It was my husband, a huge fan of both literature and technology that first made me aware of the e-book and in particular of the Sony Reader. Unlike me, he tends to think hard about his purchases in advance and so there were many conversations (well not really conversations as that would assume ... Read review
The Reader Digital Book holds about 160 eBooks or hundreds more with optional removable ... more
memory cards. Its portable size makes it the perfect travel companion, allowing you to read a variety of books whenever and wherever you want. With thousands of eBo...
Postage & Packaging: Check Site. Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
The Reader Digital Book holds about 160 eBooks or hundreds more with optional removable ... more
memory cards. Its portable size makes it the perfect travel companion, allowing you to read a variety of books whenever and wherever you want. With thousands of eBo...
Postage & Packaging: Free! Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days...
Advantages: Small, lightweight, ideal for travel, capacity to store many books Disadvantages: Availability of reader, availability of books
...and in particular of the Sony Reader. Unlike me, he tends to think hard about his purchases in advance and so there were many conversations (well not really conversations as that would assume my participation) around the virtues of this product before he actually decided to take the plunge and get one. I am by no means a prolific reader and my literary tastes are not as high brow as his, but I do appreciate books. I like to see books lined up on ... ...card slots, one takes a Sony memory stick (can be used in other Sony products such as cameras and laptops) and there is also a slot which will fit an SD memory card, commonly used in cameras as well. Either of these would allow you to have thousands of books at your fingertips. I personally am not sure this is necessary and would prefer to keep it to a more manageable hundred or so. When I am choosing my next book to read, I am not sure I want to ... more
It was my husband, a huge fan of both literature and technology that first made me aware of the e-book and in particular of the Sony Reader. Unlike me, he tends to think hard about his purchases in advance and so there were many conversations (well not really conversations as that would assume my participation) around the virtues of this product before he actually decided to take the plunge and get one. I am by no means a prolific reader and my literary tastes are not as high brow as his, but I do appreciate books. I like to see books lined up on a shelf and I am fascinated by old books in museums, so a book reader just seemed, well wrong, to me.
But despite my feelings on this and my rather large hints connected to a certain necklace from Tiffany's, it was a book reader that I found myself unwrapping on Christmas Day last year.
What is it like?~~
The book reader is about eight by six inches and just over half an inch thick. I have not weighed it but it is extremely light and definitely lighter and more compact than your average paperback novel. The screen itself is obviously smaller, that is about six by four inches, with the control buttons around the edges. A leather wallet for protection is provided. The screen uses new technology, so-named "e-ink" which is nothing like the LCD display on your typical PC or laptop. The background is a pale grey colour, there is no glare and the page has a sort of "matt" appearance that really does look like a page in a book. Consequently the prevailing light conditions have no more effect on your ability to read this than they would if it were a paper book. There is no glare or need to craftily angle the reader if sitting in the sunshine and equally at bedtime you will need lights on as the reader is not backlit.
Navigation is intuitive. From the main menu it is possible to browse through the saved books in a few ways namely, by author, by book title or by date and selection of one to read is a simple and obvious press of a button. If you make a selection but want to go back, the "Menu" button can be used, again fairly intuitive and I did not need to refer to the manual to work out how to navigate around. The reader does have some other functionality which I will come to later, but I just use it for reading. Each time it is turned off and back on, it will remember where it was automatically and there is no need to page through the menus again. Also whilst there is a bookmark function, this can be used if you specifically want to refer back to something, but you don't need to use it to bring up your last read as that will always be remembered by the gadget. Speed of turning the page is something that is very important, I have been perfectly happy with this, it takes a fraction of a second and no longer than turning a page in a real book.
The built in memory of the reader can store well over a hundred books. Additionally there are two memory card slots, one takes a Sony memory stick (can be used in other Sony products such as cameras and laptops) and there is also a slot which will fit an SD memory card, commonly used in cameras as well. Either of these would allow you to have thousands of books at your fingertips. I personally am not sure this is necessary and would prefer to keep it to a more manageable hundred or so. When I am choosing my next book to read, I am not sure I want to page through a list of thousands.
