them all!
Large selection of Books for Purchase — I like that I can buy them from several sources — including Sony, Fictionwise, and the like.
Audio — The reader offers MP3 support and plays audio books, music, and the like. I can download *free* audio books from my library for my drive-time “reading” or listen to music while I read.
Expandable — There are two card slots for expanding the memory of the reader should I ever need more space.
Color — It is red!! Yes, you can get it in silver, but I love that it comes in red! It may seem silly to get so excited about the aesthetics, but they do matter.
Design — In addition to the pretty color, this reader is just beautifully engineered. It feels great in my hands and fits perfectly into the (purchased separately) lighted cover.
Touch Screen — Turning the Pages with a button is fine, but I love just swiping my thumb to move to the next page. The ability to double-tap a word and activate a dictionary is wonderful. Highlighting, handwritten notes, and on-screen menus are all bonus features of this technology. In addition, it means there is lots more space for screen and just a tiny piece of real estate devoted to buttons. Love it.
Clarity — The screen is somewhat reflective and the touch-screen layer does cause the reader to lose a tiny bit of clarity as compared to other Sony readers. However, unless I am holding them next to one another it is not something I notice. It is very easy to read this eBook, and the aforementioned cover-with-light allows me to read it anywhere.
Adjustable Fonts — Being able to change the print size from tiny to gigantic is fabulous. There are 5 font sizes and I have used them all for one book or another.
Adjustable Screen Orientation — I love being able to turn the book sideways. It is actually my preferred orientation for reading.
Why only 4 stars:
The set up of this device was clunky. It does not come with much of a manual (4 pages?) and all of the software is loaded on the device and transfers to your computer when you plug it in. Except that you need additional software to make the PDFs play nice with your library. And you have to run and upgrade the software and firmware as soon as you get it. (I love that Sony fixed the glitches, so only a minor complaint here.) If I weren’t pretty savvy with technology, I would have been stuck with a glitchy, crashing program and no clue how to fix it. There needs to be a “here’s how to get your machine up and running now that we’ve figured out that we didn’t ship it ready to work” card in the box!
People have quizzed me about the need to link to my computer to acquire books and other reading material for this eBook. I actually prefer it this way. It is a rare day that I am not near my laptop. I maintain my library and back it up through my computer, and I sync the device pretty regularly. By searching for titles online I can find the best deal and widest variety rather than being tied to one source for content. (Library? Google? Free! If not, I quickly check my favorite 3 sites for the title I want at the best price.) With several hundred books on the eBook, I have never run out of material to read.
While I am not super-thrilled with the software that shipped with the unit, once I discovered an open-source program called Calibre that organizes my eLibrary, converts files to be readable on my device and fetches news from about 300 sites, I officially became hooked for good. But that would be an entirely different review.
TravelAdam on December 7, 2009 at 11:11 pm
I’ve had the Sony Reader 505 for 5 months and loved it, just upgraded to the Touch version. You are not forced to buy from Amazon, Sony eBook store has most everything Amazon does, and you can request if something is missing. Free books on Google, specially formatted for Sony reader, No ugly keyboard at the bottom, but a virtual keyboard and can use a stylus or fingers. Expandable memory slots, 2 of ‘em! Can borrow books from library.
It looks much cooler than the Kindle and the note functions and editing a page is great.
Bobbie - "Andromeda's Gramma" on December 8, 2009 at 1:44 am
Watch Video Here: http://www.amazon.com/review/RHLDKCVQ96TTK I have been following the e-book readers for some time, and I wanted several things for me to “jump on the bandwagon.” ***Since I have received many questions, I am now including a video to demonstrate my favorite features***
1) I have a number of PDF reference books, so a Reader needs to handle these well. Since my books are text, these reflow well on the Sony.
2) Because I will use (and now am using) the Reader for reference books, it was important that I be able to access my notes directly from my computer to use in other documents. I actually began using the software on my desktop several months before I purchased the 600, and was pleased with its capabilities.
3) I enjoy the free epub books from my library. The Sony accesses these easily. There are also a number of locations besides Sony selling the epub or Adobe digital books (usable by the Sony Touch) giving me more choice in my decision.
4) The Touch handles my regular documents well – as a public speaker, I love having my speeches available to study on the reader, without having to print them out!
But for those looking for the points I already love (thus the 5 stars)
1) I love having the touch turn capability, just a brush of my thumb!
2) I enjoy the sideways and zoom features for PDFs that you want to keep “standard”
3) After only a couple of minutes, I forgot I was even using a reader and I got involved in the book.
*** I live in an isolated area – so neither Whispernet for the Kindle nor the upcoming 3G connection on the more expensive Daily model would be helpful – I’m just as happy to order my books “in advance” and carry them with me.
I enjoy the feel of the Reader by itself, but since I will be carrying this “library” with me, and I was worried about protection, I purchased the M-edge Executive Jacket for Sony Reader PRS-505 (Genuine Leather–Pebbled Grey w/ Black) – SALE! which fits it perfectly.
I also purchased the Sony AC Charger for PRS505SC and PRS505LC to ensure that I can charge up my reader when my computer isn’t around.
Edited after 2 weeks and 10 books
Some people have mentioned the glare – since my previous reading was on my laptop – this isn’t an issue for me. I keep my lighting at my side, and it is not a problem at all. It is more noticeable in a dark room with a single light source.
Another issue I have encountered isn’t with the reader – but with the interaction between Windows and the software. It is pretty touchy. I have learned to be careful of some PDF documents which have caused problems.
It is also important that when importing books that aren’t loaded through the reader that you “maintain” the link by not moving them once they are imported. Like Powerpoint and other programs, the desktop ebook reader doesn’t store the book in the program – it links to it on your computer. Breaking the link means it can’t find the book – and it can’t upload the book.
*** A special touch for a “Grandma” is the ability to be able to load photos of my granddaughter to carry with me. There is even a feature that permits showing the photos as a slide show. While the photos are in black and white, they are very sharp and it is a nice touch when I travel.
*** Edited after 2 months –
A recent update in the software has removed some of the software connection problems I originally experienced. So, that’s a plus!
However, I have recently added some PDF files that did NOT flow the same way as my original “professional” files reflowed. After checking with those more knowledgeable, I have been told that the problem is not with the Sony, but with the way the PDF files have been set up. The PDF is supposed to include “tags” that will help the pages to reflow correctly. My recommendation is that anyone with PDFs they need to carry on the reader download the free computer software and attempt to read them using this software. If it works on your computer, it will reflow correctly on the Sony. If it does not – then it will not do so on the Reader either.