Sony Digital Reader Touch Edition – Silver

5 comments

1. 

   Deniz Oguz on December 9, 2009 at 7:06 am

   This is my first ebook reader. I like it. Since it is my only ebook reader, I can not comment on glare or other issues. It does not bother me. But I could not say the same thing for desktop software, sonly library. It is desktop companion for your reader. You are supposed to buy books, organize content on your reader through this software. It is extremely sluggish and buggy. It crushed several times and when this occurs you have to uninstall it and reinstall or clear its cash. While synchronizing it removed all of my purchased books from my reader without asking me any question. I am a software engineer and graduate of a computer engineering department. I know how to use a software. I am sure that this was not my fault. I am using calibre instead of Sony ebook library. Normally I could give this product 5 star but due to its desktop companion I am giving 3 star.

2. 

   B. Fosse on December 9, 2009 at 7:53 am

   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.

3. 

   E. Monti on December 9, 2009 at 10:16 am

   I had a blue Sony prs-505 that was amazing. When the prs-700 came out I wasn’t really inclined to switch. Then I saw the prs-600 when it came out. Let me tell you, this thing is by far the easiest, most attractive thing I have ever seen. Well, as far as ereaders go anyway, lol. My boyfriend finally got me one for my birthday after listening to me beg for weeks (what a sweetie, huh?) and I swear, I was so happy I cried. I charged it up, turned it on, and was not disappointed.
   
   The screen is crystal clear even though it is a touchscreen, which is something I was extremely worried about. Super easy to use, I have not had any issues as far as,”omg I don’t know how I did it but I’m glad it happened!” Everything is practically spelled out for you. You can turn the page with a .25 of an inch movement of your finger to the right or left, depending on how you have it set up or you can use the page turn button. Double tap a word you don’t know and the definition springs up at the botoom of the screen. Veiw the entire dictionary page by tapping another button. When done hit x to close and you’re reading again. Hmmmm, what else? Oh yeah, it looks beautiful, lol! Feels very nice in my hands, not too heavy and not too light. Very convienent, this thing will last for years! The price is pretty good for what you’re getting. I would buy everyone I know one of these if I had the means to, lol! Definitely recommend this for people who want to read w/o having to sacrifice the quality of their reading.

   Pros:
   
   1. Very attractive design, not too heavy
   
   2. Very easy to use, have yet to have a problem trying to figure anything out.
   
   3. Price is very reasonable. Considering I bought my PRS-505 8 months ago and paid the same amount, I feel they did a very good job. Comes with a ton of extra features than my 505 didn’t offer.
   
   4. Everything about the device, lol!

   Cons:
   
   1. The case it comes in is very flimsy, which doesn’t really bother me as they have cases to buy for less than $25
   
   2. I kept the old 2.5 version of the software, did not like the 3.0 version.

   All in all, you would have to prey this thing from my dead, lifeless fingers!!!

   UPDATE: So far it has been almost one month and I don’t have not one complaint. Simple to use, does not cause any eyestrain (I can read for hours at a time without feeling like my eyes are on fire). My only complaint is that I don’t make enough money to buy a back-up one!!!!

4. 

   E. Bairaktaris on December 9, 2009 at 12:06 pm

   Why 3 stars for a device I love?
   
   First of all the screen has more glare than I expected. That’s the most (and only) important disadvantage.
   
   Second, I had some problems installing the software. That might be a problem of my pc, since I haven’t heard anyone else complain.

   Now the bright stuff. The screen shows glare because it’s a touch screen. And that is a great advantage. It’s very accurate. You can just double tap a word and almost never miss it. Then the dictionary shows up.
   
   Choosing between books is extremely easy. So is finding pages and sections.

   Wireless connectivity (which it lacks) is not important for an ebook, since I can download stuff (free ebooks from [...], google books, wikisource, webpages converted to PDF or buy ebooks from various sources) and will be fine for weeks.

   PDF and ePub formats are important. So are SD and MS card-slots for expanding the internal memory (it can play MP3).

   Overall, this device delivers a great user experience. I only wish it had a more glare-free screen.

5. 

   Richard Hildreth on December 9, 2009 at 1:33 pm

   I received mine about a week and a half ago. The screen has better clarity than the 700 and the touch screen is more responsive. With the touch screen, the device seems more like an actual book. I can manipulate it directly without using the buttons. This is what one does with a book after all. Since the screen is as sensitive as it is, I can hold it with either hand in any position, and with just a slight swipe the page changes. The page changes are much faster too. You don’t even notice them. Love the dictionary, but you have to actually select a word in the text to use it. Would be nicer if you could just access the dictionary from the home screen. The hand writing feature is very nice as well. It is not wireless. But, I have so many books on it that if I took off for a month, I would not have time to read them all. Anyway… pros: touch screen is sensitive, page turns are fast, like the dictionary and handwriting function. But… cons: Need easy access for the dictionary, clarity not as nice as the 505. Loses one star. Still a very nice device.