Where and how do you get e-books?~~
The obvious starting point is the Sony e-books store, which works in a very similar way to I-Tunes. So you buy books, download to your PC and then transfer to and from the reader at will, either connect the reader to your PC with a USB cable or save the books onto the memory card and the pop the card into the reader. Easy peasy. I have however found that the Sony store does not have as wide a selection as your average Waterstones for instance, but I am hopeful this will change as the product takes off (assuming it does)!
There are a couple of other options. If you like your classics or should I say public domain books such as Dickens or Shakespeare then you can download these for free from a website called www.mobileread.com ,and no doubt some others websites as well. Finally if you are fairly technically inclined you can buy from other e-book stores (I won't name them all but google or wikipedia can help) and then convert the file into a Sony compatible format.
As I am not that technically inclined and do not particularly like reading the classics, the first option works best for me. Sadly there is currently one huge but I believe temporary drawback, in addition to the selection of books available. The product is not officially launched in Europe just yet and you can only shop in the Sony book store with an electronic book voucher or a US credit card! As I live in Bermuda at the moment, I make fairly regular trips to the US and have a stock of electronic book vouchers that I can use for now. I bought my e-vouchers from Borders, a large chain book store in the US. The good news is that it is my understanding that Sony will launch the book reader in the UK later this year and at this point, the book store will start to accept UK credit cards. E-book prices at the moment seem to be pretty much the same as the paperback versions. I was a bit surprised at this as there are no printing or distribution costs. I would imagine that as the product becomes more common place, these prices will start to come down.
Other technical points~~
The battery is extremely long life as it only uses power when you electronically turn the page, the rest of the time it makes no difference whether the screen is switched on or off. So if like me you regularly fall asleep with book in hand (or on head) it isn't going to waste the battery. I have found that my battery will easily last a week or more when reading a few chapters a day. Even on holiday when reading more often than normal it has lasted a good five days. I have never been caught out with a low battery as the icon at the bottom of the screen clearly indicates status.
The reader will store photographs and the display is clear albeit in black and white only. A colour version of the book reader is somewhere in the pipeline but at the moment is very expensive and it takes a long time to turn a page. MP3 files can also be stored and played. The advantage might be one less gadget to carry around, the disadvantage is that you can't make playlists and would have to tab through all the tracks to get to one you want. No doubt this would also expend battery life at a much faster pace and it is not something that I would bother with myself.
Conclusion~~
The biggest problem with this product right now is availability in the UK. I bought mine in the US (£150 equivalent) and bought my e-book vouchers in the US as well. But I have written my review with the expectation that it will be fully available in the UK before much longer. I have definitely overcome my natural scepticism and perhaps hostility towards the product. I was won over by the very easy to read screen, which did not result in eye strain or headaches as I had expected. But the main advantage I found is definitely the size and weight, on a daily basis it easily slips into my handbag unlike some books and on holiday I was able to take this very small and lightweight gadget and have over a hundred books to chose from, rather than carry around four or actual five books. So, when it does get released in the UK, I would definitely recommend giving it a go.
NB. First published on dooyoo under username Cat19
Advantages: Lightweight, easy to use, excellent battery life Disadvantages: You will be interrupted from reading to answer a lot of questions!
I'm sure by now a lot of you will be familiar with eBook readers, an electronic device designed to, for all intents and purposes, act just like a real book. And I'm sure a lot of you think the idea is absolutely ludicrous, that there is no need to make something such as a book, which obviously has stood the test of time just fine as it is, electronic. Well a couple of months ago I decided to splash out on one, having managed to pick up the old model ... ...John Lewis for £150, as the new touch-screen version was coming out. The new version, I should point out, is twice the price and the upgraded features are not particularly necessary, so I was very happy with my bargain. Here's a question I hear constantly about the Reader: "It's nice and all, but reading on a screen strains your eyes doesn't it?" Not this screen! The Reader, and competing eBook brands such as Amazon's Kindle, uses new technology ...
bamamo 17.11.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Portable Reader PRS-505
**** Sony E Reader ****
I really enjoy reading but somehow my suitcase always ends up really heavy so when i saw that my local Waterstones had some in stock i decided to purchase one.At 199 quid its not cheap but i felt i could easily spend that on buying the books alone.
**What is it?**
Basically it is an electronic device that you can store books on.The memory size you get with it holds up to 160 books but there is also slots for you to add ... ...**Pros**
One of the best things about this is that you do not have to carry loads of books around with you.
Books are cheaper on the ereader than they are to buy normally and when you buy the ereader from Waterstones it comes with 100 classic books so if you are like me and would read these anyway the ereader pays for itself.
It can also hold/play music which is good in a way because it means you have to carry one less device about with you.
...
katie22008m 05.11.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful Review of Sony Portable Reader PRS-505
Advantages: none Disadvantages: countless - read the review
...to _throw the book_ at Sony (sorry bad pun). This product is in fact completely pointless - '''why spend the best part of £200 on an electronic device that is harder to read than a real book?'''
'''Is it Worth my Dosh?'''
Simply put - _no._
To add to the fact that it is hard to read, it also has _constant faults_ - such as flickering black screens between turning pages. The PRS-505 is simply a '''high maintenance, high-price, low value product ... ...on your iPhone as well. '''Verdict'''
I find it almost embarassing that Sony have released this product, as there are other things a million times better and considerably cheaper. The Sony online book store is appalling and expensive. I say, avoid this piece of junk at all costs. ...
brunocrosier 14.06.2008
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Portable Reader PRS-505
Advantages: It is very useful and very simple to use and it looks and feels fantastic Disadvantages: The screen isn't backlit, and the zoom only has three sizes
I love the Sony E reader because since I found this gadget it has made life sitting on a bay for hours on end whle Im in my Lorry a pleasure and no longer a chore. I love the idea of the e reader by Sony, hundreds of books all in one place and all available with the push of a button. I have books all over the cab and they always get filthy and dog eared. I always lose my page when I have to put them down because the red light on the bay changes to ... ...a paper book is that if you take it into a waiting room , every one can see what your reading ( well the ones who can read anyway) and I'm a little shy about sharing my reading habits especially when I'm picking up the free books in the waiting room at Blacks In Northampton, ( at least I hope theyr'e free). The e reader looks and feels sleek and its covered with a really nice brown leather cover that opens out like a book. You simply press a button ...
lorryday 06.04.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Portable Reader PRS-505
Advantages: Looks good, small, lightweight, good capacity, easy to use. Disadvantages: Time it takes to charge from a computer.
...I had with me my Sony PRS-505 which I had loaded with James Patterson, Ian Rankine and Patricia Cornwell books (64 in all).
One of the main problems during the cruise was having to stop reading on a fairly regular basis to answer questions about the reader. Even the waiters serving drinks would stop and have a chat about it.
It was a complete success from every aspect and helped my wife and I to make new friends (although I doubt if Sony will include ... ...concerned about the size of the writing. But there are three settings for font size. I was concerned that by selecting the large size of font it would mean having to scroll along the bottom of the page. My concerns were unfounded as the only effect is that you have to press the new page button three time instaed of once to change the page.
One of the reasnons we bought these (I bought my wife one first) was because my wife is disabled and finds ...
bigbadbill 29.07.2009
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: helpful Review of Sony Portable Reader PRS-505
Product Information for "Sony Portable Reader PRS-505" »
Memory
Supported Flash Memory Cards
Memory Stick PRO, SD Memory Card
Audio
Supported Digital Audio Formats
MP3, AAC
Ebook reader
Battery Life (pages)
7500 pages
Supported Still Image Formats
BMP, GIF, JPEG, PNG
Supported Text Formats
PDF, TXT, RTF, DOC, BBeB, BBeB DRM
Operating system / software
OS Provided
Sony Reader Software
System requirements for pc connection
System Requirements Details
Windows XP/Vista - Celeron - 800 MHz - RAM 128 MB - HD 20 MB
OS Required
Microsoft Windows Vista / XP
Manufacturer's product description
The Reader Digital Book holds about 160 eBooks. Its portable size makes it the perfect travel companion, allowing you to read a variety of books whenever and wherever you want. With thousands of eBook titles available at The eBook Store from Sony, you can choose to download new releases, classics and popular book titles as well as view other document formats such as Adobe PDF10, RTF, TXT, BBeB and Microsoft Word. Its long battery life lasts up to 7,500 continuous page turns, and the amazing paper-like screen technology is easy on the eyes.
